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It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the petirah of Rav Yoel Yaakov Sperka zt”l, an outstanding talmid chochom, tzaddik, and yerei Shomayim whose entire life was defined by limud haTorah, harbotzas haTorah, and unwavering avodas Hashem.

Gentle in demeanor, refined in character, and deeply beloved by all who knew him, Rav Sperka leaves behind a legacy of Torah scholarship, humility, and selfless dedication that spanned decades.

From his earliest years, Rav Sperka devoted himself completely to the pursuit of Torah. Seeking to continue his aliyah, he traveled to Eretz Yisroel and learned at Yeshivas Ponovezh in Bnei Brak. There, he became a close talmid of Rav Elazar Menachem Man Shach zt”l, with whom he enjoyed a particularly warm relationship, and grew close to the Ponovezher Rov, Rav Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman zt”l. Those formative years helped shape him into the distinguished marbitz Torah he would become.

He merited to learn under Rav Aharon Kotler zt”l in Lakewood, NJ, where he absorbed not only profound yedios haTorah but also the ideals of total devotion to Torah that would define the course of his life.

Rav Sperka then dedicated himself to teaching and spreading Torah. He served as a marbitz Torah in Los Angeles and in other communities, inspiring generations of talmidim through his profound scholarship and his gentle, caring approach.

He eventually made his home in Detroit, where he served as a rov for more than three decades. During those years, he became a beloved rov at Congregation Bnai Israel-Beth Yehudah, offering psak, guidance, encouragement, and Torah wisdom to numerous individuals and families. His shiurim reflected both remarkable depth and exceptional clarity, while his personal example of humility and yiras Shomayim left an indelible impression on all who encountered him.

Those who knew Rav Sperka speak of a man whose greatness was matched only by his modesty. Soft-spoken, aidel, and unfailingly gracious, he carried himself with quiet dignity. Every aspect of his life revolved around Torah and avodas Hashem. He sought neither recognition nor honor, content to spend his days immersed in learning, teaching, and serving Hashem with sincerity and purity.

His Torah scholarship lives on through his acclaimed seforim, Chazon Yoel, a collection of his original chiddushei Torah. The seforim reflect the brilliance of his mind, the breadth of his learning, and the depth of his understanding, and continue to illuminate the batei medrash of those privileged to study them.

Following his retirement from the Detroit rabbonus, Rav Sperka relocated to Lakewood, where he settled in the Pine River Village community, continuing to devote himself to limud haTorah, inspiring others through his quiet example until his final days.

The petirah of Rav Sperka is a tremendous loss for his family, his talmidim, the communities he served, and the broader Torah world. His life was one of complete dedication to Torah, marked by extraordinary scholarship, unwavering emunah, and exceptional refinement of character.

The levayah is taking place now at the Congregation Sons of Israel Holocaust Memorial Chapel, located at 613 Ramsey Avenue in Lakewood, New Jersey. Watch the levayah live HERE. The aron will then be flown to Eretz Yisroel for kevurah there.

Rav Sperka is survived by his devoted rebbetzin, Mrs. Fayge Sperka, together with a wonderful family of children and grandchildren who continue his legacy of Torah and yiras Shomayim.

The family will be sitting shivah at 142 Liberty Drive in Lakewood, NJ.

Yehi zichro boruch.

{Matzav.com}

Rav Meir Dovid Shmueli, rosh yeshivah of Yeshivas Chazon Dovid and a prominent maggid shiur at the Moussaieff Shul, publicly apologized Sunday evening for comments he made about Arab medical personnel in the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas massacre, saying the remarks did not reflect his Torah values or personal beliefs.

The unusual reconciliation meeting took place at the Sukkat HaShalom center in Abu Ghosh and was attended by Arab physicians and other healthcare professionals.

The gathering was organized by attorneys Amit Hadad and Eli Perry, together with former Shomron Regional Council chairman Bentzi Lieberman. Hosting the event were former Abu Ghosh council head Issa Jaber and Abdul Abd Rahman, a local resident and court interpreter.

Addressing those in attendance, Rav Shmueli said, “The things I said after October 7 were a serious mistake spoken out of shock and overwhelming pain. They simply should never have been said, and they are completely contrary to my Torah and my values.”

