Rav Dovid Ortinberg was the son of Rav Yisrael Tzvi, a descendant of Rav Zev Wolf of Zhitomir, the Ohr HaMeir, and of the inner group of Chassidim of the Saraf of Strelisk. After the petira of the Strelisker Rebbe, Rav Yisrael Tzvi traveled to the court of the Ruzhiner Rebbe. His son, Rav Dudia, as he was called, was a devoted Chassid of the Ruzhiner and later of his children.
Shortly after his marriage, he was asked by the kehilla of Berditchev to serve as Dayan in their city. This was a prestigious position: the city was home to many Talmidei Chachomim, and it was just forty years since the petira of the Kedushas Levi of Berditchev, whose influence was still strongly felt. (After the petira of the Kedushas Levi, no one was ever named Rav of Berditchev. He could be called Dayan, but not Rav of the city; no one could replace the Kedushas Levi.)
Even as Rav, Rav Dudia continued to travel to the Ruzhiner Rebbe and, after his petira, to his son Rav Avrohom Yaakov, the Sadigura Rebbe and, later, to the Boyaner Rebbe. He was noted for his utter bittul to his Rebbes, despite his being a Rav, or, as some Chassidim said, because he was a Rav and Talmid Chochom.
Rav Dudia wrote several well-known Halocha seforim: Tehilla L’Dovid on Hilchos Shabbos and Shoham V’Yoshpeh on the Rambam. Niftar on the twenty-fourth of Av 5670/1910, he was buried in Berditchev. Zecher tzaddik livrachah.
