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 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 o ...

, heading the non-Hasidic ''Litvak'' Orthodox from the early 1970s until his death. He served as chair of the

Council of Sages The Council of Sages is a U.S.-appointed unelected group of prominent elite Haitians who supported the 2004 coup d'etat that deposed exiled Haitian president Jean Bertrand-Aristide.co-deans of the Ponevezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak, along with Shmuel Rozovsky and Dovid Povarsky. Due to his differences with the

Hasidic Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...

leadership of the Agudat Yisrael political party, he allied with Ovadia Yosef, with whom he founded the Shas party in 1984. Later, in 1988, Shach sharply criticized Ovadia Yosef, saying that, "

Sepharadim Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefar ...

are not yet ready for leadership positions",'Haaretz' daily newspaper, Shachar Ilan, November 2, 2001 and subsequently founded the Degel HaTorah political party representing the ''Litvaks'' in the Israeli Knesset.

Early life

Elazar Menachem Man Shach was born in

Vabalninkas Vabalninkas () ( pl, Wobolniki) is a city in the Biržai district municipality, Lithuania. It is located south of Biržai. History Vabalninkas village was mentioned in 1554, Vabalninkas estate in 1555. In 1593, Vabalninkas was assigned to Ann ...

(Vaboilnik in

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

), a rural village in northern

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 ...

, to Ezriel and Batsheva Shach (nee Levitan). The Shach family had been merchants for generations, while the Levitans were religious scholars who served various Lithuanian communities. As a child, Shach was considered an '' illui'' (child prodigy) and in 1909, aged 11, went to Panevėžys to study at the Ponevezh Yeshiva which was then headed by Isaac Jacob Rabinowitz. In 1913 he enrolled at Yeshivas Knesses Yisrael in Slabodka. When World War I began in 1914, many of the Slabodka yeshiva students were dispersed across Europe. Shach initially returned to his family, but then began traveling across Lithuania from town to town, sleeping and eating wherever he could, while continuing to study Torah. During this period he described suffering considerable deprivation, living with inadequate sanitation and being compelled to wear tattered clothing and worn out shoes. He reportedly sequestered himself in an attic for two years not knowing where his parents were. In 1915, following the advice of

Yechezkel Bernstein Ezekiel (; he, יְחֶזְקֵאל ''Yəḥezqēʾl'' ; in the Septuagint written in grc-koi, Ἰεζεκιήλ ) is the central protagonist of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible. In Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Ezekiel is acknow ...

(author of ''Divrei Yechezkel''), Shach traveled to Slutsk to study at the yeshiva there.

Escaping to the British Mandate of Palestine

Shortly before the start of World War II and the Holocaust, several yeshivas began considering evacuating their rabbis, students, and families. Aharon Kotler escaped to the United States, traveling across Siberia and arriving in the United States during the war. In 1939, Shach first went to Vilna, where he stayed with Chaim Ozer Grodzinski. Later that year, both Shach's mother and his eldest daughter fell ill, and died. In early 1940, the Shach family decided to leave Lithuania. Shach's maternal uncle, Aron Levitan, had helped Kotler get emigration visas to the United States, but Shach, after consulting with Yitzchok Zev Soloveitchik and Grodzinski, decided instead to go to Mandatory Palestine, where Meltzer was serving as rosh yeshiva at Etz Chaim Yeshiva in Jerusalem. Shach would later serve as the rosh yeshiva there as well. His uncle helped him and his family get immigration certificates, and took them in after they arrived at his doorstep in a destitute condition. in the

Lomzha Yeshivah 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 Rabb ...

Petach Tikvah Petah Tikva ( he, פֶּתַח תִּקְוָה, , ), also known as ''Em HaMoshavot'' (), is a city in the Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Jews of the Old Yishuv, and became a permanent set ...

, was the main Talmudic lecturer, while Rabbi Moshe Shmuel and Rabbi Shmuel Rozovsky delivered other specialized lectures in the Talmud studies.

Ponevezh yeshiva

Several years after the re-establishment of the Ponevezh yeshiva in

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 ...