“I came here tonight, to Abu Ghosh, to look the Arab medical teams in the eye and ask for forgiveness. Every sector has wonderful people, and Arab doctors devote themselves every day to saving lives, just like Jewish doctors. They are an example of humanity. The full responsibility is mine. My guiding principle is unity and peace, and where there is peace, Hakadosh Baruch Hu is present.”

Attorney Amit Hadad said the initiative grew out of conversations he had with Abdul Abd Rahman.

“When we met in Abu Ghosh and spoke, the subject of Rav Shmueli’s remarks came up,” Hadad said. “It troubled me because I knew they did not reflect who he really is. Abdul immediately suggested hosting the rav here at Sukkat HaShalom to create the necessary dialogue.”

He added, “The public and emotional challenge of standing up, retracting painful statements, and expressing public remorse is enormous, and that reflects this rav‘s greatness. When we suggested that he come, he didn’t hesitate for a moment. He was happy to come, look people in the eye, and say, ‘I made a mistake.’ We are all descendants of Avraham, and we all want to do good. That is the power of this evening.”

Former Abu Ghosh council head Issa Jaber accepted the apology, saying, “What unites us is greater than what divides us, and when a great person asks for forgiveness, it is a great thing.” He also noted that approximately 40 percent of Israel’s physicians are Arabs.

Dr. Muayad Qawasmeh, an East Yerushalayim physician who works at the Magen David Adom blood bank, also spoke about his experiences during the war.

“After the war began, we collected blood donations, including in East Jerusalem,” he said. “We collected 4,000 units of blood from Jews, Arabs, and Druze. We gave that blood to everyone who needed it, without regard to religion, race, gender, or whether the patient was Jewish or Arab.”

{Matzav.com}

Former hostage Rom Braslavski has revealed for the first time the intense religious pressure he endured while being held captive by terrorists, describing repeated efforts to persuade him to convert to Islam and the profound spiritual transformation that instead led him to embrace Judaism.

Speaking in an interview with Channel 14, Braslavski said his captors relentlessly urged him to abandon his faith.

“All day they talked to you about Muhammad, the Quran, ‘Come join us. You’re wrong and we’re right,'” Braslavski recounted. “They tried to convince me to convert to Islam many times.”

Braslavski said the pressure was not limited to him, claiming that many Jewish hostages ultimately agreed to convert as a survival tactic.

“At least 60% of the Jewish hostages converted to Islam in captivity. They said it was just a game. And I admit that I also considered it. But I told myself, ‘G-d in heaven is looking at you and knows everything. I will not play this game.’ I decided not only would I not convert to Islam, but I would touch on their sensitive issues.”

Rather than distancing himself from Judaism during captivity, Braslavski said the ordeal inspired him to become more committed to his faith.

“Before October 7, I wasn’t a person of faith. I didn’t keep Shabbat. I grew up in Neve Yaakov, which is a very haredi neighborhood, but I went against the current. My family is still like that to this day. On October 7, I fully returned to religion.”

Braslavski also recounted an unexpected conversation with a senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad sheikh, whom he approached for guidance because he could no longer remember the traditional Jewish prayers.

“I told him, ‘Listen, I want to pray to G-d, but I don’t remember the prayers-they’re long and in the siddur.’ He told me, ‘Take what you remember and create your own prayer.’ Since then, I repeated, ‘Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me,’ several times a day. I also said another few lines that were etched in my memory from the prayer book. That’s how I built my own prayer, and I prayed three times a day.”

According to Braslavski, the issue of conversion resurfaced later in his captivity, when the same sheikh encouraged him to adopt Muslim prayer practices.

When the subject of conversion came up again, Braslavski said the sheikh told him, “Pray five times a day, like us.”

Braslavski said he politely refused, determined to remain faithful to Jewish practice despite the circumstances.

“I said, ‘No, we pray three times a day,'” he recounted. “Today, there hasn’t been a single Shabbat that I haven’t observed. I observe every Shabbat, and I will continue to keep [Shabbat] for the rest of my life.”

{Matzav.com}