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 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 ...

who has an official position within a

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 ...

and is responsible for the non-academic areas of yeshiva students' lives.''HaRav Schach: Conversations: Stories to Inspire the Yeshiva World''. Elʻazar Menaḥem Man Shakh - 2004 p52: "Speaking about the position of Mashgiach Ruchani (Spiritual Supervisor) in a yeshiva, Rav Schach used to say that while it goes without saying that the Mashgiach must be a God-fearing man, and a person capable of inspiring others with his ..." The position of mashgiach/mashgicha ruchani arose with the establishment of the modern " Lithuanian-style" mussar yeshivas. The prototype of this new type of rabbinical leader and educator was Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel (1849-1927) known as the Alter (elder) of the Slabodka yeshiva,

Yeshivas Knesses Yisrael (Slabodka) Yeshivas Knesses Yisrael was a yeshiva located in the town of Sloboda Vilyampolskaya in Kovno Governorate of Russian Empire (now Vilijampolė in Kaunas, Lithuania). It was known colloquially as the "mother of yeshivas" and was devoted to high-le ...

, in Lithuania. The role of the mashgiach/mashgicha ruchani was strongest in the era prior to World War II, when often the mashgichim were responsible for maintaining the yeshiva financially, recruiting and interviewing new students, and hiring staff, something akin to academic deans. After the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

, the influence and position of the mashgiach/mashgicha decreased, and the roles of 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 ...

s have grown at the expense of those of the mashgichim. A modern mashgiach/mashgicha is somewhat equivalent to the secular

counselor Counselor or counsellor may refer to: A professional In diplomacy and government * Counsellor of State, senior member of the British royal family to whom the Monarch can delegate some functions in case of unavailability * Counselor (di ...

position. The need for having mashgichim within the modern yeshivas was tied in with the rise of the modern

mussar movement The Musar movement (also Mussar movement) is a Jewish ethical, educational and cultural movement that developed in 19th century Lithuania, particularly among Orthodox Lithuanian Jews. The Hebrew term (), is adopted from the Book of Proverbs (1: ...

(teaching of Jewish ethics), inspired by the 19th-century rabbi

Yisrael Lipkin Salanter Yisrael ben Ze'ev Wolf Lipkin, also known as "Israel Salanter" or "Yisroel Salanter" (November 3, 1809, Zhagory – February 2, 1883, Königsberg), was the father of the Musar movement in Orthodox Judaism and a famed Rosh yeshiva and Talmudist. T ...

, and was seen as necessary because yeshiva students faced greater pressures and problems from the world outside their yeshiva studies. Some yeshivas may refer to a mashgiach/mashgicha ruchani as a ''menahel ruchani'' (the word ''menahel'' means 'principal', as in the principal of a school, or 'supervisor'.)

Chabad Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic group ...

yeshivas have a similar position referred to as

mashpia Mashpia ( he, משפיע) or feminine Mashpi'oh lit. "person of influence", pl. Mashpi'im ( he, משפיעים) is the title of a Hasidic rabbi who serves as a spiritual mentor, whose main influence and teachings are in matters of the worship of G ...

, meaning a person who provides (spiritual) influence.

Famous mashgichim

* Nosson Tzvi Finkel (1849-1927) mashgiach ruchani of

, Lithuania * Yehuda Leib Chasman, mashgiach ruchani of the Hebron Yeshiva, Israel *

Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler (1892 – 31 December 1953) was an Orthodox rabbi, Talmudic scholar, and Jewish philosopher of the 20th century. He is best known for being the ''mashgiach ruchani'' ("spiritual counselor") of the Ponevezh yeshiva in I ...

(1892-1953), mashgiach ruchani of the

Ponevezh yeshiva Ponevezh Yeshiva, often pronounced as Ponevitch Yeshiva ( he, ישיבת פוניבז׳), is a yeshiva founded in 1908, and located in Bnei Brak, Israel since 1944. The yeshiva has over three thousand students, including those of affiliated insti ...

Bnei Brak Bnei Brak or Bene Beraq ( he, בְּנֵי בְּרַק ) is a city located on the central Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean Israeli coastal plain, coastal plain in Israel, just east of Tel Aviv. A center of Haredi Judaism, Bnei Brak covers an are ...

, Israel * Binyamin Finkel, mashgiach ruchani of Yeshivas Mishkan Yisrael, Jerusalem *

Yechezkel Levenstein Rabbi Yechezkel Levenstein (Rav Yechezkel HaLevi Levenstein), known as Reb Chatzkel, (1885 – 18 Adar 1974), was the mashgiach ruchani of the Mir yeshiva, in Mir, Belarus and during the yeshiva's flight to Lithuania and on to Shanghai due to the ...

