Rabbi Elyakim Getzel Rosenblatt (1933March27, 2019) was an American

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. He was the founder and ''

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 ...

'' of

Yeshiva Kesser Torah , image = Inside_of_Yeshiva_Kesser_Torah,_KGH.jpg , alt = , image_size = 250 , caption = Yeshiva Kesser Torah interior , motto = , motto_translation = , location = 72-11 Vleigh Place, Kew Gardens Hills, Queens, New York City, New Yor ...

Kew Gardens Hills, Queens Kew Gardens Hills is a neighborhood in the middle of the New York City borough of Queens. The borders are Flushing Meadows-Corona Park to the west, the Long Island Expressway to the north, Union Turnpike to the south, and Parsons Boulevard to t ...

Early life

Rosenblatt was born in 1933 in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn. His maternal grandfather was Yaakov Aizer Dubrow, the rabbi of Kesher Israel in

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

He attended Yeshiva Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin for elementary and high school, before going to learn in the

Telshe Yeshiva Telshe Yeshiva (also spelled ''Telz'') is a yeshiva in Wickliffe, Ohio, formerly located in Telšiai, Lithuania. During World War II the yeshiva began relocating to Wickliffe, Ohio, in the United States and is now known as the Rabbinical College ...

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

and the Yeshiva Chafetz Chaim in

Williamsburg, Brooklyn Williamsburg is a Neighborhoods in Brooklyn, neighborhood in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, Bedford–Stuyvesant to the s ...

. Due to his wanting to dorm, in 1951, at the age of 18, he went to learn in

Beth Medrash Govoha Beth Medrash Govoha ( he, בית מדרש גבוה, Sephardi pronunciation: ''Beth Midrash Gavoha''. lit: "High House of Learning"; also known as Lakewood Yeshiva or BMG) is a Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jewish Misnagdim, Lithuanian ''yeshiva'' in Lake ...

Lakewood, New Jersey Lakewood Township is the most populous township in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A rapidly growing community as of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a total population of 135,158 representing an increase of 41,415 (+45.5% ...

and became a student of

Aharon Kotler Aharon Kotler (1892–1962) was an Orthodox Jewish rabbi and a prominent leader of Orthodox Judaism in Lithuania and the United States; the latter being where he founded Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood Township, New Jersey. Early life Kotler w ...

, whom he served tea to every day. While there, he was appointed the ''veker'' (someone who wakes the students up for the

shacharis ''Shacharit'' ( he, שַחֲרִית ''šaḥăriṯ''), or ''Shacharis'' in Ashkenazi Hebrew, is the morning ''tefillah'' (prayer) of Judaism, one of the three daily prayers. Different traditions identify different primary components of ...

prayer). Among the students that he woke up every day was

Shmuel Kamenetsky Shmuel Kamenetsky (born November 1924) is an American Haredi rabbi. He is the co-founder and rosh yeshiva (dean) of the Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia. He is also a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah (Council of Torah Sages). Biography Ra ...

Shlomo Carlebach Shlomo Carlebach ( he, שלמה קרליבך; 14 January 1925 – 20 October 1994), known as Reb Shlomo to his followers, was a rabbi, religious teacher, spiritual leader, composer, and singer dubbed "the singing rabbi" during his lifetime. ...

was his ''

chavrusa ''Chavrusa'', also spelled ''chavruta'' or ''ḥavruta'' (Aramaic: חַבְרוּתָא, lit. "fellowship" or "group of fellows"; pl. חַבְרָוָותָא), is a traditional rabbinic approach to Talmudic study in which a small group of stud ...

'' (study-partner) there for some time. In 1958, he married Trani Rosenblatt, who would one day be referred to by Rosenblatt as "my partner in Torah". Rosenblatt returned to Yeshiva Chafetz Chaim, then located in

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, New York, at the age of 27, and became a student of

Henoch Leibowitz Alter Chanoch Henoch Hakohen Leibowitz (c. 1918His date of birth is uncertain, but his passport read June 2, 1918. – April 15, 2008) was an Orthodox rabbi who was Rosh Yeshiva (dean) of Yeshivas Rabbeinu Yisrael Meir HaKohen, which was founded ...

Rabbinic career

Rosenblatt remained in Yeshiva Chafetz Chaim, where he became a ninth grade '' mussar'' (ethics) rebbi. Among his students from Yeshiva Chafetz Chaim are Dovid Harris. Rosenblatt eventually went on to become a rabbi in

Corona, Queens Corona is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City. It borders Flushing and Flushing Meadows–Corona Park to the east, Jackson Heights to the west, Forest Hills and Rego Park to the south, Elmhurst to the southwest, and East ...

where he and his wife inspired non-religious Jews, teaching

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

and hosting them for Shabbos meals. In the 1970s, his students in Corona urged him to open a yeshiva, so Rosenblatt opened

in the Briarwood section of Queens. The yeshiva was named after a ''

sefer Sefer may refer to: * Sefer (Hebrew), a term for a book People with the surname * Franjo Šefer (born 1905), Yugoslav tennis player * Bela Šefer, Yugoslav footballer playing in 1924 People with the forename * Sefer Reis, Turkish privateer and Ot ...

''. A dorm was added in 1980. In 1994, a rebbi in the yeshiva suggested that they relocate to

Kew Garden Hills Kew Gardens Hills is a neighborhood in the middle of the New York City borough of Queens. The borders are Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park to the west, the Long Island Expressway to the north, Interstate 495 (New York ...

, where they would be able to attract more people, and a plot was purchased in the center of Kew Gardens Hills' Jewish community. Rosenblatt's love for all Jews was palpable. His classes in Yeshiva Kesser Torah were geared toward Jews of all backgrounds and professions. Over 500 of his classes are available for free online. Rosenblatt died on March 27, 2019. His funeral was held at Yeshiva Kesser Torah that same day, and he was buried at the Beth David Cemetery in

Elmont, New York Elmont is an unincorporated hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in northwestern Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, United States, along its border with the borough of Queens in New York City. The population was 35,265 at the ...

Works

Rosenblatt authored four ''

sefarim ''Sifrei Kodesh'' ( he, ספרי קודש, , Holy books), commonly referred to as ''sefarim'' ( he, ספרים, , books), or in its singular form, ''sefer'', are books of Jewish religious literature and are viewed by religious Jews as sacred. T ...

'' on the Torah, under the name ''Ohr Lenisivasi''. A fifth ''sefer'', based on his '' musar'' teachings, was published after his death, under the same name. Rosenblatt was known to be very musical. It has been said that Aharon Kotler would ask him and two other students in Beth Medrash Govoha to sing at '' shalosh seudos'' (the third Sabbath meal). He composed many songs which are available on his ''Shaar Haneginah'' CDs.

External links

Classes by Rabbi Elyakim Rosenblatt on TorahAnytime

References

{{authority control Orthodox rabbis from New York City 21st-century American rabbis 20th-century American rabbis Rosh yeshivas 2019 deaths 1933 births People from Brownsville, Brooklyn Burials at Beth David Cemetery