Dov Schwartzman

Dov Schwartzman (1921 – 7 November 2011), also called Berel Schwartzman, was a Russian-born American Haredi Jewish rabbi, educator, Talmudic scholar, and ''rosh yeshiva'' (dean) of Bais Hatalmud, which he founded in the Sanhedria Murhevet neighborhood of Jerusalem and led for over 40 years. He also founded and led the Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia together with Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetzky, and co-founded the first yeshiva in Israel for ''baalei teshuva'' (returnees to the Jewish faith). He taught tens of thousands of students,"Tribute: Harav Dov Schwartzman, ''zt"l''". ''Hamodia'', 10 November 2011, p. A14. many of whom received ''semicha'' (rabbinic ordination) from him.

Early life

Schwartzman was born in Elul 1921 in Nevel, Soviet Union, to Rabbi Yehoshua Zev Schwartzman, a graduate of the Slabodka yeshiva. In the 1930s, his family fled from Soviet Russia and immigrated to Tel Aviv, where his father was a rabbi. Schwartzman studied at Yeshivas Bais Yosef Novardok under Rabbi Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky, known as the Steipler Gaon. In 1933, at age 12, he transferred to the Hebron Yeshiva in the Geula neighborhood of Jerusalem His mother descended from a prominent Lubavitcher family. He was named after his maternal grandfather's brother, Dovber HaYitzchoki, who was the father of Reb Zalman Moishe HaYitzchaki, a devoted follower of the Rebbe Rashab.

Rabbi Aharon Kotler, ''rosh yeshiva'' of Beth Medrash Govoha (the Lakewood Yeshiva), chose him as a son-in-law after visiting Israel. In 1946 Schwartzman moved to the United States to marry Rabbi Kotler's daughter and began studying at the Lakewood Yeshiva, where he led ''chavuras'' (small-group learning sessions). The marriage ended in a contentious divorce.

In the mid-1950s, as part of Lakewood Yeshiva's effort to establish out-of-town yeshivas, Schwartzman and Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetzky were sent to head the new Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia. In 1955 Schwartzman left to open his yeshiva in Israel and was replaced as ''rosh yeshiva'' by Rabbi Elya Svei. From 1961 to 1962, he was a ''maggid shiur'' (lecturer) at Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin.

Israeli rosh yeshiva

Schwartzman moved back to Israel in the early 1960s. He established a yeshiva in Ramat HaSharon, and in 1965 founded Yeshiva Maron Tzion in the Bayit Vegan neighborhood of Jerusalem, which evolved into Yeshivat Bais HaTalmud, now located in Sanhedria Murhevet. In addition to lecturing, he traveled abroad frequently to raise funds for the yeshiva.

Schwartzman was involved in the Israeli ''baal teshuva'' movement. In the early 1970s, he co-founded the first yeshiva for ''baalei teshuva'', Shema Yisrael, with Rabbis Mendel Weinbach, Nota Schiller, and Noach Weinberg. After this yeshiva evolved into Ohr Somayach yeshiva, Schwartzman continued as a ''rosh yeshiva''. Schwartzman died on 7 November 2011 (10 Cheshvan 5772) and was buried at the Jewish Cemetery on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.

Family

With his first wife, Schwartzman had three sons and three daughters. With his second wife, Yehudis Moller, whom he married in 1962, he had another son and five daughters. His eldest son, Rabbi Yaakov Eliezer Schwartzman, who is also Kotler's eldest grandson, is the ''rosh yeshiva'' of Lakewood East in Jerusalem. His second son, Rabbi Zvulun Schwartzman, heads the kollel in the Etz Chaim Yeshiva in Jerusalem, and his third son, Rabbi Isser Zalman Schwartzman, is a ''maggid shiur'' at Yeshivas Hadera in Modiin Ilit. Two of his sons-in-law, Rabbi Yeruchem Olshin and Rabbi Yisroel Neuman, are ''roshei yeshiva'' at the Lakewood Yeshiva in America.Freund, Rabbi Tuvia. "'There is a Future for Torah in America': A roundtable discussion of Hagaon Harav Aharon Kotler's accomplishments and legacy, with the roshei yeshivah and administrators of Bais Medrash Govoha". ''Hamodia'' Magazine, 15 November 2012, pp. 8–11.

References

External links

Photo of farewell party for Rabbi Schwartman in Philadelphia, 1955Mussar Vaad

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schwartzman, Dov
1921 births
2011 deaths
20th-century American rabbis
20th-century Israeli rabbis
21st-century American rabbis
21st-century Israeli rabbis
American Haredi rabbis
Burials at the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives
Haredi rabbis in Israel
Haredi rosh yeshivas
Israeli people of Belarusian-Jewish descent
Israeli people of Russian-Jewish descent
Israeli Rosh yeshivas
Rabbis in Jerusalem
Russian expatriates in the United States
Russian Haredi rabbis
Soviet emigrants to Israel
Soviet emigrants to the United States