Avraham Yoffen (or Jofen; 1887 - April 19, 1970), also known as "Avraham Pinsker" was a

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 ...

, son-in-law to Yosef Yozel Horowitz, the ''Alter of Novardok'' and director of Novardok Yeshiva. He fled to the U.S. at the outbreak of World War II and opened a

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 st ...

in Borough Park. In 1962 he moved to and founded a

kollel A kollel ( he, כולל, , , a "gathering" or "collection" f scholars is an institute for full-time, advanced study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features shiurim (lectures) and learning ''sedarim'' (sessions); ...

in Jerusalem.

Bais Yosef yeshiva

Yoffen supervised a network of satellite yeshivas in pre-World War II Poland and Ukraine, all named Yeshiva Bais Yosef. He used this name for the yeshiva he founded in Borough Park. In Europe, for a while, Yoffen had the assistance of Rabbi

Gershon Liebman Gershon Liebman (1905 – 8 March 1997) was a leader of the Novardok Yeshiva movement after World War II, and ''rosh yeshiva'' of Novardok in France, where he created 40 Torah institutions. He devoted his life to rebuilding the Novardok style of ...

Biography

Yoffen was arrested by the Russian government in 1921, along with some of his students. Two years later he went back to Poland. He was buried on

Har HaMenuchot Har HaMenuchot ( he, הר המנוחות, Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi pronunciation, Har HaMenuchos, lit. "Mount of Those who are Resting", also known as Givat Shaul Cemetery) is the largest cemetery in Jerusalem. The hilltop burial ground lies at ...

among numerous famous rabbis.

Notable students

Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky ( he, יעקב ישראל קַנִיֶּבְסְקִי), known as The Steipler or The Steipler Gaon (1899– 10 August 1985), was an ultra-Orthodox rabbi, Talmudic scholar, and ''posek'' ("decisor" of Jewish law), ...

, the Steipler *

Zvi Aryeh Rosenfeld Zvi Aryeh Benzion Rosenfeld (1922 – 11 December 1978) was an American rabbi and educator credited with introducing Breslov Hasidism to the United States. Teaching children, teens, and adults in New York City for nearly three decades, he inspired ...

, Breslov mashpia (spiritual mentor) in America, who was a chavrusa of the son of the rosh yeshiva, Rav Yaakov Yoffen, and was one of only five students to receive '' Semichah'' directly from Rav Yoffen after completing Shas twice at age 23.

References

Burials at Har HaMenuchot People from Pinsk District Rosh yeshivas 1970 deaths 1887 births 20th-century Russian rabbis 20th-century American rabbis {{rabbi-stub