Mordechai Gifter (October 15, 1915 - January 18, 2001) was an American
Haredi rabbi. He was the
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) of the
Telz Yeshiva in Cleveland, and among the foremost religious leaders of Orthodox Jewry in the late 20th century.
Gifter studied in
yeshivas in Lithuania, and held several rabbinical positions in the United States.
Early life
Mordechai Gifter was born in
Portsmouth, Virginia
Portsmouth is an independent city in southeast Virginia and across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,915. It is part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area.
The Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Naval M ...
to Yisrael and Matla (May) Gifter. He was raised in
Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
, where his father owned a grocery.
[ He attended the Baltimore City Public Schools, at the time being known as Max, and received his religious education in after-school programs. He had a younger brother and sister, and both predeceased him.
As a young man, Gifter studied in the ]Rabbi Isaac Elchonon Theological Seminary
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 (YU/RIETS) in New York, New York
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Uni ...
, under the tutelage of Moshe Aharon Poleyeff and Moshe Soloveichik
Moshe Soloveichik (1879 in Valozhyn – January 31, 1941) was an Orthodox rabbi. He was the eldest son of renowned Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik and grandson of the Beis HaLevi. He married Pesya Feinstein, daughter of the renowned Rabbi of Pruzany, ...
. His uncle, Samuel Saar (Yehudah Leib), was the dean of the seminary.[ At the time, ]Avigdor Miller
Avigdor HaKohen Miller (August 28, 1908 – April 20, 2001) was an American Haredi rabbi, author, and lecturer most prominently known for instigating and invigorating extreme right-wing politics in American Orthodox Jewry.
He served simultan ...
, also a Baltimore native, was learning in RIETS. On Saar's advice, Gifter traveled in 1932 to Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
on the same boat as Miller to study in the Telshe Yeshiva. Gifter was immediately accepted for admission and placed in advanced classes. He developed a strong bond with Zalman Bloch, the '' mashgiach ruchani'' (spiritual supervisor) at the yeshiva. He eventually became engaged to Bloch's daughter. In 1939, prior to his wedding, Gifter returned home to the United States to visit his parents in Baltimore. He planned on returning to Lithuania for his wedding and to resume his studies.
When it became obvious that he would be unable to return due to the political climate of the late 1930s, Gifter arranged for his bride's family to join him in the United States. Only his bride came; the family chose not to abandon their community in its time of greatest need.[ The Gifters married in Baltimore, with Mrs. Gifter's family still in war-torn Lithuania. One of the witnesses at Gifter's wedding was ]Bernard Lander
Bernard Lander (June 17, 1915 – February 8, 2010), founder and first president of Touro College, was a rabbi, social scientist and educator, a leader in the Jewish community and a pioneer in Jewish and general higher education.
Biography
Lander ...
, then a rabbi in Baltimore and later founder of Touro College
Touro University is a private Jewish university system headquartered in New York City, with branches throughout the United States as well as one each in Germany, Israel and Russia. It was founded by Bernard Lander in 1971 and named for Isaac an ...
.
Career
Shortly thereafter, Gifter was appointed to the pulpit of the Nusach Ari Synagogue in northwest Baltimore. He soon became well known as an invigorating speaker and refined orator. His lectures and addresses became popular throughout the Baltimore area, and his national reputation began to grow as well. In addition to his rabbinic position, Gifter was appointed an adjunct lecturer at the expanding Ner Israel Rabbinical College headed by Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman
Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman (Shushan Purim 1900, Daŭhinava - July 11, 1987) was a prominent Talmudic scholar and rabbi who founded and served as '' rosh yeshiva'' (yeshiva head) of Yeshivas Ner Yisroel in Baltimore.
Early life
Ruderman was born ...
. He was the first native Baltimorean to lead a congregation in the city.
In 1941, Gifter moved to Waterbury, Connecticut and assumed a rabbinic pulpit in that community.[ In 1944, Gifter moved to Cleveland, Ohio to join the faculty of his alma mater, the newly re-established ]Rabbinical College of Telshe
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 o ...
, which was moved from Telshe, Lithuania to Cleveland. The original school and Telshe community were almost completely destroyed by the Nazis and Lithuanian militia. In 1964, he was appointed as dean together with Boruch Sorotzkin
Rephoel Baruch Sorotzkin (February 5, 1917 - February 10, 1979) was the Rosh Yeshiva of the Telz Yeshiva in Cleveland and among American Jewry's foremost religious leaders.
He was born on February 5, 1917 (13th of Shevat, 5677) in Zhetl, in the G ...
.
