Nachum Zev (Velvel) Dessler (1921 – January 23, 2011) was an

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on M ...

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 ...

as well as founder and dean of the

Hebrew Academy of Cleveland The Hebrew Academy of Cleveland is a private day school in Cleveland, Ohio with over 1,000 students. It provides Judaic and secular education from pre-school through high school. The Hebrew Academy was established in 1943 by the Telshe Yeshiva an ...

. Dessler was also instrumental in building the National Society for Hebrew Day Schools.

Personal life

Dessler was born in 1921 in Kelm to Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer and Bluma Dessler. His mother, Bluma, was a granddaughter to Rabbi

Simcha Zissel Ziv Simcha Zissel Ziv Broida ( he, שמחה זיסל זיו; 1824–1898), also known as Simhah Zissel Ziv or the ''Alter of Kelm'' (the Elder of Kelm), was one of the foremost students of Yisrael Salanter and one of the early leaders of the Musar m ...

and Dessler was named after Rabbi Simcha Zissel Ziv's son. In 1929, the family moved to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and Dessler was sent to Yeshivah Etz Chaim. Three years later, he returned to Wilkomir in Lithuania to learn.

References

1921 births 2011 deaths American Orthodox rabbis Jewish educators 20th-century American rabbis 21st-century American Jews {{US-rabbi-stub