, Shach was invited by Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman to become one of its deans, and, after discussing the proposal with Soloveitchik, he accepted the offer. Shach served in that capacity from 1954 until his death. At this yeshiva, Shach delivered a lecture on the Talmud every Tuesday, and also occasionally gave other classes to the student body of the yeshiva. Shach received '' semikhah'' (rabbinical ordination) from Isser Zalman Meltzer,''Path to Greatness – The Life of Maran Harav Elazar Menachem Man Shach, Vol I: Vaboilnik to Bnei Brak (1899–1953)'' – pg. 262 and served as chairman of Chinuch Atzmai and Va'ad HaYeshivos. In the mid-1960s, Samuel Belkin offered Shach the position of senior rosh yeshivah at Yeshiva University in New York, which he politely declined. Shach's wife died in 1969 from complications connected to diabetes. From 1970 until his death, Shach was generally recognized by Lithuanian

Haredim Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...

and some other Haredi circles as the '' Gadol Ha-Dor'' (great one of the generation). During his lifetime, Shach was a spiritual mentor to more than 100,000 Orthodox Jews.

Political life

During the years of his leadership, more than just secularism and Zionism, Shach waged bitter wars against anybody he suspected of deviation from the classical Haredi path. At the behest of

Aharon Kotler Aharon Kotler (1892–1962) was an Orthodox Jewish rabbi and a prominent leader of Orthodox Judaism in Lithuania and the United States; the latter being where he founded Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood Township, New Jersey. Early life Kotler w ...

, Shach joined the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah. When

Zalman Sorotzkin Zalman Sorotzkin, also known as the Lutzker Rav ( he, זלמן סורוצקין; 1881–1966), was an Orthodox rabbi who served as the rabbi of Lutsk, Ukraine. By the end of his life he was noted for his leadership of Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah (Counc ...

died in 1966, Shach became president of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah, before later resigning from the Moetzes after the other leading rabbis refused to follow him.''PONOVEZER ROSH HAYESHIVA RAV ELAZAR MENACHEM MAN SHACH, ZT"L (1894–2001)'' The Jewish Press – Saturday, December 08 2001 – by Rabbi Gershon Tannenbaum with Rabbi Yaakov Klass Shach wrote strongly in support of every observant citizen voting. He felt that a vote not cast for the right party or candidate was effectively a vote for the wrong party and candidate. This theme is consistent in his writings from the time that the State of Israel was established. PikiWiki Israel 9440 harav-shach

Shas ran for the

11th Knesset 11 (eleven) is the natural number following 10 and preceding 12. It is the first repdigit. In English, it is the smallest positive integer whose name has three syllables. Name "Eleven" derives from the Old English ', which is first attested i ...

in 1984, and Shach called upon his "

Lithuanian Lithuanian may refer to: * Lithuanians * Lithuanian language * The country of Lithuania * Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Culture of Lithuania * Lithuanian cuisine * Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...

" followers to vote for it in the polls, a move that many saw as key political and religious move in Shach's split with the Hasidic-controlled Agudat Yisrael. While initially, Shas was largely under the aegis of Shach, Ovadia Yosef gradually exerted control over the party, culminating in Shas' decision to support the Labor party in the 13th Knesset in 1992. On the eve of the November 1988 election, Shach officially broke away from Agudat Israel in protest at Hamodia publishing, as paid advertisements, a series of articles based on the teachings of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn (the Lubavitcher Rebbe). Shach criticized Schneerson for his presumed messianic aspirations. Shach wanted the Aguda party to oppose Lubavitch; however, all but one (

Belz Belz ( uk, Белз; pl, Bełz; yi, בעלז ') is a small city in Lviv Oblast of Western Ukraine, near the border with Poland, located between the Solokiya river (a tributary of the Bug River) and the Richytsia stream. Belz hosts the administ ...

) of the Hasidic groups within the party refused to back him. Shach and his followers then formed the Degel HaTorah ("Flag of the Torah") party to represent the non-Hasidic

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

Haredim. Following a personal visit by Shach in Jerusalem to the leading rabbis and halachic decisors of the day, Yosef Shalom Eliashiv and

Shlomo Zalman Auerbach Shlomo Zalman Auerbach ( he, שלמה זלמן אויערבאך; July 20, 1910 – February 20, 1995) was a renowned Orthodox Jewish rabbi, posek, and rosh yeshiva of the Kol Torah yeshiva in Jerusalem. The Jerusalem neighborhood Ramat Shlomo i ...

