zvi aryeh rosenfeld was born in 1922 in gdynia, poland, to rabbi yisrael abba rosenfeld and his wife liba leah. his great-grandfather was rabbi aharon goldstein, the rav of the town of breslov; he was also a descendant of rabbi shmuel yitzchok rosenfeld, the rav of tcherin. both ancestors were prominent followers of rebbe nachman. at the age of six months he contracted diphtheria, then a serious childhood illness, and the name benzion was appended to his name as a prayer for his recovery.