Yeshiva Shaar HaTorah – Grodna, often referred to as the Grodna Yeshiva or simply as Grodna, was an Orthodox Jewish

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 stu ...

in the

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 ...

ian city of

Grodno Grodno (russian: Гродно, pl, Grodno; lt, Gardinas) or Hrodna ( be, Гродна ), is a city in western Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, 300 km (186 mi) from Minsk, about 15 km (9 mi) from the Polish ...

, then under

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

rule. Founded during World War I,

Shimon Shkop Shimon Yehuda Shkop ( he, שמעון שקופ; 1860 – October 22, 1939) was a rosh yeshiva (dean) of the Yeshiva of Telshe and then of Yeshiva Shaar HaTorah of Grodno, and a Talmid Chacham (Talmudic scholar). Early life Shkop was born in T ...

became

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 ...

(dean) in 1920.

History

Early years

The yeshiva was founded in either 1914 or 1916, formed with the enrollment of yeshiva students who were displaced from the ongoing

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. Refael Alter Shmuelevitz (father of Rabbi

Chaim Shmuelevitz Chaim Leib Halevi Shmuelevitz, ( he, חיים לייב שמואלביץ ;1902–1979) — also spelled Shmulevitz — was a member of the faculty of the Mirrer Yeshiva for more than 40 years, in Poland, Shanghai and Jerusalem, serving as Rosh ...

), was appointed as

(dean), and

Yosef Leib Nenedik Yosef (; also transliterated as Yossef, Josef, Yoseph Tiberian Hebrew and Aramaic ''Yôsēp̄'') is a Hebrew male name derived from the Biblical character Joseph. The name can also consist of the Hebrew yadah meaning "praise", "fame" and the wor ...

was the yeshiva's first ''

mashgiach ruchani A mashgiach ruchani ( he, משגיח רוחני; pl., ''mashgichim ruchani'im'') or mashgicha ruchani – sometimes mashgiach/mashgicha for short – is a spiritual supervisor or guide. He or she is usually a rabbi who has an official position wit ...

'' (spiritual supervisor).

Shimon Shkop

In 1920, at the urging of Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman, as well as the encouragement of

Yisrael Meir Kagan Rabbi Yisrael Meir ha-Kohen Kagan (January 26, 1838 – September 15, 1933), known popularly as the Chofetz Chaim, after his book on lashon hara, who was also well known for the Mishna Berurah, his book on ritual law, was an influential Lit ...

(the Chofetz Chaim) and Chaim Ozer Grodzenski,

became rosh yeshiva.

Shlomo Harkavy Shlomo Harkavy (c. 1890 – c. 1942), also known as Rav Shlomo Grodner, was an Orthodox Jewish rabbi in Grodno, Poland. He served as mashgiach ruchani of the Grodno Yeshiva under Shimon Shkop, until he was murdered the Holocaust. Biogr ...

became ''mashgiach'' around this time. As part of his job, he was supposed to give students '' mussar'' (rebuke) when they did something wrong. However, as opposed to directly approaching a student and rebuking him for a specific act, he would simply talk about that type of wrongdoing with another person while in earshot of the student. Shraga Feivel Hindis, a son-in-law of Shkop, assisted his father-in-law in running the yeshiva. The ''hasmadah'' (diligence in Torah study) in the yeshiva was well known, with the average student studying fifteen hours each day. The most diligent students, called the "Lions of Grodno" ( Yiddish: ) were capable of learning for eighteen hours a day. Among the "lions" were Moshe Zaretsky and Yisrael Zev Gustman, future rosh yeshiva in Ramailes. The two both used stay in the ''

beis medrash A ''beth midrash'' ( he, בית מדרש, or ''beis medrash'', ''beit midrash'', pl. ''batei midrash'' "House of Learning") is a hall dedicated for Torah study, often translated as a "study hall." It is distinct from a synagogue (''beth knes ...

'' (Torah study hall) for months, immersed in Torah learning. The yeshiva schedule was rigorous, with shacharis at 7 a.m. and night ''seder'' (learning session) finishing at 1 a.m. The yeshiva was divided into two schools: the '' yeshiva ketana'' for younger students and the ''yeshiva gedolah'' for older ones. Chaim Shmuelevitz gave a '' shiur'' (class) in the ''yeshiva ketana''. Shkop gave ''shiur'' for the ''yeshiva gedolah'' which would sometimes last over two hours long. Under his leadership, the yeshiva grew to over 200 students.

Disbandment and legacy

After the Soviet Union occupied Poland in 1939, the yeshiva disbanded and fled to

Vilnius 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 ...

. Shkop wasn't healthy enough for the journey, so he remained in Grodno, where he died soon after. The yeshiva was reestablished 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 under the same name, Yeshiva Shaar HaTorah, and led by

Zelik Epstein Zelik Epstein, also known as Zelig Epstein (full name Aharon Zelig Epstein) (July 10, 1914 – August 3, 2009), was a prominent Orthodox rabbi and rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Shaar HaTorah-Grodno, a private Talmudical institution in Kew Garde ...

, a grandson-in-law of Shkop. Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman opened another iteration of the yeshiva in

Ashdod Ashdod ( he, ''ʾašdōḏ''; ar, أسدود or إسدود ''ʾisdūd'' or '' ʾasdūd'' ; Philistine: 𐤀𐤔𐤃𐤃 *''ʾašdūd'') is the sixth-largest city in Israel. Located in the country's Southern District, it lies on the Mediterra ...

, Israel, as a branch of his Ponovezh Yeshiva.

Notable alumni

* Yisrael Zev Gustman, rosh yeshiva of the Ramailes Yeshiva * Zeidel Epstein, ''rosh mesivta'' at Rabbi Jacob Joseph School and ''mashgiach ruchani'' at Torah Ore * , rabbi in

Ramat Gan Ramat Gan ( he, רָמַת גַּן or , ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv and part of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. It is home to one of the world's major diamond exchanges, and man ...

and rosh yeshiva of the Karlin-Stolin yeshiva in

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

* , rosh yeshiva of Knesses Chizkiyahu * Shmuel Rozovsky, rosh yeshiva of the Ponovezh Yeshiva *

Chaim Leib Shmuelevitz Chaim Leib Halevi Shmuelevitz, ( he, חיים לייב שמואלביץ ;1902–1979) — also spelled Shmulevitz — was a member of the faculty of the Mirrer Yeshiva for more than 40 years, in Poland, Shanghai and Jerusalem, serving as R ...

, rosh yeshiva of

Mir ''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to&n ...

* Naftali Wasserman, son of

Elchonon Wasserman Elchonon Bunim Wasserman ( he, אלחנן בונים וסרמן; 18746 July 1941) was a prominent rabbi and rosh yeshiva (dean) in prewar Europe. He was one of the closest students of Yisrael Meir Kagan (the Chofetz Chaim) and a noted Talmid Chac ...

* Zev Wein, rabbi of Beth Hamedrosh Hagadol Kesser Maariv in Chicago, and father of Berel Wein

References

{{Authority control 1916 establishments in the Russian Empire Educational institutions established in 1916 Jewish Belarusian history Jews and Judaism in Grodno Orthodox Judaism in Belarus Orthodox yeshivas in Europe Pre-World War II European yeshivas Yeshivas of Belarus