Kanievsky was born in 1928 in Pinsk, Belarus. His father was the prominent Torah sage Rabbi Ya’akov Yisrael Kanievsky, known as the Steipler rabbi. His mother, Pesha Miriam, was the sister of the Hazon Ish, the revered Rabbi Abraham Yishayahu Karelitz. He married Batsheva Esther, daughter of esteemed Rabbi Yosef Shalom Eliashiv, in 1951.
Some 1,000,000 mourners are expected to show their respects today at the funeral of Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky. Ahead of the funeral on Sunday at 11 a.m major traffic arteries in central Israel will be closed to regular traffic starting at 6 a.m as follows:
Route 4 in both directions between Mishmar Hashiv’ah and Morasha exits (traffic will be redirected to Route 1) and from Ganot in the north (traffic will be redirected to Routes 1 and 44).
Route 5 east from Morasha
Bnei Brak will be closed to regular traffic, including Hazon Ish Street and all roads leading to it; Jabotinsky Street from Ben-Gurion intersection to Rabin Road, as well as roads leading to Jabotinsky; Aluf Sade interchange through Hashalom Road; Em Hamoshavot Road to the Ayalon Mall in both directions
Route 471 bound for Route 4
Route 1 from Ganot Junction to Route 4 (traffic will be redirected to Route 1 west)
Route 44 will be blocked from Hashiva interchange through Route 4 northbound (traffic will be redirected to Route 1 east or west).
The entrance ramp from Route 461 to Route 4 northbound will be blocked; access roads from Kiryat Ono and Givat Shmuel to Route 471 will be blocked; Sha’ariya junction toward Route 471 will be blocked.
Traffic is expected to only return to normal around 8 p.m.
