Jewish scholar, historian, and leader Rabbi Berel Wein died at age 91, according to Hanassi Yisrael Hatzair Rechavia synagogue, and a burial service was held on Sunday.
Wein's impact on the Jewish world blossomed not only from his films, books, and audio lectures, but also the founding of institutions such as Congregation Bais Torah and the Monsey Yeshiva Shaarei Torah and leadership as a rabbi at the Jerusalem Beit Knesset Hanassi and Yeshivat Ohr Somayach.
At Rabbi Wein's funeral service, his son Rabbi Chaim Wein said that he influenced thousands of students, teaching them how to look at life as devout Jews.
"If you could summarize in a few words what my fathers mission was, it was 'I strengthened Israel.' He went and he inspired people," said Wein's son.
Everywhere the rabbi's son went, people mentioned how much they had learned from his videos and audio cassettes on Jewish history, which are available through the Destiny Foundation.
"How many thousands and thousands of people have been influenced from his tapes, from his series on history, that he opened the eyes of people?" Wein's son at Sunday's service.
Wein's son recalled his father as a great orator, who would use his ability to speak to Jews all over the world.
The Orthodox Union praised Wein on Sunday for his work strengthening Jewish orthodoxy, becoming the organization's vice president at 38. He afterwards helmed the OU Kosher certifiers for five years.
Rabbi Berel Wein's storied career
Wein pursued a career in the rabbinate after a career as a lawyer, though OU recalled that Wein would note that at the time "Orthodoxy was in such a state of decline that a professional career in the Orthodox rabbinate was considered a pipe dream."
Despite these challenges, Wein "embarked on a multi-faceted career as a rabbi and educator in America and Israel that spanned six decades and contributed significantly to Orthodoxy’s rebirth," the OU said in a eulogy. "We mourn the passing of this unique Rav, educator, and communal leader and will remain forever indebted to him both for his enduring impact on Klal Yisrael and for his lifelong support and involvement in the work of the Orthodox Union."
Wein served as the rabbi of Congregation Bais Torah for 24 years, and served as the Rosh Yeshiva of the Suffern Yeshiva Shaarei Torah for twenty years.
Coming from a long line of Lithuanian rabbis, Wein served as a bridge between the pre-World War II religious scholarship. His son related that his father, who grew up in 1940s Chicago, learned from Torah scholars who came to the city after the war. It was part of his father's mission to transmit this knowledge onto the next generation.
A long-time columnist for The Jerusalem Post, he told the newspaper that he developed his passion for history when he was a teenage student at the Hebrew Theological College in Chicago.
While the other students played sports, Wein gravitated to the library, and the librarian asked him what he wanted to know. That day they had studied the commentary of Rabbi Asher ben Yehiel, and Wein wished to know more about the man. She brought the young Wein a book about him, and he was hooked.
"I would go in every day and read, and she would give me books," Wein said in 2019.
From there his love of the lessons of the past grew, until he began to share his knowledge with over a dozen books, over 1,000 lectures, and films.
Many of these works were produced after he made aliyah in 1996, including his 2011 book Patterns in Jewish History and his 2000 Rashi: A Light After The Dark Ages. He continued to write with his Wein Press monthly newsletter, which covered a wide review of Jewish topics of interest.
According to the OU, "Until the end, he continued to be a prolific writer and teacher of Torah whose books and columns were read by thousands and whose insight and wisdom were sought out and treasured."
Alan Rosenbaum contributed to this report.