Mayer E. Twersky (born October 17, 1960) is 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-pag ...

rabbi and one of the

roshei 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 ...

at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (

RIETS Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS ) is the rabbinical seminary of Yeshiva University (YU). It is located along Amsterdam Avenue in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Named after Yitzchak Elchanan S ...

) of

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City."About YU
on the Yeshiva Universit ...

. He holds the

Leib Merkin Leib is a given name and (less often) a surname that are usually of Jewish origin.Leib
Baby Names Pedia Leib often stems from ...

Distinguished Professorial Chair in Talmud and Jewish Philosophy. His popular lectures emphasize a combination of conceptual analyses and ethical imperatives. Twersky hails from the well-known

chassidic Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...

family of

Chernobyl Chernobyl ( , ; russian: Чернобыль, ) or Chornobyl ( uk, Чорнобиль, ) is a partially abandoned city in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, situated in the Vyshhorod Raion of northern Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine. Chernobyl is about no ...

. He is the younger son of

Isadore Twersky Isadore Twersky (born Yitzchak Asher Twersky, October 9, 1930 – October 12, 1997) was an Orthodox rabbi and Hasidic Rebbe, and university professor who held the position of the '' Nathan Littauer Professor of Hebrew Literature and Philosop ...

. His brother, Moshe Twersky, was murdered in the

2014 Jerusalem synagogue massacre On the morning of 18 November 2014, two Palestinian men from Jerusalem entered Kehilat Bnei Torah synagogue, in the Har Nof neighborhood of Jerusalem, and attacked the praying congregants with axes, knives, and a gun. They killed four dual-nati ...

. He is a 5th cousin of Rabbi

Abraham J. Twerski Abraham Joshua Heshel Twerski (אברהם יהושע העשיל טווערסקי, Hebrew & Yiddish); ) was an Israeli-American Hasidic rabbi, a scion of the Chernobyl Hasidic dynasty, and a psychiatrist specializing in substance abuse. Earl ...

. Other cousins include the Grand Rabbis of Chernobyl, and many people with the last name of Twersky or Twerski. He is also a grandson of Rabbi

Joseph B. Soloveitchik Joseph Ber Soloveitchik ( he, יוסף דב הלוי סולובייצ׳יק ''Yosef Dov ha-Levi Soloveychik''; February 27, 1903 – April 9, 1993) was a major American Orthodox rabbi, Talmudist, and modern Jewish philosopher. He was a scion ...

. Twersky attended the

Maimonides School , image = Maimonides School Logo (Hebrew Only).png , alt = , caption = , streetaddress = 34 Philbrick Road , city = Brookline , state = MA ...

, which his grandfather founded, through high school. He then attended

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

, while studying Talmud privately with his grandfather. Following college, he studied for rabbinic ordination at

. He eventually became a teacher in the

Yeshiva University High School for Boys The Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy, also known as Yeshiva University High School for Boys (YUHSB), MTA (Manhattan Talmudical Academy) or TMSTA, is an Orthodox Jewish day school (or yeshiva) and the boys' prep school of Yeshiva University (YU) i ...

and later a lecturer in RIETS. In addition to Hebrew articles in RIETS's annual Torah journal, Twersky has published three English articles in the journal ''

Tradition A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

'' and an English article in the

Orthodox Union The Orthodox Union (abbreviated OU) is one of the largest Orthodox Jewish organizations in the United States. Founded in 1898, the OU supports a network of synagogues, youth programs, Jewish and Religious Zionist advocacy programs, programs for ...

's magazine ''

Jewish Action ''Jewish Action'' is an American Orthodox Jewish magazine published by the Orthodox Union. The magazine generally presents a Modern Orthodox viewpoint, and covers "topics of interest to an international Orthodox Jewish audience... ncludingartic ...

''. Two of these four articles relate to the place of women in contemporary Orthodox Judaism. Twersky currently holds the position of Grand Rabbi of the Talne Hasidim. The current shamash of the Rebbe is Yair Caplan of

Edison, New Jersey Edison is a township located in Middlesex County,in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated in Central New Jersey within the core of the state's Raritan Valley region, Edison is a commercial hub, home to Menlo Park Mall and Little India. It is ...

. Caplan spent two years studying in Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh (located in

Kvutzat Yavne Kvutzat Yavne ( he, קְבוּצַת יַבְנֶה) is a religious kibbutz in the Central District of Israel. Located in the coastal plain just east of Ashdod, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Yavne Regional Council. In it had a pop ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

) before coming to Yeshiva University and serving as the Rebbe's shamash. Past shamashim include Jonah Steinmetz, Etan Schnall, Yitzi Genack and Yosef Schwartz. Twersky is currently on the board o
TorahWeb
which frequently publishes short English articles of his. He also lectures frequently to synagogue congregants.

References

Online Speeches

YU Torah
*

Leib Merkin Leib is a given name and (less often) a surname that are usually of Jewish origin.Leib
Baby Names Pedia Leib often stems from ...

Distinguished Professorial Chair in Talmud and Jewish Philosophy

Online Articles

TorahWeb.org Articles
*[http://www.edah.org/backend/coldfusion/search/document.cfm?title=Values%2C%20Halakhah%20and%20Pesaq%3A%20Continued%20Discussion%20Of%20%22Halakhic%20Values%3A%20Pesaq%20or%20Persuasion%22&hyperlink=3%5F2%5Fstudent%2Dsinger%2Ehtm&type=JournalArticle&category=Jewish%20Diversity%2FRelating%20to%20the%20Non%2DOrthodox&authortitle=&firstname=Gil%20&lastname=Student&pubsource=not%20available&authorid=579&pdfattachment=3%5F2%5FStudent%2DSinger%2Epdf Rabbi Gil Student's defense of Rabbi Twersky's article] {{DEFAULTSORT:Twersky, Mayer 1960 births Living people Harvard College alumni American Orthodox rabbis Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary semikhah recipients Yeshiva University rosh yeshivas 20th-century American rabbis 21st-century American rabbis Hasidic rebbes