, in order to seek their support for the new party, they agreed to lend support to it. Schneerson's followers mobilized to support the Agudat Yisrael party. In the end, Agudat Yisrael secured nearly three times the number of votes it had in 1984, and increased its Knesset representation from two seats to five, while Degel HaTorah only picked up two seats. After the bitter contest in the 1988 elections, Degel HaTorah conceded, and agreed to work together with Agudat Yisrael. They combined forces in the 1992 elections under the name of United Torah Judaism, an agreement which has continued to the present. In a speech delivered prior to the 1992 elections, Shach said that Sephardim were still not fit for leadership, and aroused great anger among Sephardi voters. Following the elections, Shach instructed Shas not to join the government, while Ovadia Yosef instructed them to join; this precipitated an open rift between the parties. Shach then claimed that Shas had "removed itself from the Jewish community when it joined the wicked...". Around 1995, Shach's political activity diminished, following deterioration in his health, before later ceasing altogether. After that, the two main leaders of the Degel HaTorah party were Yosef Shalom Eliashiv, followed by Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman. Shach was deeply opposed to Zionism, both secular and religious. He was fiercely dismissive of secular Israelis and their culture. For example, during a 1990 speech, he lambasted secular

kibbutz A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...

niks as "breeders of rabbits and pigs" who did not "know what Yom Kippur is". In the same speech, he said that the Labor Party had cut themselves off from their Jewish past and wished to "seek a new Torah". Labor Party politician

Yossi Beilin Yosef "Yossi" Beilin ( he, יוסף "יוסי" ביילין, born 12 June 1948) is an Israeli politician who has served in multiple ministerial and leadership positions in the Israeli government. Much of his political career was in the Labour Pa ...

said Shach's speech had set back relations between religious and secular Israelis by decades. In 1985, four years after the Labor Party supported a liberalized abortion law, Shach refused to meet with

Shimon Peres Shimon Peres (; he, שמעון פרס ; born Szymon Perski; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the ninth president of ...

, since he would not even speak with a "murderer of fetuses". In ''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...

'', Shahar Ilan described him as "an ideologue" and "a zealot who repeatedly led his followers into ideological battles".'Haaretz' November 2, 2001
Rabbi Shach – a man of wars and battles
Shach never seemed concerned over the discord his harsh statements might cause, saying that, "There is no need to worry about ''machlokes'' ispute because if it is done for the sake of Heaven, in the end, it will endure... One is obligated to be a ''baal-machlokes'' isputant It is no feat to be in agreement with everybody!" Shach was also critical of Western democracy, once referring to it as a "cancer", adding that, "Only the sacred Torah is the true democracy."

The Holocaust

Shach taught that the Holocaust was a divine punishment for the sins of the Jewish people, and for the abandoning of religious observance for the

enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

. He caused outrage in the secular Israeli media when he stated that "the Holy One, blessed be He, kept score for hundreds of years until it added up to six million Jews". In his defence, Haredi MKs said his comments had been misconstrued, and were not meant to justify Nazi atrocities. Shach believed that the secularism of some Israelis would cause another Holocaust, and he once said that if the Education Ministry were to be placed in the hands of

Meretz Meretz ( he, מֶרֶצ, ) is a left-wing political party in Israel. The party was formed in 1992 by the merger of Ratz, Mapam and Shinui, and was at its peak between 1992 and 1996 when it had 12 seats. It currently has no seats in the Knesset ...

MK Shulamit Aloni, it would result in "over a million Israeli children being forced into apostasy, and that would be worse than what had happened to Jewish children during the Holocaust". Wishing to prevent deviation from the established order of prayers, he opposed the composition of new prayers to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust.

Position on serving in the Israeli military

In May 1998, following talk of a political compromise which would allow Haredim to perform national service by guarding holy places, Shach told his followers in a public statement that it is forbidden to serve in the army, and that "it is necessary to die for this". This is a case, Shach said, in which, halachically, one must "be killed, rather than transgress". This position was expressed in large ads placed in all three of Israel's daily newspapers on May 22, 1998. Shach is quoted as saying that, "Any yeshiva student who cheats the authorities and uses the exemption from service for anything other than real engagement in Torah study is a '' rodef'' (someone who threatens the lives of others)", and that "those who are not learning jeopardize the position of those who are learning as they should".

