Meyer Abovitz (מאיר בן ישעיהו אבוביץ; alternate spelling Meir Abowitz; born 1876 - died 1941) was a

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

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 ...

active in Mizrachi in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...

between the Two World Wars.

Biography

He studied in Slabodka,

Kovno Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...

and

Radin Radin is a surname and given name. Given name Radin (Persian: رادین) is also an Ancient Persian given name meaning "gentleman". Surname Notable people with the surname include: * Adolph Moses Radin (1848–1909), Polish-American rabbi * ...

, and received ''

Semicha Semikhah ( he, סמיכה) is the traditional Jewish name for rabbinic ordination. The original ''semikhah'' was the formal "transmission of authority" from Moses through the generations. This form of ''semikhah'' ceased between 360 and 425 C ...

'' (ordination) from Rabbis Moshe Danishevsky, Hirsh Rabinovich, and Malkiel Tannenbaum, respectively holding the positions of ''

Av Beit Din The ''av beit din'' ( ''ʾabh bêth dîn'', "chief of the court" or "chief justice"), also spelled ''av beis din'' or ''abh beth din'' and abbreviated ABD (), was the second-highest-ranking member of the Sanhedrin during the Second Temple period, ...

'' in Slabodka, Kovno and Lomza. He was married to Chana ''

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

'' Malach; their daughter Feige Rachel ("Fanny") was married to Rabbi

Simcha Wasserman Elazar Simcha Wasserman (1898 - October 29, 1992) was an Orthodox rabbi and rosh yeshiva. Born in the Russian Empire, he was sent before World War II to the United States by his father, Rabbi Elchonon Wasserman, to improve the level of Jewish educ ...

. Rabbi Abovitz was Av Beit Din and ''Rav'' in

Telatycze Telatycze is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Nurzec-Stacja, within Siemiatycze County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland, close to the border with Belarus. It lies approximately east of Nurzec-Stacja, east of Siemi ...

White Russia White Russia, White Russian, or Russian White may refer to: White Russia *White Ruthenia, a historical reference for a territory in the eastern part of present-day Belarus * An archaic literal translation for Belarus/Byelorussia/Belorussia * Rus ...

and then Lubiezh (Lubcza, modern

Lubcha Lubcha ( be, Любча, , russian: Любча, pl, Lubcz, yi, לובטש ''Lubtsh'') is a town near Neman River, in Belarus, Grodno Region, Novogrudok District, 23 km from Novogrudok. History Within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Lubc ...

). The latter was destroyed during the early days of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and he then relocated to German held

Navahrudak Novogrudok ( be, Навагрудак, Navahrudak; lt, Naugardukas; pl, Nowogródek; russian: Новогрудок, Novogrudok; yi, נאַוואַראַדאָק, Novhardok, Navaradok) is a town in the Grodno Region, Belarus. In the Middle A ...

, where he

headed Headed may refer to: *A headed phrase, in linguistics * Headed notepaper See also * * Head (disambiguation) The head is the part of an animal or human that usually includes the brain, eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Head or Heads may also refer to: ...

the ''Bet Yosef''

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 s ...

; see Novardok Yeshiva. The ''Rav'' there was Meyer Meyerovitz. Rabbi Abovitz participated in the founding assembly of Mizrachi of Lithuania and Poland, in

Vilna 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 ...

, 1919; he was involved in various committees of the movement in Poland between the two World Wars. See Mizrachi in Poland. He was also active in "religious national education" which he saw a counterweight to the Jewish

secular school Secular education is a system of public education in countries with a secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religio ...

s founded in Navahrudak following the First World War. Despite his involvement with Mizrachi he was also accepted by the ''

Agudath Yisrael Agudat Yisrael ( he, אֲגוּדָּת יִשְׂרָאֵל, lit., ''Union of Israel'', also transliterated ''Agudath Israel'', or, in Yiddish, ''Agudas Yisroel'') is a Haredi Jewish political party in Israel. It began as a political party re ...

''. Navahrudak was occupied by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

in July 1941, and Rabbi Abovitz was martyred with the rest of the Jewish population; see .

Works

He authored the following works: *''Zichron Yeshayahu'' - ''derushim'' *''Kochvei Ohr'' - explanations of the ''

Aggadah Aggadah ( he, ''ʾAggāḏā'' or ''Haggāḏā''; Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: אַגָּדְתָא ''ʾAggāḏəṯāʾ''; "tales, fairytale, lore") is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, ...

'' *''Pnei Meir'' - on the

Jerusalem Talmud The Jerusalem Talmud ( he, תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשַׁלְמִי, translit=Talmud Yerushalmi, often for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century ...

*''Pnei Meir'' - on the

Weekly Torah portion It is a custom among religious Jewish communities for a weekly Torah portion to be read during Jewish prayer services on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. The full name, ''Parashat HaShavua'' ( he, פָּרָשַׁת הַשָּׁבוּעַ), is po ...

References

External links and references

* אנציקלופדיה של הציונות הדתית, א, עמ 2–1; ספר הציונות הדתית, ב, עמ 499 {{DEFAULTSORT:Abovitz, Meyer 1876 births 1941 deaths Belarusian Orthodox rabbis Rosh yeshivas 20th-century Russian rabbis Soviet rabbis