בד"ה גאב"ד אודווארי זצ"ל זקן הרבנים

Reb Shalom Krausz, known as Udvari Rav passed away this past Motzei Shabbos at the age of 93. Photo: Dee Voch

Williamsburg, NY - A chapter in history has come to a close with the petira of HaGaon Reb Shalom Krausz, Av Beis Din of Udvari, perhaps the last of today’s rabbonim who held a rabbanus before the war.  R’ Krausz, the Udvari Rov, was niftar this past motzei Shabbos in Williamsburg at the age of 93 ½.  R’ Krausz the author of ten seforim, was widely respected and served in the rabbanus for 74 years.

Over 3,000 people attended the 11 PM levaya Saturday night at the Udvari Beis Medrash on Rutledge Street in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, NY, where R’ Krausz was eulogized for three hours by the Satmar Rebbe, the Pupa Rebbe, the Munkatcher Rebbe, the Karlesburger Rebbe, his sons in law, R’ Meir Yoseph Rosenbaum, the Scruvniczer Rebbe and R’ Nuchem Meir Gurman a Rosh Yeshiva in Bobov, his shamash R’ Chaim Miller and his son and successor, R’ Shmuel Dovid Krausz.  Numerous cars and busses traveled to Dean, New Jersey, at 2 AM where R’ Krausz was buried in the same ohel as his brother, R’ Anshel Krausz, the Ratzserter Rov.  Not only were all ten of the seforim that R’ Krausz authored buried with him in accordance with his wishes, but the table he had written them on was broken up and placed in his kever as well.

R’ Krausz was born in Ratzsert, Hungary on the 27th day of Iyar, 1917 and had the zchus to have the previous Belzer Rebbe as sandek at his bris.  R’ Krausz traveled in his youth to Udvari where his father became the Rov and was only 20 years old when his father was niftar at the age of 44 after contracting pneumonia while toiveling himself in a very cold mikvah.  While R’ Krausz was still an unmarried bochur, the Sanzer Rov son R’ Shalom Eliezer Halberstam of Ratzfert zt’l insisted that he be named successor to his father.  He became a chosson soon after, marrying the daughter of the Eidlin Rov and granddaughter of R’ Yeshayele Kastirer, naming the Beis Medrash in Udvari for Reb Yeshayele.

In 1944 R’ Krausz was taken with a group of people including the Satmar Rebbe Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum to Bergen Belsen where his older daughter was born.  After surviving Bergen Belsen, R’ Krausz went first to Switzerland then to America.  Every year, the Satmar Rebbe and R’ Krausz celebrated their salvation from the Nazis together on the 21st day of Kislev.

After coming to New York, R’ Krausz purchased the Udvari Beis Medrash on Rutledge Street, where it stands now, some 60 years later.  R’ Krausz had a yeshiva as well, for approximately ten years where he gave semicha and spent thousands of hours teaching many young rabbonim how to become dayanim and how to pasken.  R’ Krausz was appointed head of the Hisachdus Harabonim by the Satmar Rebbe, who at the same time gave him the bracha of arichus yomim.

R’ Krausz was close with R’ Moshe Feinstein, the Satmar Rebbe, R’Aron Kotler and the Skulener Rebbe.  He was widely respected and considered by many to be one of the biggest poskim in the United States.  Countless din torahs were held in his beis din and his responsa were complied into a seven volume set entitled “Divrei Shalom”.  R’ Krausz was also instrumental in the completion of the Williamsburg Eruv, a project that had been started by his brother, the R’ Anshel Krausz, with the brocha of the Satmar Rebbe but remained unfinished after R’ Anshel Krausz’ petira.

R’ Krausz had three children, but was zoche to see many grandchildren, great grandchildren and great grandchildren.  Many of his grandchildren are respected rabbonim in their own right and R’ Krausz was a mechutan to the Vishnitzer and Skverer Rebbes fifteen times.

While R’ Krausz was weakened by heart problems for the past two years, his mind was sharp and clear.

“He had a special zikaron, he never forgot anything,” recalled his nephew, R’ Israel Krausz in an exclusive interview with VIN News. “He was very beloved.  Everyone came to him and he was always very friendly.  He was going to simchos, saying drashas and very famous to all.  He was a special ba’al tefillah and ba’al darshan and authored many chiddushim.”

R’ Krausz told his son that he was afraid of motzei Shabbos as both his wife and son in law had been niftar after Shabbos.  While R’ Krausz had been on a respirator for the past two weeks, this past week the Krausz family celebrated the weddings of two of R’ Krausz’ great grandchildren and it seemed to his nephew as if he wanted to live to see these final two simchos.

“He waited for the simchos,” said R’ Israel Krausz.  “He waited for his ir einiklach to get married.”

Video Photo-Credit Dee Voch.