(1895-1974), mashgiach ruchani of Mir yeshiva, Poland *

Yeruchom Levovitz Rav Yeruchom Levovitz ( he, ירוחם ליוואוויץ; ca. 1875-1936), also known by his hundreds of students simply as The Mashgiach, was a famous mashgiach ruchani and baal mussar (Jewish Ethics) at the Mir yeshiva in Belarus. Early life ...

(1873-1936), mashgiach ruchani of the Mir yeshiva, Poland * Moshe Rosenstein (1880-1941), mashgiach ruchani of

Lomza Yeshiva The Lomza Yeshiva ( he, ישיבת לומזה) was an Orthodox Jewish yeshiva in Łomża, Poland, founded by Rabbi Eliezer Bentzion Shulevitz in 1883. Rabbi Yechiel Mordechai Gordon served as the yeshiva's rosh yeshiva for many years, and Rabbi Mo ...

, Poland *

Don Segal Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON * Don (river), a river in European Russia * Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin * Don, Dang, a v ...

Elyah Lopian Eliyahu Lopian (1876 – 21 September 1970), known as Reb Elyah, was a leading rabbi of the Musar movement, Mussar Movement. As a disciple of the Kelm Talmud Torah method, he was known for his strictness with respect to order and self-control. B ...

(1876-1970) mashgiach ruchani of

Knesses Chizkiyahu Knesses Chizkiyahu was one of the first Litvak yeshivas founded after the establishment of the State of Israel and one of the first Torah institutions in the northern part of the country. Founded in Zikhron Ya'akov in 1949, it relocated to Kfar ...

, Israel *

Matisyahu Salomon Rav Matisyahu Chaim Salomon is a rabbi and public speaker. He serves as the mashgiach ruchani of the Beth Medrash Govoha Yeshiva in Lakewood, New Jersey, United States. He is a lecturer on topics relating to Jewish religious growth and communal is ...

, mashgiach ruchani of

Gateshead Yeshiva Gateshead Talmudical College ( he, ישיבת בית יוסף גייטסהעד), popularly known as Gateshead Yeshiva, is located in the Bensham area of Gateshead in North East England. It is the largest yeshiva in Europe and considered to be o ...

and later,

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 ...

(the Lakewood Yeshiva) *

Nosson Meir Wachtfogel Nosson Meir Wachtfogel ( he, נתן מאיר וכטפוגל) (18 February 1910 in Kuliai, Lithuania – 21 November 1998 in Lakewood, New Jersey, USA), known as the Lakewood Mashgiach, was an Orthodox rabbi and long-time ''mashgiach ruchan ...

(1910-1998), mashgiach ruchani of Beth Medrash Govoha (the Lakewood Yeshiva), USA, from 1941-1998 *

Shlomo Wolbe Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe (August Wilhelm, 1914 - April 25, 2005) was a Haredi rabbi born in Berlin in the early part of the twentieth century. He is best known as the author of ''Alei Shur'' ( he, עלי שור), a musar classic discussing dimensional ...

(1914-2005) *

Dov Yaffe Dov Yaffe ( he, דב יפה; 1928–2017) was a Polish Jews, Polish-born Israelis, Israeli rabbi, mashgiach ruchani, mashgiach, and leader of the Musar movement. Youth He was born at Vilna in June 1928. In 1935, at age 7, he moved with his pa ...

(d. 2017), mashgiach ruchani of

, Israel *

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 ...

(1908-2001) mashgiach ruchani of

Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin or ''Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin'' ( he, יְשִׁיבַת רַבֵּינוּ חַיִּים בֶּרלִין) is an American Haredi Lithuanian-type boys' and men's yeshiva in Brooklyn, New York. Chaim Berlin consis ...

, USA, from 1944-1964 *

Shlomo Carlebach (scholar) Shlomo Carlebach (August 17, 1925 – July 21, 2022) was a German-born American Haredi rabbi and scholar. Carlebach was appointed ''mashgiach ruchani'' (spiritual supervisor) of the Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin by its rosh yeshiva (dean) Yitz ...

, (b. 1925) mashgiach ruchani of

, USA, from 1966-1978

References

External links

* Jewish religious occupations Orthodox rabbinic roles and titles Musar movement Hebrew words and phrases {{Yeshiva-stub

Famous mashgichim

See also

References

External links