Position on territorial compromise

Shach supported the withdrawal from land under Israeli control, basing it upon the ''

halakhic ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...

'' principle of '' pikuach nefesh'' (" hesaving

f a F, or f, is the sixth Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphabet#Let ...

life"), in which the preservation of lives takes precedence over nearly all other obligations in the Torah, including those pertaining to the sanctity of land, though Shach's position was later questioned by Shmuel Tuvia Stern, who wondered why Shach hadn't provided ''halakhic'' references supporting his opinion.Shmuel Tuvia Stern 'Shaalot uTeshuvot HaShabit' vol.7 Shach also criticized

Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...

s in the West Bank and

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

as "a blatant attempt to provoke the international community", and called on Haredi Jews to avoid moving to such communities. Shach often said that for true peace, it was "permitted and necessary to compromise on even half of the Land of Israel", and wrote that, "It is forbidden for the Israeli government to be stubborn about these things, as this will add fuel to the fire of anti-Semitism". When Yitzchak Hutner was asked to support this position, he refused, saying that, "agreement to other-than-biblical borders was tantamount to denial of the entire Torah".

Chabad and the Lubavitcher Rebbe

Shach was undoubtedly the greatest antagonist of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn and the only major Lithuanian rabbi to come out in force against the Chabad movement and its leader. From the 1970s onwards, Shach was publicly critical of Schneerson, accusing Chabad of false Messianism by claiming Schneerson had created a cult of crypto-messianism around himself. He objected to Schneerson's calling upon the Messiah to appear, and when some of Schneerson's followers proclaimed him the Messiah, Shach called for a boycott of Chabad and its institutions.''Faith and Fate: The Story of the Jewish People in the 20th century'', Berel Wein, 2001 by Shaar Press. pg. 340 In 1988, Shach denounced Schneerson as a ''meshiach sheker'' (false messiah), and compared Chabad Hasidim to the followers of the 17th century Sabbatai Zevi, branding as

idolatrous Idolatry is the worship of a cult image or "idol" as though it were God. In Abrahamic religions (namely Judaism, Samaritanism, Christianity, the Baháʼí Faith, and Islam) idolatry connotes the worship of something or someone other than the A ...

Schneerson's statement that a rebbe is "the essence and being of God clothed in a body". Followers of Shach refused to eat meat slaughtered by Chabad Hasidim, refusing to recognize them as adherents of authentic Judaism. Shach also opposed Chabad's Tefillin Campaign, and once described Schneerson as "the madman who sits in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and drives the whole world crazy". He nevertheless prayed for his recovery, explaining that "I pray for the rebbe's recovery, and simultaneously also pray that he abandon his invalid way". Schneerson, citing case law in the '' Shulchan Aruch'', strongly opposed both peace talks with the Palestinians and relinquishing territory to them under any circumstances, while Shach supported the " land for peace" approach.

Attacks on other Orthodox rabbis and groups

In addition to his criticism of Schneerson, Shach attacked the following rabbis: Joseph B. Soloveitchik In a lengthy attack on

Joseph B. Soloveitchik Joseph Ber Soloveitchik ( he, יוסף דב הלוי סולובייצ׳יק ''Yosef Dov ha-Levi Soloveychik''; February 27, 1903 – April 9, 1993) was a major American Orthodox rabbi, Talmudist, and modern Jewish philosopher. He was a scion o ...

(d. 1993) of Yeshiva University, Shach accused him of writing "things that are forbidden to hear", as well as of "... endangering the survival of Torah-true Judaism by indoctrinating the masses with actual words of heresy". The Gerer Rebbe Shach resigned from the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah ("Council of Torah Greats") following tensions between him and the Gerer Rebbe,

Simcha Bunim Alter Simcha Bunim Alter ( he, שמחה בונים אלתר; April 6, 1898 – August 6, 1992), also known as the ''Lev Simcha'' (), after the works he authored, was the sixth Rebbe of the Hasidic dynasty of Ger, a position he held from 1977 until his ...

