Living Legacy: Rav Dov Ber Lablovitch, ABD Kiskoros

Yehuda Alter

The 8th of Shevat marks the yohrtzeit of Rav Dov Ber, author of Dibuvei Chein and the Rov of Kiskőrös, Hungary—a ga’on and tzaddik who grew into one of Hungary’s prominent Rabbonim despite the early adversity that he faced in life.

He was born in the city of Unsdorf in the year 1867. His father was Reb Yirmiah, one of the wealthy heads of the community, and his mother was Yentel, the daughter of Reb Menachem Mendel Englander, one of the distinguished Chassidim of the Divrei Chaim of Sanz.

In 1873, when he was a young boy, his mother fell ill with the cholera disease, and tragically passed away. Before leaving this world, she called in her young son and said to him: “I have no doubt that Hashem sent you down to this world to ensure that I will leave behind a child who will merit to learn Torah and grow into a great tzaddik who will battle for the honor of Heaven.” Sadly, a few years later, his father also passed away, and he remained an orphan from both father and mother.

But this did not deter him; he only threw himself into learning and avodas Hashem, learning with tremendous diligence, and he grew into a tremendous ga’on b’Torah.

He was known as a great lamdan, and as a great orator, possessed of sterling midos. He fought the fight of Torah with mesirus nefesh, and was a marbitz Torah for hundreds of talmidim, many of whom grew into ga’onim in their own right.

As a bachur, he went to learn in the town of Zhelim by a number of gedolim of his era and became known for his sharpness and erudition—and was adopted by one of the townspeople for eight years, enabling him to sit and learn undisturbed.

He married Rebbetzin Rivka, the daughter of Rav Meshulam Rubenstein, ABD Kiskőrös, and following his wedding, promptly returned to his learning with great hasmodoh.

Following the passing of his father-in-law, he was a natural choice to succeed him. He served as a rov in the town for thirty-six years, and made a deep impression on the town through his leadership. He established a yeshiva that had great and illustrious talmidim.

Sadly, he did not merit any children—but he did leave behind illustrious talmidim and his sefer Dubivei Chein on Torah and sugyos hashas.

He was niftar in 1936 and was interred in Kiskőrös where he served distinguishably for decades.