Today, the 11th of Adar (the early Fast of Esther), marks the 103rd Hillula (anniversary of passing) of the great Gaon (genius) Rabbi Yosef Rozin zy"a (may his merit protect us), known as the Rogatchover. Before you are highlights of his life and a prayer from the Gaon and Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a (may he live long and good days) for the day of his Hillula:

His Biography

Rabbi Yosef was born in the year 5618 (1858) to his father Rabbi Fishel and his mother from the Rozin family who lived in the city of Rogatchov in Belarus. Upon reaching the age of mitzvos (Bar Mitzvah), he began to study in Slutsk under Rabbi Yoshua Ber Soloveitchik and studied in a chavrusa (study partnership) with his son, who later became known as Rabbi Chaim of Brisk. Even then, his sharpness was recognized, which amazed even the greatest scholars in Slutsk, and he was nicknamed 'The Impudent Prodigy.' At the age of 18, he married Perel, the daughter of Rabbi Moshe Yehuda Garfinkel of Warsaw, in his first marriage. After his marriage, he moved to study in Shklov under the Maharil Diskin. After several years, at the age of 31, he was appointed as the Rabbi of Dvinsk for the Chabad-Kapust community. When he was 63, his first wife passed away; some time after her passing, he married her sister, Rivka Garfinkel. At the age of 78, he fell ill with a severe kidney disease and traveled to Vienna to undergo surgery. However, before he could perform the surgery, he ascended to Heaven in a whirlwind, this year being Thursday, the 11th of Adar - the early Fast of Esther. Hundreds of thousands of European Jews participated in his funeral. He was buried in the cemetery in his city of residence, Dvinsk, to the left of his soul-friend, the author of the 'Or Sameach.' Torah scrolls and genizah (sacred texts) writings were buried alongside him. To our sorrow, the fate of his gravesite was like that of many other gravesites in European cemeteries; it was destroyed with the arrival of the Nazi machine, which almost completely destroyed the entire Jewry of Dvinsk, may Hashem avenge their blood. Today, what remained of the rabbis' graves was gathered into a mass grave located in Dvinsk, currently Daugavpils (Latvia), within the area of the local communal cemetery (Daugavpils Communal Cemetery).

The Rogatchover

The Rogatchover published dozens of books on all the hidden treasures of the Holy Torah, and particularly on the Gemaras (Talmudic tractates) currently studied in depth in yeshivas, as well as on the Rambam (Maimonides). All his books are titled 'Tzofnath Paneach' (Revealer of Secrets). His method of study remains a sign and a symbol for the yeshiva world to this day. His form of study, characterized by immense sharpness and his many pilpulim (analytical dialectics), which have almost no equal among all the Rishonim (early commentators) and Acharonim (later commentators), continue to inspire the diligence of yeshiva students in their in-depth Talmudic studies.

Several years ago, the Gaon and Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a wrote a prayer for the day of the Rogatchover's Hillula. Here is the prayer for reading:

To Merit the Holiness of the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) and to Atone for the Sins of Israel and to be Like the Rogatchover

Master of the World, All-Powerful, as I reach the age of 23, the initials of which are K"G {Kohen Gadol}, merit me to be like the Kohen Gadol, who entered the innermost sanctum (Holy of Holies), and may I now merit every single day to enter the innermost sanctum, and to be like the Kohen Gadol, who atones for all the sins of Israel every single day, and at every single moment, through the Tzitz (headplate) on his forehead, and through this Techelet (blue) thread to which the Tzitz is tied. And may I merit to be like the "Rogatchover," Rabbi Yosef Rozin (yahrtzeit 11th of Adar 5696/1936), who finished the entire Shas (Talmud) every single day, and through this, may the verse said about the Kohen Gadol be fulfilled in me: "In peace (378) and in uprightness (564) he walked (55) with Me (411), and many (258) he turned back (317) from iniquity (166) = 2155," and through this, may the verse be fulfilled in me: "Hashem (26) is my Rock (306), my Kindness (84), and my Fortress (556), my Stronghold (355) and my Deliverer (175) for me (40), my Shield (113) and in Him (14) I have taken refuge (488)."

May his soul be a merit and a shield for us and for all of the People of Israel, Amen!