. In the Eleventh Knesset elections of 1984, Shach had already told his supporters to vote for Shas, instead of Agudat Yisrael. Some perceived the schism as the re-emergence of the dissent between Hasidim and Mitnagdim, as Shach represented the Lithuanian Torah world, while the Gerer Rebbe was among the most important Hasidic Rebbes and represented the most significant Hasidic court in Agudat Yisrael. However, it would not be accurate to base the entire conflict on a renewal of the historic dispute between Hasidim and Mitnagdim which began in the latter half of the eighteenth century. Adin Steinsaltz Adin Steinsaltz was likewise accused of heresy by Shach, who, in a letter written September 10, 1988, wrote that "... and similarly, all his other works contain heresy. It is forbidden to debate with Steinsaltz, because, as a heretic, all the debates will only cause him to degenerate more. He is not a genuine person (''ein tocho ke-baro''), and everyone is obliged to distance themselves from him. This is the duty of the hour (''mitzvah be-sha'atah''). It will generate merit for the forthcoming Day of Judgement." In summer 1989, a group of rabbis, including Shach, placed a ban on three of Steinsaltz's books. The Modern Orthodox and Yeshiva University Shach wrote that Yeshiva University-type institutions are an entirely negative phenomenon, posing a threat to the very endurance of authentic Judaism. Shach said that these modern conceptions were "an absolute disaster, causing the destruction of our Holy Torah. Even the so-called '

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 ...

' in the USA is a terrible disaster, a ' ''churban ha-das'' ' (destruction of the Jewish religion)..." Shach further writes that the success of those people who were able to achieve greatness in Torah, despite their involvement in secular studies, are "''ma'aseh

satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as Devil in Christianity, the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an non-physical entity, entity in the Abrahamic religions ...

''" (the work of the satanic forces), for the existence of such role models will entice others to follow suit, only to be doomed. In a conversation that he had with an American rabbi in the 1980s, Shach stated, "The Americans think that I am too controversial and divisive. But in a time when no one else is willing to speak up on behalf of our true tradition, I feel myself impelled to do so."

Hasidic Judaism

Shach wrote that he was not opposed to Hasidic Judaism, saying he recognized Hasidism as "''yera'im''" and "''shlaymim''" (God-fearing and wholesome), and full of Torah and

mitzvos In its primary meaning, the Hebrew word (; he, מִצְוָה, ''mīṣvā'' , plural ''mīṣvōt'' ; "commandment") refers to a commandment commanded by God to be performed as a religious duty. Jewish law () in large part consists of discus ...

and fear of Heaven. Shach denied that he was a hater of Hasidim: "We are fighting against secularism in the yeshivas. Today, with the help of Heaven, people are learning Torah in both Hasidic and Lithuanian yeshivos. In my view, there is no difference between them; all of them are important and dear to me. In fact, go ahead, and ask your Hasidic friends with us at Ponevezh if I distinguish between Hasidic and Lithuanian students."

Death

Shach died on November 2, 2001, two months short of his 103rd birthday (although other reports put his age at 108). His funeral in Bnei Brak was attended by up to 400,000 people. PM

Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon (; ; ; also known by his diminutive Arik, , born Ariel Scheinermann, ; 26 February 1928 – 11 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. S ...

said: "There is no doubt that we have lost an important person who made his mark over many years." Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau said Shach's most important contribution were his efforts in restoring Jewish scholarship after the Holocaust. ''Haaretz'' described him as "an ideologue", and "a zealot who repeatedly led his followers into ideological battles". David Landau wrote that his "uniqueness lay in the authority he wielded", and that "perhaps not since the Gaon Elijah of Vilna, who lived in the latter part of the 18th century, has there been a rabbinical figure of such unchallenged power over the Orthodox world".

Avi Shafran 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 ...

