Early Life
He was born in Valozhyn, Russian Empire (now Belarus) in 1916 to Moshe Dovid and Chaya Lefkowitz. This was the second marriage for both his parents. His father was almost 80 years old when he was born. The family lived in great poverty. Moshe Dovid had children from a previous marriage who lived in America; they would send their father three rubles (the equivalent of one dollar) each month. Lefkowitz would use two of the rubles to pay for a melamed for Michel Yehuda, and the other ruble to support the family. Chaya Lefkowitz's son and daughter from a previous marriage lived in Palestine.
At age 12 Michel Yehuda began learning in a yeshiva ketana (the equivalent of high school) in the town of Rakov, boarding with his uncle. He marked his bar mitzvah there in 1929 without his parents. A few years later, he journeyed to Vilna in order to be treated by an eye specialist, and joined the yeshiva in Rameilles under Rabbi Shlomo Heiman. While there, in 1932, his father died.
In 1936 Rabbi Lefkowitz and his mother immigrated to British Mandate Palestine using certificates obtained by her son Aryeh Leib. At the same time, Rabbi Heiman immigrated to America, where he became rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Torah Vodaath. Rabbi Heiman and Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski gave Rabbi Lefkowitz letters of recommendation to show the roshei yeshiva of the Hebron Yeshiva, in which they wrote, "He will enlighten the Torah world". At the Hebron Yeshiva, which had relocated to Jerusalem after the 1929 Hebron massacre, Rabbi Lefkowitz became very close to Rabbi Leib Chasman. Rabbi Heiman also referred Rabbi Lefkowitz to Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer, rosh yeshiva of Etz Chaim Yeshiva, and he became close to him as well.
Rabbi Lefkowitz also developed a close relationship with the Chazon Ish in Bnei Brak. The Chazon Ish suggested for him a shidduch with Chava Esther Gershonowitz, daughter of Rabbi Avraham Gershonowitz, Rav of Zabinka and rosh yeshiva of Tiferes Tzion of Bnei Brak. At Rabbi Lefkowitz's wedding on Lag B'Omer 1940, the Chazon Ish walked him to his chupah.
Read more about this topic: Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz
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