Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz (1913 – 27 June 2011)[1] was an Israeli Haredi Torah leader and rosh yeshiva in Bnei Brak for over 70 years.

Moshe Dovid had children from a previous marriage who lived in America; they would send their father three rubles (the equivalent of one dollar) each month.

[1] At age 12 Michel Yehuda began learning in a yeshiva ketana (the equivalent of high school) in the town of Rakov, boarding with his uncle.

He also began giving regular shiurim (Torah lectures) in his father-in-law's yeshiva, Tiferes Tzion, a position he held until his final days more than 70 years later.

[2] Lefkowitz gave a regular daily shiur at the yeshiva ketana until his health declined in summer 2009;[5] he continued to give shiurim and shmuessen (mussar talks) there until his final days.

Branches of the Kollel were opened in Bnei Brak, Jerusalem, Haifa, Ofakim, Kiryat Sefer, Petah Tikva, and other locations.

[1] Lefkowitz was a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Degel HaTorah,[6] a member of Mifal HaShas, and nasi (president) of the Acheinu kiruv organization,[7] and played a leading role in the fight for Torah-true education in yeshivas and Talmud Torahs in Israel, appearing at rallies and signing on many kol korei (proclamations).

Lefkowitz also allowed etrog growers to take cuttings from the tree to grow entire orchards of etrogim certified as kosher (mehudar) by the Chazon Ish.

[3][8] In a 2016 interview, Rebbetzin Leah Elyashiv, the daughter of Lefkowitz, noted that the original tree is still growing in the backyard, surrounded by second-, third-, and fourth-generation offshoots.

[1] An estimated 100,000 people[10] attended his funeral in Bnei Brak on Tuesday morning, 28 June, including Gedolei Yisrael, rabbis, rebbes, roshei yeshiva, and thousands of Lefkowitz's students from throughout the decades.