Rebbetzin Batsheva Kanievsky
Each week hundreds of Jewish women lined the narrow staircase leading to Rebbetzin Batsheva Kanievsky’s tiny apartment in Bnei Brak. The women came from across Israel and the world, from every type of affiliation and every walk of life, to receive the rebbetzin’s heartfelt blessing, sage advice, passionate encouragement and meaningful aid.
I truly love all the people who come here. That’s probably the reason they like to come see me.
Beloved wife of Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, daughter of Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, and granddaughter of Rabbi Aryeh Levin, "the Tzaddik of Jerusalem,” Rebbetzin Kanievsky was a mother to all of her neighbors and treated every person she met like a member of her own family. She babysat, cooked, cared for the sick and the troubled, and worked to bring peace between husbands and wives, parents and children, friend and friend. She raised and distributed millions of dollars, discreetly and without fanfare, to help widows and orphans in need.
If you always look for ways to help your neighbors, you will become good friends to each other.
Erev Shabbos candle lighting was an especially meaningful time for Rebbetzin Kanievsky. She prayed tearfully and passionately not only for her own family, but for hundreds of people in need of G-d’s help. Though she had long lists of names, she never needed to consult them.
The names are etched in my heart. I feel their pain, so I remember their names and problems.
When Rebbetzin Kanievsky passed away suddenly in 2011, it was as if the sun had set and the world grew dark. Now Jewish women around the world are uniting to bring the rebbetzin’s holy light back into the world. Through tzedakah, candle lighting, and selfless prayer—through Ner Echad, one light —we can ensure that the rebbetzin’s legacy lives on.