The Bostoner Rebbe, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Horowitz, passed away at Shaarei Tzedek Hospital in Jerusalem on Saturday. His death followed a heart attack he suffered over the summer from which he never fully recovered. He was 88.

Rabbi Horowitz was born in Boston and led his family's chassidic dynasty since 1944. In 1943, he marched in Washington to ask President Franklin D. Roosevelt to save the Jews of Europe from Hitler.

The first American-born chassidic leader, he began splitting his time between Boston and Israel after establishing a center in Jerusalem's Har Nof neighborhood in 1984. Another center for younger followers was founded in Beitar Illit in 1999.

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The rabbi was known for his outreach to college students in the Boston area. He was the founder of the Rofeh International Organization, which provides referrals to medical specialists around the world, as well as hospitality and kosher meals to patients in the Boston area.

In 2005 he came out strongly against the Gaza evacuation and visited the communities slated for destruction to offer his support. "It is unthinkable," he said, "that a nation that has been through the Holocaust and survived as an ember saved from the fire, will have to suffer an additional burden of edicts that weigh down heavily upon the citizen, or do him actual harm in his own country - edicts that determine where he may not settle."

Asked about the connection between the Gaza Disengagement and the 2006 Second Lebanon War, he said, "We see today the damage brought about by our exit from Gaza. If Gaza were in our hands today, the army would have more possibilities and it could defeat terror more easily.

"Now they are fighting against us from two fronts, north and south. Something absurd and infuriating is happening here. With our own hands we prepared the ground for a situation in which the enemies of Israel would have the upper hand.

"We went and gave Gaza although they did not want it. They said in advance that they would continue to fight Israel even after the retreat. This is complete madness that cannot be understood."

The Rebbe was buried Saturday night in the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. He is survived by his second wife and five children.

(Editor's Note: For an appreciation of the Bostoner Rebbe's inclusiveness and his love for Jews of all backgrounds, please read this op-ed)