It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the petirah of Rabbi Gershon (George) Morgenstern z”l, a man whose life embodied determination, brilliance, and unwavering devotion to Torah and avodas Hashem. He was 92.
Born and raised in New York in an era and environment where authentic Torah life was far from the norm, young Gershon stood out for his quiet resolve and inner fire. While most of his peers drifted far from Yiddishkeit, he charted a different path, one of conviction, courage, and fierce loyalty to Torah.
His journey began at Rabbi Yitzchok Shmidman’s Yeshiva Toras Chaim in East New York, where the foundations of his lifelong identity were formed. From there, his love for learning and his refined intellect led him to Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin, where he learned under the guidance of illustrious rabbeim. There, he forged a deep and enduring kesher with its legendary rosh yeshiva, Rav Yitzchok Hutner zt”l, whose teachings and worldview became the hashkafic backbone of his life. Until his final days, Rabbi Morgenstern was proud to call himself a Chaim Berliner, carrying its ideals with dignity and clarity.
Despite his humble beginnings, he became the living definition of a self-made man. Everything he achieved—spiritually, professionally, and personally—was earned through perseverance, grit, and a refusal to compromise on the values he cherished. He built himself into a ben Torah, and later built a family rooted in those same ideals, determined that his children and grandchildren live lives rich with Torah and mesorah.
As a young married man, after marrying his devoted wife Faigy, he assumed rabbinic positions in both Lynn and Lowell, Massachusetts, where his warmth, intellect, and genuine care for every Jew left a lasting imprint. Congregants who met him during those formative years never forgot the way he listened, guided, taught, and uplifted, leading with both head and heart, helping countless individuals draw closer to Hakadosh Baruch Hu.
In time, Rabbi Morgenstern moved from the rabbinate into the world of business, where his extraordinary brilliance came to the fore. Long before the computer revolution reshaped the world, he stood at its front lines as a pioneer and visionary. He founded multiple companies, including Data Systems & Software Inc. (DSSI) and Tower Semiconductor Ltd., breaking ground in areas no one else had yet imagined. His forward-thinking innovations were decades ahead of their time, and his creativity and acuity were unmatched. One of his company’s major achievements was its development of advanced sonar systems purchased by the Israeli government, a testament to the caliber of his technological contributions.
Yet, even at the height of professional success, parnassah was never merely a business objective for him. It was an opportunity for chesed. As chairman of Decision Systems Israel, he recognized the extraordinary potential of yeshiva students and began hiring them en masse, believing that their training in limud haTorah made them uniquely suited to programming. At one point, he employed approximately 200 yeshiva graduates, giving them a dignified means of support.
He would often explain, with a mix of clarity and pride: “In programming you need patience, a willingness to go into detail and the concentration to make sure you dotted your I’s and crossed your T’s and to go over it again and again. It’s the same thing with Gemara [study].”
He would emphasize that it took six months to train a yeshiva student to excel in software, compared to one to two years for a typical high-school graduate. To him, this wasn’t merely a statistic. It was a celebration of Torah, of its rigor, its discipline, and its ability to shape extraordinary human beings.
Eventually, Rabbi and Mrs. Morgenstern settled in the then-young, blossoming community of Monsey, New York, where he immediately became a quiet, steady pillar of support for local mosdos. As a member of the tuition committee at Yeshiva of Spring Valley, he helped countless families ensure that their children could learn Torah without unbearable financial strain. He involved himself in supporting other institutions, always with discretion, respect, and boundless generosity.
His relationships with rabbonim—such as Rav Shmuel Faivelson, rosh yeshiva of Bais Medrash L’Torah, and Rav Zorach Shapiro, with whom he learned b’chavrusah for many years—were deeply meaningful to him. They reflected his appreciation for talmidei chachomim, his love of learning, and his lifelong quest for aliyah.
From his home on Shalvah Place, the very block he personally built during Monsey’s early days, Rabbi Morgenstern poured out chesed. People from every walk of life crossed his threshold seeking advice, support, guidance, employment, resources, or simply a listening ear. And in every instance, he gave with generosity, dignity, and a sense of mission.
He was a wellspring of memories, stories, and insights, recounting his years near gedolim, his experiences in the birth of the tech revolution, his time as a rov, and his personal journey of spiritual resilience. Anyone fortunate enough to hear those stories walked away richer, because every tale carried a message, a value, a surge of inspiration.
Together with his wife Faigy, he was zocheh to raise a distinguished family of bnei and bnos Torah who today make their mark across the world, carrying forward his legacy of integrity, perseverance, and ahavas haTorah.
He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Faigy Morgenstern; by his children, Mrs. Shoshana Schechter, Mrs. Reyce Krause, Mrs. Alisa Rokach, Rav Dov Morgenstern, and Reb Shloime Morgenstern; and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Yehi zichro boruch.
