With great sadness, large crowds gathered late Monday night to accompany to his final resting place one of the most respected zekeinim of the Lelover chassidus, Rav Eliyahu Tikotsky zt”l. A revered talmid chacham, a remnant of a great generation, he passed away at the age of 85. His passing marks the end of an era and leaves a profound void in the streets of Bnei Brak and among the chassidim of Lelov.
Rav Tikotsky was born to his illustrious father, Rav Avraham Yehuda zt”l, a descendant of the Baal Shem Tov. As a child, he endured the bitter exile of World War II, surviving the harrowing chapter of the Holocaust and eventually escaping with the famed Mir Yeshiva to Shanghai.
In later years, he married the daughter of Rav Moshe Krasnianski zt”l and established his home in Switzerland. Eventually, he fulfilled his dream of making aliyah to Eretz Yisroel, where he became deeply attached to the Lelover Rebbes, to whom he remained loyally connected—heart and soul—until his final day. That devotion was warmly reciprocated, as the Rebbes valued and cherished him for his towering spiritual stature.
Rav Tikotsky was a talmid chochomof exceptional depth and breadth, immersed in Torah and avodah, his life illuminated by those twin pillars. He greeted every person with warmth and sincerity.
In his final years, he endured great suffering with remarkable faith and acceptance. On Monday night, shortly before midnight, he was niftar. Within hours, he was laid to rest in the Elad cemetery.
He leaves behind his wife, children, and grandchildren, all following in the path of Torah and mitzvos.
The family is sitting shivah at 9 Rechov Micha in Bnei Brak.
{Matzav.com Israel}