Chaim Berlin (1832,

Valozhyn Valozhyn, Vałožyn or Volozhin ( be, Вало́жын, , russian: Воло́жин, lt, Valažinas, pl, Wołożyn, yi, וואָלאָזשין ''Volozhin''; also written as Wolozin and Wolozhin) is a town in the Minsk Region of Belarus. The pop ...

– 1912,

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

) (חיים ברלין) 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-pa ...

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 ...

and

chief rabbi Chief Rabbi ( he, רב ראשי ''Rav Rashi'') is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

from 1865 to 1889. He was the eldest son of the Netziv, Rabbi

Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin (20 November 1816 in Mir, Russia – 10 August 1893 in Warsaw, Poland), also known as Reb Hirsch Leib Berlin, and commonly known by the acronym Netziv, was an Orthodox rabbi, ''Rosh yeshiva'' (dean) of the Volozhin Ye ...

Biography

Chaim Berlin was the son of Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin, the Netziv, and his first wife. Berlin initially learned with his father. His connection to the House of David as a descendant of Rabbi

Meir Katzenellenbogen Meir ben Isaac Katzenellenbogen (c. 1482 – 12 January 1565) (also, Meir of Padua, or Maharam Padua, he, מאיר בן יצחק קצנלנבויגן) was a German rabbi born in Katzenelnbogen. Biography Meïr ben Isaac, who was often called afte ...

, the Maharam of Padua, is detailed in ''The Unbroken Chain''.Rosenstein, Neil. "The Unbroken Chain: Biographical Sketches and Genealogy of Illustrious Jewish Families from the 15th-20th Century," Volumes 1 and 2, Revised Edition, CIS Publishers: New York, 1990. . Berlin lived in

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

, where he was head of a

rabbinical court A beit din ( he, בית דין, Bet Din, house of judgment, , Ashkenazic: ''beis din'', plural: batei din) is a rabbinical court of Judaism. In ancient times, it was the building block of the legal system in the Biblical Land of Israel. Today, it ...

. In 1891, his father appointed him head of the

yeshiva. There was controversy regarding this appointment as many students felt that Rabbi

Chaim Soloveitchik Chaim (Halevi) Soloveitchik (Yiddish: חיים סאָלאָווייטשיק, pl, Chaim Sołowiejczyk), also known as Reb Chaim Brisker (1853 – 30 July 1918), was a rabbi and Talmudic scholar credited as the founder of the popular Brisker appr ...

was more deserving to head the yeshiva.

Family

He was married to his first wife from 5608/1847 until her passing 5642/1882. He subsequently was married from approximately 5644/1884 until the passing of his second wife 5649/1889.

Career

He served as

Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi ( he, רב ראשי ''Rav Rashi'') is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a ...

of: *

from 1865 to 1889 *

Kobryn Kobryn ( be, Кобрын; russian: Кобрин; pl, Kobryń; lt, Kobrynas; uk, Кобринь, Kobryn'; yi, קאָברין) is a city in the Brest Region of Belarus and the center of the Kobryn District. The city is located in the southwest ...

from 1892 to 1897 *

Kropyvnytskyi Kropyvnytskyi ( uk, Кропивницький, Kropyvnytskyi ) is a city in central Ukraine on the Inhul river with a population of . It is an administrative center of the Kirovohrad Oblast. Over its history, Kropyvnytskyi has changed its name ...

(Elizavetgrad) from 1897 until 1906. Berlin left

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

in 1906 and settled in

. He became the assistant

of the

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

community with Rabbi

Shmuel Salant Shmuel Salant ( he, שמואל סלנט; January 2, 1816 – August 16, 1909) served as the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem for almost 70 years. He was a renowned Talmudist and Torah scholar. Early life Shmuel Salant was born in Białystok, ...

. He also assisted Rabbi Salant in the management of the Rabbi Meir Baal Haneis Salant charity founded by Rabbis Zundel and Salant in 1860. After Rabbi Salant died at the end of 1909, Berlin led the Jerusalem Rabbinate and the Rabbi Meir Baal Haneis Salant charity until his death in 1912 (5673). RavPicture 068

Legacy

He died at age 81 on 13 Tishrei 5663 (September 24, 1912) and was buried in the

Mount of Olives Jewish Cemetery The Jewish Cemetery on the Mount of Olives is the oldest and most important Jewish cemetery in Jerusalem. It is approximately five centuries old, having been first leased from the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf in the sixteenth century. ...

East Jerusalem East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the sector of Jerusalem that was held by Jordan during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to the western sector of the city, West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel. Jerusalem was envisaged as a separat ...

Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin or ''Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin'' ( he, יְשִׁיבַת רַבֵּינוּ חַיִּים בֶּרלִין) is an American Haredi Lithuanian-type boys' and men's yeshiva in Brooklyn, New York. Chaim Berlin consis ...

, established in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

in 1904 as ''Yeshiva Tiferes Bachurim'', was renamed for Rabbi Chaim Berlin in 1914, at the suggestion of his brother, Rabbi

Meir Berlin Meir Bar-Ilan (; – ) was an Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox rabbi, author, and Religious Zionism, Religious Zionist activist, who served as leader of the Mizrachi (religious Zionism), Mizrachi movement in the United States and Mandatory Palesti ...

(Bar-Ilan).

Writings

His major extensive writings were not published for nearly a century after his passing.
This changed with three publications: * 2002: ''Sefer Nishmat Hayyim, She'elot u-Teshuvot'' (R. Ya'akov Kosovsky-Shachor ed., Beni-Brak, 412 pp.) * 2003: ''Sefer Nishmat Hayyim, Mamorim u'Mechtavim'' (R. Ya'akov Kosovsky-Shachor ed., Beni-Brak, 424 pp.) * 2008: ''Otzar Reb Hayyim Berlin, Shu"t Nishmat Hayyim, Jerusalem, 4 vol., 446, 462, 449, 298 pp.)

References

External links

Biography of Rabbi Chaim Berlin
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Berlin, Chaim 1832 births 1912 deaths Ashkenazi rabbis in Ottoman Palestine People from Valozhyn People from Oshmyansky Uyezd Belarusian Orthodox rabbis 19th-century rabbis from the Russian Empire 20th-century Russian rabbis Chief rabbis of cities Volozhin rosh yeshivas Burials at the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives