Rosh yeshiva ( he, ראש ישיבה,
pl. he, ראשי ישיבה, '; Anglicized pl. ''rosh yeshivas'') is the title given to the dean of 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 ...
, a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the
Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
and the
Torah
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...
, and ''
halakha
''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 ...
'' (Jewish law).
The general role of the rosh yeshiva is to oversee the Talmudic studies and
practical
Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition that considers words and thought as tools and instruments for prediction, problem solving, and action, and rejects the idea that the function of thought is to describe, represent, or mirror reality. ...
matters. The rosh yeshiva will often give the highest ''
shiur
Shiur (, , lit. ''amount'', pl. shiurim ) is a lecture on any Torah topic, such as Gemara, Mishnah, Halakha (Jewish law), Tanakh (Bible), etc.
History
The Hebrew term שיעור ("designated amount") came to refer to a portion of Jud ...
'' (class) and is also the one to decide whether to grant permission for students to undertake classes for rabbinical ordination, known as ''
semicha
Semikhah ( he, סמיכה) is the traditional Jewish name for rabbinic ordination.
The original ''semikhah'' was the formal "transmission of authority" from Moses through the generations. This form of ''semikhah'' ceased between 360 and 425 C ...
''.
The term is a
compound
Compound may refer to:
Architecture and built environments
* Compound (enclosure), a cluster of buildings having a shared purpose, usually inside a fence or wall
** Compound (fortification), a version of the above fortified with defensive struct ...
of the Hebrew words ''rosh'' ("head") and ''yeshiva'' (a school of religious Jewish education). The rosh yeshiva is required to have a comprehensive knowledge of the Talmud and the ability to analyse and present new perspectives, called ''
chidush
Chidush ( he, חִדּוּשׁ; also transliterated as chiddush, hiddush or hidush), sometimes used in its plural form, chidushim ( he, חִדּוּשׁים), is a novel interpretation or approach.
Historically referring to Torah topics,
...
im'' (
novellae In Roman law, a novel ( la, novella constitutio, "new decree"; gr, νεαρά, neara) is a new decree or edict, in other words a new law. The term was used from the fourth century AD onwards and was specifically used for laws issued after the publi ...
) verbally and often in print.
In some institutions, such as YU's
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan 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 ...
, the title of ''rosh yeshiva'' is given to many rabbis and the dean of the yeshiva is known as the ''rosh ha-yeshiva.''
Role
The primary role of the rosh yeshiva is not simply to be the dean, but is generally to give the
highest-level lecture in the yeshiva, which is usually a program of at least two years. Students who have studied in a yeshiva are generally known as "students of the Rosh Yeshiva", as their lecture is the one in which they usually attain their method of Talmudic analysis and critical reasoning, and this method is based on the particular style of that rosh yeshiva.
In addition, since yeshivas play a central role in the life of certain communities within
Orthodox Judaism
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 ...
, the position of rosh yeshiva is more than just the position within the yeshiva. A rosh yeshiva is often seen as a pillar of leadership in extended communities.
In
Hasidic Judaism
Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Judaism, Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory ...
, the role of rosh yeshiva is secondary to the
Rebbe
A Rebbe ( yi, רבי, translit=rebe) or Admor ( he, אדמו״ר) is the spiritual leader in the Hasidic movement, and the personalities of its dynasties.Heilman, Samuel"The Rebbe and the Resurgence of Orthodox Judaism."''Religion and Spiritua ...
, who is head of the Hasidic dynasty that controls it. In many Hasidic groups, the rosh yeshiva of a school will be the son or son-in-law of the rebbe, the assumed heir of the rebbe. However, the role that yeshivahs have within Hasidic communities is not nearly as important as it is in Lithuanian Jewish (
Litvishe
''Misnagdim'' (, "Opponents"; Sephardi pronunciation: ''Mitnagdim''; singular ''misnaged''/''mitnaged'') was a religious movement among the Jews of Eastern Europe which resisted the rise of Hasidism in the 18th and 19th centuries. The ''Misna ...
) communities. Hasidic students usually get married at the age of 18, which—in most cases—is the end of their yeshiva education. Students in the Lithuanian Jewish communities typically continue to study until they get married starting at around age 23, with the vast majority continuing their studies in a ''
kollel
A kollel ( he, כולל, , , a "gathering" or "collection" f scholars is an institute for full-time, advanced study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features shiurim (lectures) and learning ''sedarim'' (sessions); ...
'' after marriage. As a result, the role that a rosh yeshiva plays in Lithuanian Jewish communities is much more important than in the Hasidic ones.
History
Yeshivas continue the scholarly traditions of the sages of the
Mishnah
The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah ...
and
Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
who often headed academies with hundreds of students. In the
Talmudic academies in Babylonia, the rosh yeshiva was referred to as the ''reish
metivta
''Mesivta'' (also metivta; Aramaic: מתיבתא, "academy") is an Orthodox Jewish yeshiva secondary school for boys. The term is commonly used in the United States to describe a yeshiva that emphasizes Talmudic studies for boys in grades ...
'' ("head of the academy" in
Aramaic
The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...
) and had the title of ''
gaon''. Regard for the rosh yeshiva in many ways is the transplantation of Hasidic attitudes in the Lithuanian world.
Dynasties
Depending on the size of the yeshiva, there may be several rosh yeshivas, sometimes from one extended family. There are familial dynasties of rosh yeshivas, for example, the
Soloveitchik Soloveitchik ( he, סולובייצ'יק yi, סאָלאָווייטשיק) (also Soloveichik) is a surname. The name is a diminutive form of the Russian word соловей, "nightingale", since the Soloveitchiks are a family of Levites, who are co ...
,
Finkel Finkel or Finckel is a surname. Notable people with the name include:
* Alan Finkel, Australia's Chief Scientist
* Aryeh Finkel, rosh yeshiva of the Brachfeld branch of the Mir yeshiva
* Benjamin Finkel, American mathematician and educator
* B ...
,
Feinstein Feinstein, Finestein ( yi, פֿײַנשטײַן, he, פיינשטיין, russian: Файнштейн, "Fajnsztajn", "Fajnsztejn" in Polish spelling) or anglicized as Finestone, meaning "fine stone", that is gemstone, is a compound surname of Germ ...
,
Kotler Kotler is a Jewish surname and may refer to :
*Rabbi Aharon Kotler was a prominent leader of Orthodox Judaism in Lithuania, and later the United States of America, where he built one of the first and largest yeshivas in the US.
*Rabbi Malkiel Kotl ...
, and
Kook families, which head many yeshivas in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
.
Famous rosh yeshivas
Prior to
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 ...
, most of the large yeshivas were based in
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...
. Presently, the majority of the world's yeshivas and their rosh yeshivas are located in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
.
The following is a list of some famous rosh yeshivas:
*Rabbi
Yaakov Ades
Yaakov Hai Zion Ades ( he, יעקב חי ציון עדס, February 24, 1898 – July 19, 1963), also spelled Adas or Adess, was a Sephardi Hakham, Rosh Yeshiva, and Rabbinical High Court judge. As rosh yeshiva of Porat Yosef Yeshiva in Jerusa ...
*Rabbi
Ezra Attiya
Ezra Attiya ( he, עזרא עטייה; ar, عزرا عطية; 31 January 1885 – 25 May 1970) was one of the greatest teachers of Torah in the Sephardic Jewish world during the 20th century. He was rosh yeshiva of Porat Yosef Yeshiva in Je ...
*Rabbi
Chaim Yehuda Leib Auerbach
Chaim Yehuda Leib Auerbach (1883 – 26 September 1954) was a Haredi rabbi and roshei yeshiva of Shaar Hashamayim Yeshiva, a landmark Jerusalem institution specializing in Talmudic and kabbalah studies for Ashkenazi scholars that he helped found in ...
*Rabbi
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 ...
*Rabbi
Leib Bakst
*Rabbi
Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin
Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin (20 November 1816 in Mir, Russia – 10 August 1893 in Warsaw, Poland), also known as Reb Hirsch Leib Berlin, and commonly known by the acronym Netziv, was an Orthodox rabbi, ''Rosh yeshiva'' (dean) of the Volozhin Ye ...
*Rabbi
Avraham Yitzchak Bloch
Avraham Yitzchak Bloch ( he, אברהם יצחק בלוך; 1891–1941) was the '' Rosh yeshiva'' of the Telz Yeshiva in Lithuania, and one of the greatest pre-Holocaust rabbinic figures.
Early life
Avraham Yitchak Bloch was born in 1891 and was ...
*Rabbi
Moshe Mordechai Epstein
Moshe Mordechai Epstein (1866–1933) was rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Knesseth Yisrael in Slabodka, Lithuania and is recognized as having been one of the leading Talmudists of the twentieth century. He is also one of the founders of the city of Had ...
*Rabbi
Moshe Feinstein
Moshe Feinstein ( he, משה פײַנשטיין; Lithuanian pronunciation: ''Moshe Faynshteyn''; en, Moses Feinstein; March 3, 1895 – March 23, 1986) was an American Orthodox rabbi, scholar, and ''posek'' (authority on ''halakha''—Je ...
*Rabbi
Eliezer Yehuda Finkel Eliezer Yehuda Finkel may refer to one of the two rosh yeshivas of the Mir yeshivas:
* Eliezer Yehuda Finkel (born 1879) (1879–1965), also known as Reb Leizer Yudel, rosh yeshiva of the Mir yeshiva in Poland and Jerusalem
* Eliezer Yehuda Finke ...
*Rabbi
Nosson Tzvi Finkel
*Rabbi
Chaim Flom Rabbi Chaim Flom (July 6, 1951 - May 19, 2008) was a rabbi, scholar and Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Ohr David in Jerusalem, Israel. He studied at Yeshivas Rabbeinu Yisrael Meir HaKohen. originally from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania.
He founded Yeshivat O ...
*Rabbi
Mordechai Gifter
Mordechai Gifter (October 15, 1915 - January 18, 2001) was an American Haredi rabbi. He was the rosh yeshiva (dean) of the Telz Yeshiva in Cleveland, and among the foremost religious leaders of Orthodox Jewry in the late 20th century.
Gifter st ...
*Rabbi
Refael Reuvain Grozovsky
Refael Reuvain Grozovsky ( be, Рафаэль Гразоўскі; 1886, Minsk, Belarus – 1958, United States) was a leading Orthodox rabbi, Jewish religious leader and rosh yeshiva ("dean") known for his Talmudic analytical style.
Early years
...
*Rabbi
Chaim Yaakov Goldvicht
Rabbi Chaim Yaakov Goldvicht (September 1924 – February 7, 1994) was the founding Rosh yeshiva of Israel's first Hesder yeshiva, Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh, commonly known as KBY. A world-renowned scholar and teacher, Rabbi Goldvicht was also the ...
*Rabbi
Eliezer Gordon
Eliezer Gordon ( he, אליעזר גוֹרְדוֹן; 1841–1910) also known as Reb Laizer Telzer (), served as the rabbi and ''rosh yeshiva'' of Telz, Lithuania.
Early years
Eliezer Gordon was born in 1841 in the village of Chernyany (or ...
*Rabbi
Nachman Shlomo Greenspan
Rabbi Nachman Shlomo Greenspan ( he, נחמן שלמה גרינשפן; 1878 – August 1961) was a Talmudic scholar, rosh yeshiva of Etz Chaim in London, and an author of a number of works about the Torah.__NOTOC__
Early years
Greenspan was born ...
*Rabbi
Shlomo Heiman Shlomo Heiman, (1892–1945) known informally as "Reb Shlomo", was a rabbi, Talmudist, and rosh yeshiva. He led some of the most prominent yeshivas in Europe and the United States.
Early life
Shlomo Heiman was born in Paritsh, Minsk in Belaru ...
*Rabbi
Pinchas Hirschprung
Pinchas Hirschprung (; 13 July 1912, Dukla, Galicia – 25 January 1998, Montreal, Canada) was a Polish-Canadian rabbi, ''posek'', and ''rosh yeshiva'', who served as Chief Rabbi of Montreal from 1969 until his death.
Biography Early life
Pin ...
*Rabbi
Yitzchok Hutner
Yitzchak (Isaac) Hutner ( he, יצחק הוטנר; 1906–1980) was an American Orthodox rabbi and rosh yeshiva (dean).
Originally from Warsaw, Hutner first studied the Torah in Slabodka. He then traveled to Mandatory Palestine where he became a ...
*Rabbi
Yisrael Meir Kagan
Rabbi Yisrael Meir ha-Kohen Kagan (January 26, 1838 – September 15, 1933), known popularly as the Chofetz Chaim, after his book on lashon hara, who was also well known for the Mishna Berurah, his book on ritual law, was an influential Lithuan ...
*Rabbi
Yaakov Kamenetsky
Yaakov Kamenetsky (February 28, 1891 – March 10, 1986), was a prominent rabbi, rosh yeshiva, ''posek'' and Talmudist in the post-World War II American Jewish community.
Biography
Yaakov Kamenetsky was born at a folwark called Kalyskovka owned b ...
*Rabbi
Abraham Isaac Kook
Abraham Isaac Kook (; 7 September 1865 – 1 September 1935), known as Rav Kook, and also known by the acronym HaRaAYaH (), was an Orthodox rabbi, and the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of British Mandatory Palestine. He is considered to be one ...
*Rabbi
Zvi Yehuda Kook
Zvi Yehuda Kook ( he, צבי יהודה קוק, 23 April 1891 – 9 March 1982) was a prominent ultranationalist Orthodox rabbi. He was the son of Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak Hacohen Kook, the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of British Mandatory Palest ...
*Rabbi
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 ...
*Rabbi
Shneur Kotler
Yosef Chaim Shneur Kotler (1918 – 24 June 1982) was an Orthodox rabbi and rosh yeshiva of Beth Medrash Govoha (also known as the Lakewood Yeshiva) in Lakewood, New Jersey from 1962 to 1982. During his tenure, he developed the Lithuanian-style ...
*Rabbi
Boruch Ber Leibowitz
Boruch Ber Leibowitz ( yi, ברוך בער לייבאוויץ he, רב ברוך דוב ליבוביץ, Boruch Dov Libovitz; 1862 – November 17, 1939, known as Reb Boruch Ber, was a rabbi famed for his Talmudic lectures, particularly in that ...
* Rabbi
Aharon Lichtenstein
Aharon Lichtenstein (May 23, 1933 – April 20, 2015) was a noted Orthodox rabbi and rosh yeshiva. He was an authority in Jewish law (''Halakha'').
Biography
Aharon Lichtenstein was born to Rabbi Dr. Yechiel Lichtenstein and Bluma née Schwartz ...
* Rabbi
Dov Linzer
Dov Linzer (Hebrew: דב נתן לינזר; born September 16, 1966) is the President and Rabbinic Head (Rosh HaYeshiva) of the Modern Orthodox Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School in Riverdale, New York. He is a teacher, lecturer, podcaster, ...
* Rabbi
Eliezer Melamed
Eliezer Melamed ( he, אליעזר מלמד, born 28 June 1961) is an Israeli Orthodox Zionist rabbi and the rosh yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Bracha, rabbi of the community Har Bracha, and author of the book series ''Peninei Halakha''.
Biography
Eli ...
* Rabbi
Isser Zalman Meltzer
Isser Zalman Meltzer ( he, איסר זלמן מלצר) (February 6, 1870 – November 17, 1953),Isser Zalman Meltzer "Even HaEzel" (1870 - 1953) was a famous Lithuanian Jewish and Belarusian Orthodox rabbi, rosh yeshiva and posek. He is also kno ...
* Rabbi
M.M. Minshky
* Rabbi
Avigdor Nebenzahl
Avigdor Nebenzahl (born 1935) is an Israeli Orthodox rabbi and Posek. He is the senior rosh yeshiva at Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh, a faculty member at Yeshivat HaKotel, and rabbi of the Ramban Synagogue. Nebenzahl previously served as rabbi of the Old ...
* Rabbi
Avraham Yaakov Pam
Avraham Yaakov Pam (1913 – August 16, 2001) was the '' rosh yeshiva'' of Yeshiva Torah Vodaas in Brooklyn, New York.
Biography
Rabbi Pam began his career at Yeshiva Torah Vodaas in 1938, when was appointed '' maggid shiur'' (Talmudic lectur ...
* Rabbi
Yisroel Yitzchok Piekarski
Rabbi Yisroel Yitzchok Piekarski (1905–1992) was a Polish-born rabbi who was the Rosh Yeshiva of the Lubavich hassidic movement for 42 years.
Biography
Rabbi Yisroel Yitzchok Piekarski was born in Sosnowiec Poland in 1905 to a family of Amshi ...
* Rabbi
Shmuel Rozovsky
Shmuel Rozovsky (1913–1979) was a rabbi, best known as a Talmudic lecturer at the Ponevezh Yeshiva located in Bnei Brak, Israel, and was counted amongst the great rabbis of his generation. He was known worldwide for his clarity in explaining c ...
* Rabbi
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 ...
* Rabbi
Yisroel 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. ...
* Rabbi
Yechezkel Sarna
Yechezkel Sarna (1890–1969) was a disciple of Nosson Tzvi Finkel, (known as the "''Alter'' (elder) of Slabodka"), spiritual mentor of the Slabodka yeshiva. He was sent by Finkel to move the yeshiva from Europe to Hebron in 1925, and following ...
* Rabbi
Hershel Schachter
Rabbi Hershel Schachter (born ) is an American Orthodox rabbi, posek (religious law authority) and rosh yeshiva (dean) at Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS), part of Yeshiva University (YU) in New York City.
Schachter is an '' hal ...
* Rabbi
Aaron Schechter
Aaron Moshe Schechter (also Aharon Moshe Schechter) is an American Haredi rabbi. He is the rosh yeshiva (dean) of Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin and its post-graduate Talmudical division, Kollel Gur Aryeh. He also serves on the presidium of Agudat ...
* Rabbi
Gedalia Schorr
Gedalyahu HaLevi Schorr (27 November 1910 – 7 July 1979),http://www.tzemachdovid.org/gedolim/jo/tworld/rschorr.html also known as Gedalia Schorr, was a prominent rabbi and rosh yeshiva. He was regarded as the "first American Gadol" (Torah g ...
* Rabbi
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 ...
* Rabbi
Moshe Shmuel Shapira
Moshe Shmuel Shapiro (1917–2006) was a Rosh Yeshiva and important rabbinic figure in Israel.
Early life and education
Moshe Shmuel Shapiro's father, Aryeh Shapira, was the son of Refael Shapiro of Volozhin and grandson of Naftali Zvi Yehuda B ...
* Rabbi
Meir Shapiro
Yehuda Meir Shapiro ( pl, Majer Jehuda Szapira; March 3, 1887 – October 27, 1933), was a prominent Polish Hasidic rabbi and rosh yeshiva, also known as the Lubliner Rav. He is noted for his promotion of the Daf Yomi study program in 1923, a ...
* Rabbi
Naftoli Shapiro
Rabbi Naftoli Shapiro (1906–1981) was an Orthodox Talmudic scholar and rosh yeshiva in Glasgow for 40 years.
Born in 1906 in the town of Mir, Poland, Rabbi Shapiro studied at the prestigious Mir yeshiva from the age of twelve. He also lear ...
* Rabbi
Shimon Shkop
Shimon Yehuda Shkop ( he, שמעון שקופ; 1860 – October 22, 1939) was a rosh yeshiva (dean) of the Yeshiva of Telshe and then of Yeshiva Shaar HaTorah of Grodno, and a Talmid Chacham (Talmudic scholar).
Early life
Shkop was born in T ...
* Rabbi
Chaim Shmuelevitz
* Rabbi
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 ...
* Rabbi
Adin Steinsaltz
Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz (11 July 19377 August 2020) ( he, עדין אבן-ישראל שטיינזלץ) was an Israeli Chabad Chasidic rabbi, teacher, philosopher, social critic, author, translator and publisher.
His '' Steinsaltz edi ...
* Rabbi
Naftoli Trop
Naftoli Trop (1871 – September 24, 1928) was a renowned Talmudist and Talmid Chacham. He served as ''rosh yeshiva'' of Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim in Radun, Poland.
Early years
Naftoli Trop was born in Grodno, where he studied with his father, Rab ...
* Rabbi
Chaim Volozhin
Chaim of Volozhin (also known as Chaim ben Yitzchok of Volozhin or Chaim Ickovits; January 21, 1749 – June 14, 1821)Jewish Encyclopedia Bibliography: Fuenn, Keneset Yisrael, pp. 347–349; idem, Kiryah Ne'emanah, pp. 156–158; Le ...
* Rabbi
Elchonon Wasserman
Elchonon Bunim Wasserman ( he, אלחנן בונים וסרמן; 18746 July 1941) was a prominent rabbi and rosh yeshiva (dean) in prewar Europe. He was one of the closest students of Yisrael Meir Kagan (the Chofetz Chaim) and a noted Talmid Chac ...
* Rabbi
Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg
Rabbi Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg (1884–1966) was an Orthodox rabbi, posek ("decisor" of Jewish law) and rosh yeshiva. He is best known as the author of the work of responsa ''Seridei Eish''.
Weinberg was considered a genius in his time - with m ...
* Rabbi
Ezra Schochet
Ezra Binyomin Schochet ( he, עזרא בנימין שוחט) is an Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox rabbi and Chabad, Lubavitcher Hasidic Judaism, Hasid who serves as rosh yeshiva (dean) of Yeshiva Ohr Elchonon Chabad/West Coast Talmudical Seminary in L ...
Rosh mesivta
The title ''rosh mesivta'' (alt. rosh metivta) has a long history, going back many centuries. The role is comparable to a dean in a university.
["ROSH MESIVTA: the dean of a MESIVTA."
]
Mashgiach Ruchani
The personal and ethical development of the students in the yeshiva is usually covered by a different personality, known as the ''mashgiach'' or spiritual supervisor. This concept, introduced by the
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: ...
in the 19th century, led to perfection of character as one of the aims of attending a yeshiva. One typical and influential ''mashgiach'' was Rabbi
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 Is ...
.
See
*
Yeshivish
Yeshivish (), also known as Yeshiva English, Yeshivisheh Shprach, or Yeshivisheh Reid, is a sociolect of English spoken by Yeshiva students and other Jews with a strong connection to the Orthodox Yeshiva world.
"Yeshivish" may also refer to n ...
*
List of yeshivos in Europe (before World War II)
References
{{Jewish education
Hebrew words and phrases
Jewish religious occupations
Orthodox rabbinic roles and titles