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92_SR0211
LRB9210713RHrhA
1 SENATE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate wish to
3 express their sincere condolences to the family and friends
4 of Rebbetzin Ella Soloveichik, who passed away on July 25,
5 2001; and
6 WHEREAS, Rebbetzin Ella Soloveichik was a teacher,
7 writer, poet, mother of six children, and wife and partner
8 for more than 50 years to Rabbi Aaron Soloveichik, the
9 founder and head of Chicago's Yeshivas Brisk, eminent Talmud
10 scholar, and one of the world's leading authorities on Jewish
11 law; and
12 WHEREAS, Rebbetzin Soloveichik was born Ella Shurin in
13 Ritiva, a small Lithuanian town that was known for its
14 lively intellectual life; her family claimed 36 generations
15 of rabbis; Mrs. Soloveichik decided to become a teacher when
16 she was a child, believing that a teacher, more than anyone
17 else, could make the Torah come alive; and
18 WHEREAS, The Shurin family moved to what was then
19 Palestine to escape the Nazis; in 1938, the family moved to
20 the United States, where Mrs. Soloveichik continued her
21 education; she studied mathematics and classical languages at
22 Brooklyn College in New York and considered becoming a
23 mathematician until she remembered her mother's admonition
24 that "the Torah is the best wealth"; and
25 WHEREAS, Rebbetzin Soloveichik took post-graduate studies
26 in Semitics at Columbia University and also holds a degree in
27 Hebrew Teachers Seminary in Israel; she was a prolific writer
28 of poetry and essays, in both English and Hebrew, many of
29 which have been published in Hebrew periodicals; and
30 WHEREAS, In Chicago, Rebbetzin Soloveichik taught for
31 three decades at Hanna Sacks Bais Yaakov High School; she
-2- LRB9210713RHrhA
1 mentored and ministered to many of her husband's students;
2 and
3 WHEREAS, Three weeks before her death, Rebbetzin
4 Soloveichik was honored by Yeshivas Brisk, a West Rogers Park
5 Orthodox rabbinical seminary; at the ceremony, her husband
6 credited all his successes to her inspiration and dedication;
7 and
8 WHEREAS, The passing of Rebbetzin Ella Soloveichik will
9 be deeply felt by all who knew and loved her, especially her
10 children, Moshe, Chaim, Eliyhu, Yosef, Tova Seigal, and
11 Rochel Leeah Marcus; her 40 grandchildren; and her 3
12 great-grandchildren; therefore, be it
13 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SECOND GENERAL
14 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with
15 all who knew her, the death of Rebbetzin Ella Soloveichik of
16 Chicago, Illinois; and be it further
17 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
18 presented to the family of Rebbetzin Ella Soloveichik with
19 our sincere condolences.