Avraham Eliezer Alperstein ( 1853 – January 28, 1917) was an

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

Rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

Rosh yeshiva Rosh yeshiva ( he, ראש ישיבה, pl. he, ראשי ישיבה, '; Anglicized pl. ''rosh yeshivas'') is the title given to the dean of a yeshiva, a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primar ...

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

, communal leader and exceptional Talmudic scholar. He published the first ever section of

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...

in the United States. Studying under the Ridbaz and the

Beis HaLevi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik (born 1820 in Nesvizh, Minsk Governorate, Russian Empire; died May 1, 1892 in Brest-Litovsk, Grodno Governorate, Russian Empire) was the author of Beis Halevi, by which name he is better known among Talmudic scholars. He ...

in his youth and then in

Vilna Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional u ...

and

Kovno Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...

, Rabbi Alperstein obtained an extraordinary knowledge of both the

Talmud Bavli The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...

and the

Talmud Yerushalmi The Jerusalem Talmud ( he, תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשַׁלְמִי, translit=Talmud Yerushalmi, often for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century ...

. He received

Semicha Semikhah ( he, סמיכה) is the traditional Jewish name for rabbinic ordination. The original ''semikhah'' was the formal "transmission of authority" from Moses through the generations. This form of ''semikhah'' ceased between 360 and 425 C ...

from Rabbi Mordechai Meltzer (Rabbi of

Lida Lida ( be, Лі́да ; russian: Ли́да ; lt, Lyda; lv, Ļida; pl, Lida ; yi, לידע, Lyde) is a city 168 km (104 mi) west of Minsk in western Belarus in Grodno Region. Etymology The name ''Lida'' arises from its Lithuani ...

), and Rabbi Aryeh Leib Shachnovitz (Rabbi of Bielsk). Upon gaining semicha, Rabbi Alperstein briefly served as rabbi of the

Kamenitz Kamyanyets (also spelled as Kamianiec, Kamenets, Kamieniec; be, Ка́менец , russian: Ка́менец, uk, Кам'янець, Kamianets', pl, Kamieniec, yi, קאמעניץ ''Kamenits'' (or ''Kaminetz''), lt, Kamianecas; he, קמניץ ...

shul A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

in Vilna before becoming rabbi of nearby

Novhorod-Siverskyi Novhorod-Siverskyi ( uk, Новгород-Сіверський ) is a historic city in Chernihiv Oblast (province) of Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Novhorod-Siverskyi Raion, although until 18 July 2020 it was incorporated as a city ...

. A few years later he accepted a position as rabbi of the Zevach Tzedek shul in the vibrant Jewish community of Slabodka. Rabbi Alperstein immigrated to the United States in 1881, becoming rabbi of Khal Adath Jeshurun in New York. In 1884, he went to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

to take another rabbinic pulpit, serving there for 15 years as rabbi of various shuls including Congregation Oheb Shalom Bnai Marienpol, Anshei Kovno, and the Suvalker shul. While in the city, he published his commentary to Tractate Bikkurim of the Jerusalem Talmud. The work boasted two notable approbations, one from the

of Brisk and the other from Rabbi

Jacob Joseph Jacob Joseph ( he, יעקב יוסף 1840 –July 28, 1902) served as chief rabbi of New York City's Association of American Orthodox Hebrew Congregations, a federation of Eastern European Jewish synagogues. Born in Krozhe, a province of Kovn ...

of New York. Moving in 1899 to

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

, Rabbi Alperstein returned to New York in 1901 to become rabbi of the Yagustava shul on Rutgers Street.

