Avraham Brandwein

Rabbi Avraham Brandwein (died February 20, 2013), Admor of Stretin, was a great Israeli Kabbalah scholar and was a direct descendant of the famous first Admor of Stretin.

His family tree included many of the great chassidic masters, including the Maggid of Mezritsch, Elimelech of Lizhensk and Levy Yitschak of Berditshev. Born in Israel, Brandwein was the seventh generation in his family to live in Israel. His family originally settled in Tsfat, the city of Kabbalists.

His father, Rav Yehudah Tzvi, was the previous Admor and a great scholar of Kabbalah.

Brandwein served in the Israel Defense Forces in artillery and was among the soldiers that crossed the Suez Canal into Egypt during the Yom Kippur war.

Rav Brandwein was ordained as a Rabbi by G'dolim representing the entire Orthodox community in Israel and also holds an M.A. He integrated Charedi life with active participation in the life of the modern state. Brandwein served as a rabbi in the Absorption and Immigration Department of the Jewish Agency providing spiritual assistance to many new immigrants.

Since 1985, he taught Torah and Chassidut throughout Israel. A widely respected scholar, he edited more than twenty volumes of classical Kabbalistic texts. A soft spoken, gentle man of great inner strength, hundreds of people turned to him every year for spiritual guidance and support.

Brandwein established a yeshiva in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem where he taught Kabbalah. He was known for the depth and clarity of his teachings and strived to bring Jews back to Torah.

Brandwein died on February 20, 2013, aged 67, in the Hadassah Medical Center in Ein Kerem in Jerusalem, after several months' illness. He was buried in the Mount of Olives Jewish Cemetery, next to his wife, Tzipora, who had died four years previously.