Shmaryahu Yosef Nissim Karelitz ( he, נסים קרליץ; July 19, 1926 – October 21, 2019) 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 ...

rabbi and

posek In Jewish law, a ''Posek'' ( he, פוסק , pl. ''poskim'', ) is a legal scholar who determines the position of ''halakha'', the Jewish religious laws derived from the written and Oral Torah in cases of Jewish law where previous authorities a ...

who served as the chairman of the '' beis din tzedek'' (rabbinical court) of

Bnei Brak Bnei Brak or Bene Beraq ( he, בְּנֵי בְּרַק ) is a city located on the central Mediterranean coastal plain in Israel, just east of Tel Aviv. A center of Haredi Judaism, Bnei Brak covers an area of 709 hectares (1752 acres, or 2.7 ...

Biography

Karelitz was born in 1926 in Kosava (Kossov),

Vilnius 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 urba ...

province, Poland, presently in Belarus. He came to Israel in 1935 with his parents. Karelitz was a nephew of Rabbi

Avrohom Yeshaya Karelitz Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz (7 November 1878 – 24 October 1953), also known as the Chazon Ish () after his magnum opus, was a Belarusian-born Orthodox rabbi who later became one of the leaders of Haredi Judaism in Israel, where he spent his ...

, known as the ''Chazon Ish''. (The latter's sister was Karelitz's mother). The ''Chazon Ish'' was a previous rabbinical spiritual leader of

. From the time of the ''Chazon Ish'' until Karelitz it was Rav

Elazar Shach Elazar Menachem Man Shach ( he, אלעזר מנחם מן שך, Elazar Shach; January 1, 1899 O.S. – November 2, 2001) was a prominent ultra-Orthodox rabbi, heading the non-Hasidic ''Litvak'' Orthodox from the early 1970s until his death. He ...

who was regarded as the pre-eminent leader. In his youth, he studied in 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 ...

. He also studied with his uncles, the ''Chazon Ish'' and the '' Steipler''. His wife Leah (d. 2015) was the daughter of Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Kopshitz of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

and the great-granddaughter of Rabbi

Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, also spelled Zonnenfeld (1 December 1848 – 26 February 1932), was the rabbi and co-founder of the Edah HaChareidis, a Haredi Jewish community in Jerusalem, during the years of the British Mandate of Palestine. He wa ...

. Rav Karelitz died in Bnei Brak on October 21, 2019. His funeral was attended by tens of thousands, and he was eulogized by Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, his first cousin, and by Rabbi

Gershon Edelstein Gershon Edelstein (born 18 April 1923) is ''rosh yeshiva'' of the Ponevezh Yeshiva, president of the Vaad Hayeshivos, and the spiritual leader of the Degel HaTorah party in Israel. He is widely considered to be the Gadol Hador by the Litvish ...

, Rosh Yeshiva of Ponevezh.

Rabbinic career

His rabbinical court handled various matters, including financial disputes, marriage conflicts, and conversions. He was also a member of the ''Vaad Halacha'' (Jewish legal council) of the Maayanei Hayeshua Hospital of Bnei Brak and the ''

av beis 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, ...

'' of the Bnei Brak neighborhood of

Ramat Aharon Ramat Aharon ( he, רׇמַת אַהֲרֹן) is a neighbourhood in the eastern part of Bnei Brak, Israel. The neighbourhood was established in 1967 and was named after Rabbi Aharon Kotler. English language description on plaque in the neighbourho ...

. Karelitz's ''beit din'' in Israel performs conversions on people who are residing illegally in the state of Israel. This means several things: (1) The conversion process goes against Israeli law which gives the state more reason to reject such conversions. (2) The converts, who often live many years illegally in Israel, are eventually forced to leave (deportation, or due to lack of financial means to support oneself).

Published works

''Chut Shani''

Hilchos Shabbos Vol. 1Hilchos Shabbos Vol. 3Hilchos Yom TovHilchos PesachHilchos NiddahHilchos RibbisEven Ha'ezer Siman 21
Hilchos Shmita ViYovel Vol. 1-2

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karelitz, Nissim Haredi rabbis in Israel 1926 births 2019 deaths Lithuanian Haredi rabbis Lithuanian emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Rabbis in Bnei Brak