RIETS

Upon his return to New York, Rabbi Alperstein was delighted to learn that his colleagues Rabbis Moshe Matlin and Yehuda David Bernstein had opened a Lithuanian-style

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are s ...

named in honour of the distinguished Rabbi

Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor or Isaac Elhanan Spector ( he, יצחק אלחנן ספקטור; 1817 - March 6, 1896) was a Russian rabbi, ''posek'' and Talmudist of the 19th century. Early life Spektor was born in Ros', Belarus (Yiddish: Rosh), t ...

of Kovno. Desiring to assist the yeshiva, Rabbi Alperstein's abilities as a dynamic public speaker in

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

proved useful as he campaigned throughout the

Shteibl A shtiebel ( ''shtibl'', pl. ''shtiblekh'' or shtiebels, meaning "little house" or "little room" cognate with German Stübel) is a place used for communal Jewish prayer. In contrast to a formal synagogue, a shtiebel is far smaller and approached ...

ach of the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

for funds for

RIETS Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS ) is the rabbinical seminary of Yeshiva University (YU). It is located along Amsterdam Avenue in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Named after Yitzchak Elchanan S ...

. In 1903, when RIETS felt it had outgrown its premises at the Kalvarier shul, Rabbi Alperstein arranged for the yeshiva to transfer to his own Yagustava shul. By 1905, the year he became rabbi at Congregation Mishkon Yisroel, approximately 100 students were engaged in Torah study in RIETS, under the tutelage of several rabbis including Rabbi Alperstein. Rabbi Alperstein was highly active in the areas of

Kashrut (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...

and Jewish education. He was one of the founders of the

Agudath Harabbonim The Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada (UOR), often called by its Hebrew name, Agudath Harabonim or Agudas Harrabonim ("union of rabbis"), was established in 1901 in the United States and is the oldest organization of Orthod ...

, serving as its vice-president and directing the New York branch. He died on January 28, 1917, and was buried in Mount Judah Cemetery, New York. His wife founded the 'Beth Abraham Home for the Incurably Sick' in the Bronx in his memory, which today is the

Beth Abraham Hospital Beth Abraham Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing is a medical facility in Bronx, New York, which was founded as the Beth Abraham Home for Incurables. It was originally a long-term residential care facility, but was later expanded to include ...

, part of the

Montefiore Medical Center Montefiore Medical Center is a premier academic medical center and the primary teaching hospital of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York City. Its main campus, the Henry and Lucy Moses Division, is located in the Norwoo ...

Writings

''Sefer HaRaal uPri Genusar''
(Chicago, 1888) - a triple commentary on Maseches Bikkurim of the Talmud Yerushalmi, the first ever section of

published in America *unpublished

responsa ''Responsa'' (plural of Latin , 'answer') comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them. In the modern era, the term is used to describe decisions and rulings made by scholars i ...

, as well as writings on

Tractate Berachot Berakhot ( he, בְּרָכוֹת, Brakhot, lit. "Blessings") is the first tractate of ''Seder Zeraim'' ("Order of Seeds") of the Mishnah and of the Talmud. The tractate discusses the rules of prayers, particularly the Shema and the Amidah, and ...

of the Jerusalem Talmud and Tractate

Niddah Niddah (or nidah; he, נִדָּה), in traditional Judaism, describes a woman who has experienced a uterine discharge of blood (most commonly during menstruation), or a woman who has menstruated and not yet completed the associated requirem ...

of the Babylonian Talmud *several Torah articles in the

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

rabbinic journal ''Ha-Measef''

References

RIETS Rosh Yeshiva Gallery biography''Toldot Anshei Shem'' biography (Hebrew)
*

Goldman, Yosef Yosef Goldman (1942 – August 4, 2015) was a scholar of American Jewish history and the co-author of the two-volume reference work, '' Hebrew Printing in America 1735-1926: A History and Annotated Bibliography'' (2006). This work is usually cited b ...

. ''

Hebrew Printing in America, 1735-1926, A History and Annotated Bibliography ''Hebrew Printing in America, 1735-1926, A History and Annotated Bibliography'' () is a history and bibliography of Hebrew books printed in America between 1735 and 1926 by Ari Kinsberg. It records 1208 items, annotated with bibliographical inform ...

'' (YGBooks 2006). .
Sherman, Moshe D. ''Orthodox Judaism in America: A Biographical Dictionary and Sourcebook''
(Greenwood Press 2006). . {{DEFAULTSORT:Alperstein, Abraham 1850s births 1917 deaths Year of birth uncertain American Haredi rabbis Yeshiva University rosh yeshivas People from Kobryn