In 1977, Gifter brought 20 students from Cleveland to Israel and opened a branch of the college in the town of Kiryat Ye'arim (Telz-Stone), leaving Sorotzkin in charge of the Cleveland campus. In addition to teaching his students, Gifter delivered a '' shiur'' (Torah lecture) on the ''Minchas Chinuch'' on Fridays in Jerusalem, attracting many Torah scholars. Notes from that ''shiur'' were eventually compiled in 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 ...
'' (book) called ''Pitei Mincha''. When Sorotzkin died in 1979, Gifter was sent back to the United States to lead the Cleveland campus and the Israeli branch closed.
Gifter never recovered from the tremendous loss that he felt for his first love, ''Eretz Yisrael'' (the Land of Israel
The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isra ...
). He did not return to his on-campus residence, but moved into small quarters in the students' dormitory to accentuate his feeling of being in ''golus'' (exile).
For many years, Gifter led the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah (presidium and leadership council) of Agudath Israel of America
Agudath Israel of America ( he, אגודת ישראל באמריקה) (also called Agudah) is an American organization that represents Haredi Orthodox Jews. It is loosely affiliated with the international World Agudath Israel. Agudah seeks to ...
. He maintained a relationship with his first faculty position at Ner Israel Rabbinical College, returning to Baltimore annually to visit his daughter and son-in-law and friends.
Gifter died in 2001, having suffered numerous ailments for many years prior to his death. He was eulogized by Dovid Barkin, among others.
Family
Gifter was survived by his wife, three sons and three daughters. His eldest son, Binyomin, is working together with his brothers Yisroel of Lakewood, New Jersey and Shmuel Zalman to publish the works of their father. Gifter's sons-in-law are: Ephraim Eisenberg, who served as lecturer and Associate Dean of Ner Israel Rabbinical College in Baltimore prior to his death in 2002; Yaakov Reisman, Rav of Congregation Agudath Yisroel of Long Island in Far Rockaway, New York; and Avrohom Chaim Feuer, a writer, author and lecturer from Sha'arei Hesed
Sha'arei Hesed (also Sha'arei Chessed) ( he, שערי חסד, lit. ''Gates of Loving-kindness'') is a neighborhood in central Jerusalem, bordering Rehavia, Nahlaot and Kiryat Wolfson.
History
One of the founders of the neighborhood was Yoel Moshe ...
, Jerusalem, and former rav of Kehillas Beis Avrohom of Monsey, New York.
Controversy
As a leading Haredi scholar, Gifter frequently addressed controversial topics. In one lecture, he sharply berated Haskel Lookstein for his condemnation of Elazar Shach's criticism of Adin Steinsaltz.
Works
Writings
Gifter was a prolific writer. As a young man he authored articles on some of the most complicated issues in Jewish Law, which were published in the Talmudic law Journal of Tzvi Pesach Frank
Tzvi Pesach Frank (20 January 1873 – 10 December 1960) (Hebrew: הרב צבי פסח פרנק) was a renowned halachic scholar and served as Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem for several decades (1936-1960).
Biography
Frank was born in Kovno, Vilna ...
.
He published numerous books on Jewish Law, philosophy, theology and bible. He was a frequent contributor to many scholarly journals, and once wrote an article for the Western Reserve University Law Review.
Among his books are:
Hebrew:
*''Pirkei Torah'' - Commentary on the Bible.
*''Hirhurei Teshuva'' - Commentary on Maimonides' Laws of Repentance.
*''Pitei Mincha'' - Commentary on the Minchas Chinuch.
*''Pirkei Iyun'' - Commentary on the Talmudic Tractate Makkos.
*''Pirkei Moed'' - Commentary on the Festivals.
English:
*Torah Perspectives - Essay on a variety of topics.
*''Pirkei Torah'' - Commentary on the Bible.
Lectures
Gifter was one of the electrifying speakers in the Jewish world. It is said that after he gave a speech at Northwestern University he was offered a professorship, which he declined.
References
External links
Kolel Ateres Mordechai
Mordechai Gifter's publications
Lectures
Torah Anytime
More lectures
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gifter, Mordechai
1915 births
2001 deaths
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American rabbis
American Haredi rabbis
Authors of works on the Talmud
Burials at the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives
Jewish American writers
Rabbis from Maryland
Rabbis from Ohio
Rabbis from Virginia
Religious leaders from Cleveland
Religious leaders from Richmond, Virginia
Rosh yeshivas
Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah
Writers from Baltimore
Writers from Cleveland
Writers from Waterbury, Connecticut