Rav Chlomo Tsvi Davidovici and His Wife Edith z"l

Rav Chlomo Tsvi Davidovici lost his first wife as well as his three children during the Shoah. He himself survived the war, captivity and deportation to Auschwitz. Yet, he never complained and refused to let his pain show.

After the war, he came to Paris, seeking above all to rebuild an authentic Jewish life based on Torah and faith.

It was in this context that he met Edith Stern, a fellow Auschwitz survivor, through the intervention of Rav Stern, her father, a respected leader in the Parisian community.

Edith Davidovici embodied throughout her life the strength and nobility of the survivors. Even under the inhumane conditions of Auschwitz, she strived to help her fellow sufferers, sharing her meager rations and doing everything possible to preserve Jewish traditions.

After the war, she also had to face the loss of her first husband. Despite these deep wounds, she chose to rebuild, to love and to pass on her values.

The Davidovici couple was known for their humility, generosity and devotion. Their home was open to all. They welcomed everyone with warmth and worked constantly to strengthen unity, peace and mutual responsibility within the community.

The needs of others always came before their own.

For many years, Rav Chlomo Tsvi taught Torah, Halakha and Gemara. Some of his teachings were later gathered in the book “Likouté Chlomo”, dedicated to the memory of the family he lost during the Shoah.

Today, their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren continue their legacy of faith, resilience, tradition and love for the Jewish people.

It was his faith and trust in G-d that enabled him to rebuild his life after the war: his first desire was to find a Minyan in order to pray within a community.

Upon arriving in Paris, like so many other survivors of the Shoah, his first step was to obtain a visa to join his brothers and sisters in the United States. But upon taking a class in a Parisian synagogue with other survivors, he was introduced to Rav Stern, the Rav of the famous Rachi-Choule synagogue, who arranged for him a Chidou'h, a match, with his own daughter Edith, herself an Auschwitz survivor.

(Our readers will undoubtedly remember her extraordinary testimony published many years ago: with courage and strength, she spoke about her experiences in Auschwitz, how she helped her fellow prisoners by sharing her food rations, sometimes even exchanging her portion of bread for candles to light on Friday evening! Young Edith Stern had secretly given birth in Auschwitz to a baby who did not survive. After the war, she discovered that her husband had also not survived. May their memories be blessed!)