Sunday, 19th of Adar, 5786 (March 8th, 2026) – translation mostly by Gemini AI
A Quarter-Century Since the Passing of the “Ish Eshkolot”: The Righteous Gaon, Rabbi Yitzchak Shlomo Zilberman, zt”l
The Mishnah in Sotah (9:9) states: “Since Yose ben Yoezer of Zeredah and Yose ben Yochanan of Jerusalem died, the ‘Eshkolot’ (clusters) ceased.” Two primary explanations are offered for this term by the commentators: Maimonides (the Rambam) explains that an Ish Eshkolot (a man of clusters) is a title for a “comprehensive man who encompasses noble character traits and all various fields of wisdom.” Rabbi Ovadia of Bartenura explains it as “a man in whom everything is found—meaning his Torah is absolute truth, without blemish, forgetfulness, or dispute.”
Rabbi Yitzchak Shlomo Zilberman embodied both definitions. He possessed all the noble virtues, and his Torah was a Torah of truth, unblemished, because he clarified and refined the foundations of faith with a depth that was peerless. He studied a Mishnah in Pirkei Avot with the same intensity that others study a difficult Tosafot in Bava Batra. He was never satisfied with vague generalities about loving or fearing God; rather, throughout his life, he meticulously analyzed exactly what constitutes “desired love,” what defines “awe,” and what the specific paths of divine service are (and, just as importantly, what they are not). He sought to climb the Path of the Just (Mesillat Yesharim) in a measured, calculated, serious, and effective manner.
A Legacy of Many Facets
One could write entire books about Rabbi Zilberman’s approach to every aspect of serving G-d:
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Education: He revolutionized the schooling of young children by re-establishing the primacy of Tanakh (Bible) study and Mishnah memorization.
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Halakha: He ruled on Jewish law based on ancient primary sources, following the path of the Vilna Gaon (the Gra).
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Talmud: He studied Gemara with the goal of reaching practical legal conclusions (Asukei Shme’ata Aliba D’Hilkhata).
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Esoteric Wisdom: He delved into the secrets of the Torah through the lens of the Ramchal and the Vilna Gaon.
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Ideology: He possessed a deep love for the Land of Israel and a unique understanding of our current era, showing a willingness to speak necessary truths even when the prevailing Haredi atmosphere was entirely different.
However, in these times—as the Jewish people face critical decisions regarding our path and identity—it is appropriate to focus on Rabbi Zilberman’s impact on the Teshuva movement (the return to faith). He saw this movement as the key to bringing our redemption with strength and glory, avoiding the unnecessary “birth pangs of the Messiah.”
The Lighthouse in the Old City
Rabbi Zilberman was not a “outreach professional” in the public eye. He didn’t run massive institutions like Rabbi Elbaz, give fiery stadium speeches like Rabbi Amnon Yitzchak, or head an organization like Arachim. The internet and social media of today did not exist then. He simply sat in his home—first in Sha’arei Hesed and later on Barkai Street in the Old City—and built a lighthouse of faith. From that center, sparks of light flew out to illuminate the entire land.
In the Torah portion we read this past Shabbat (Exodus 33:7), it says: “And Moses took the tent and pitched it outside the camp… and called it the Tent of Meeting. And it came to pass, that every one who sought the Lord went out unto the tent of meeting.” In Rabbi Zilberman’s day, those “seeking the Lord” knew there was one Jew who was ready at any given moment to close his Gemara, his Rambam, or his books of Kabbalah—subjects he mastered with breathtaking expertise—to devote himself to a fellow Jew he had never met, simply because that person wanted to know G-d. It didn’t matter if the person was currently completely secular or a distinguished scholar. For this purpose, he felt he came into the world.
The “Minimum” Path: The Story of Uri Zohar
What was unique about Rabbi Zilberman’s approach to Teshuva was that he viewed it as a phenomenon related to the national rebirth of Israel, not just a solution for individual problems. He focused on the internal essence of what God truly demands of us, rather than just how to “fit in” to Haredi society.
Perhaps the most famous Baal Teshuva of our generation, Rabbi Uri Zohar, began his journey toward Torah through a chance meeting with Rabbi Zilberman. Uri Zohar once shared his internal struggles from that time. He had reached the conclusion that the Torah was true, but the difficulty of changing his entire life was overwhelming.
He called Rabbi Zilberman and said: “Fine, I surrender. I accept the yoke of Torah and Mitzvot. But tell me, Rabbi—I don’t need to sit in the front row of Heaven. The back row is enough. Is there a ‘minimum’ one can keep and still get in?”
Rabbi Zilberman didn’t rush to answer. “I need to check,” he said.
Zohar was confused: “What do you mean ‘check’?”
The Rabbi replied: “You are asking an important question; it requires clarification.”
That was his way—he would examine every question from its foundational principles, never offering a knee-jerk reaction. Two hours later, Zohar called again. “Is there a minimum?”
“I am still checking,” the Rabbi replied.
Uri Zohar, the iconic Israeli film star, was nearly losing his mind. His whole life was hanging in the balance, and the Rabbi was “checking.” The Rabbi asked for another day. Finally, the answer came: “Indeed, there is a minimum!”
Rabbi Zilberman detailed exactly what that minimum looked like for him at that stage—including, for example, how he might ride a bicycle with his wife on Shabbat to visit her parents in a distant moshav. Decades later, when Uri Zohar had become a great scholar whose “fear of G-d preceded his wisdom,” he applied the verse to Rabbi Zilberman: “Ashrei Maskil el Dal” (“Happy is he who considers the poor”). He praised the Rabbi for knowing how to “consider” the “poor” Jew who only wanted a minimum foothold in the World to Come.
A Message for Today
This story is more than a touching anecdote about Uri Zohar; it is a message for us all. We must strive for the highest peaks in serving G-d, but we must also know how to set a “minimum threshold” for those at the beginning of their journey. We must be lenient where possible for those unaccustomed to observance, while remaining uncompromising on the essential requirements that define our identity as the People of G-d.
The recent unification of the “Faith-based” (Emuni) public—and the understanding that only a unified force of faith can defeat the trends toward a “state of all its citizens” and the blurring of Jewish identity—requires us to establish that same “minimum threshold” for the masses. We must teach the foundations of law and faith, similar to the covenant Ezra and Nehemiah made with those returning from the Babylonian exile.
If we merit, like Rabbi Zilberman, to fulfill “Happy is he who considers the poor,” it will serve as the foundation for a true “Declaration of Independence”—a scroll of Jewish identity that will transform Israel from a Western, Hebrew-speaking state into the Kingdom of Torah we have dreamed of for two thousand years.
The author is Rabbi Yehuda Epstein — Chairman of the Kedushat Zion Association.
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