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 ...

said: "His pronouncements and his talks when he was active would regularly capture the rapt attention of the entire Orthodox world." A dispute subsequently arose as to whether Yosef Shalom Eliashiv or Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman should succeed him. The towns of Bnei Brak and

Beitar Illit Beitar Illit ( he, בֵּיתָר עִלִּית; officially Betar Illit; "Illit" is pronounced "ee-leet"; ar, بيتار عيليت) is an Haredi Jewish-Israeli settlement organized as a city council in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc, sout ...

have streets named after him. Shach was survived by his daughter Devorah, who had nine children with

Meir Tzvi Bergman Meir ( he, מֵאִיר) is a Jewish male given name and an occasional surname. It means "one who shines". It is often Germanized as Maier, Mayer, Mayr, Meier, Meyer, Meijer, Italianized as Miagro, or Anglicized as Mayer, Meyer, or Myer.Alfred J ...

, and his son Ephraim, who rejected the Haredi lifestylehttps://www.srugim.co.il/14570- and joined the

Religious Zionist Religious Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת דָּתִית, translit. ''Tziyonut Datit'') is an ideology that combines Zionism and Orthodox Judaism. Its adherents are also referred to as ''Dati Leumi'' ( "National Religious"), and in Israel, the ...

movement. Ephraim Shach served in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

, received a doctorate in history and philosophy from the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Yeshiva University, and worked as a supervisor for the

Israel Ministry of Education The Ministry of Education ( he, מִשְׂרָד הַחִנּוּךְ, translit. ''Misrad HaHinukh''; ar, وزارة التربية والتعليم) is the branch of the Israeli government charged with overseeing public education institutions ...

. He married Tamara Yarlicht-Kowalsky, and they had two children. He died on October 17, 2011, at the age of 81.

Works

*''Avi Ezri'' – Insights and expositions on various concepts in the

Yad HaChazaka The ''Mishneh Torah'' ( he, מִשְׁנֵה תּוֹרָה, , repetition of the Torah), also known as ''Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka'' ( he, ספר יד החזקה, , book of the strong hand, label=none), is a code of Rabbinic Jewish religious law ('' ...

of the Rambam *''Michtavim u'Maamarim – a collection of Shach's letters published in various editions of 4–6 volumes.''

References

External links

Eulogies and articles about Rabbi Shach:
(Hebrew) Interview with Dr. Ephraim Shach about his father, Rabbi Elazar Shach

Tzava'a of Rabbi Shach (in Hebrew)
Text:
Shiurim (Hebrew) from Rabbi Shach on various masechtos

Chiddushim (Hebrew) from Rabbi Shach on various talmudic topics

Speech
at the Sixth ''Knessiah Gedolah'' of World Agudath Israel in 1980 in Jerusalem
Speech
at eighth

Siyum HaShas Siyum HaShas ( he, סיום הש"ס, lit. "completion of the Six Orders f the Talmud) is a celebration of the completion of the Daf Yomi (daily Talmud folio) program, a roughly seven-and-a-half-year cycle of learning the Oral Torah and its comme ...

in 1982
Speech
at Agudah convention in 1982 Videos:
Video of Rabbi Shach speaking at Degel Hatorah convention
at

Binyanei HaUma The International Convention Center ( he, מרכז הקונגרסים הבינלאומי, ''Merkaz HaKongresim HaBeinLeumi''), commonly known as Binyenei HaUma ( he, בנייני האומה, lit. ''Buildings of the nation''), is a concert hall and ...

, and convention at Yad Eliyahu Arena (17 minutes into video) on March 26, 1990.
Video
of Rabbi Shach speaking at

Kallah Yarchei Kallah (Hebrew: "''months of the bride''") is the name of a teachers' convention that was held twice a year in Babylonian Academies, by the Jews then in captivity in Babylon, after the beginning of the amoraic period, in the two months Ad ...

at Ponevezh Yeshiva
Video
of Rabbi Shach giving eulogy for Rabbi Moshe Feinstein at Etz Chaim Yeshiva {{DEFAULTSORT:Shach, Elazar 1899 births 2001 deaths Chabad-Lubavitch related controversies Haredi rabbis in Israel Israeli centenarians Israeli people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent Lithuanian Haredi rabbis Lithuanian emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Men centenarians People from Bnei Brak People from Vabalninkas Ponevezh Rosh yeshivas Haredi rabbis in Mandatory Palestine Rabbis in Bnei Brak Rabai Shech