, image = הרב שאול ישראלי.JPG
, caption = Rabbi Shaul Yisraeli
, image_size =
, title =
, birth_name =
, birth_date = July 14, 1909
, birth_place =
Slutsk
Slutsk ( officially transliterated as Sluck, be, Слуцк; russian: Слуцк; pl, Słuck, lt, Sluckas, Yiddish/Hebrew: סלוצק ''Slutsk'') is a city in Belarus, located on the Sluch River south of Minsk. As of 2022, its population i ...
,
Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...
, death_date =
, death_place =
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, buried =
Sanhedria Cemetery
Sanhedria Cemetery ( he, בית עלמין סנהדריה) is a 27- dunam (6.67- acre) Jewish burial ground in the Sanhedria neighborhood of Jerusalem, adjacent to the intersection of Levi Eshkol Boulevard, Shmuel HaNavi Street, and Bar-Ilan ...
,
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, nationality =
, denomination =
Hardal
Hardal (also spelled Chardal; he, חרד״ל, acronym for , , plural ) usually refers to the portion of the Religious Zionist Jewish community in Israel which inclines significantly toward Haredi ideology (whether in terms of outlook on the sec ...
Rabbi Shaul Yisraeli ( he, הרב שאול ישראלי) (July 14, 1909 – June 17, 1995
) was one of the leading rabbis of
religious Zionism
Religious Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת דָּתִית, Romanization of Hebrew, translit. ''Tziyonut Datit'') is an ideology that combines Zionism and Orthodox Judaism. Its adherents are also referred to as ''Dati Leumi'' ( "National Religiou ...
. He served as the rabbi of
moshav Kfar Haroeh
Kfar Haroeh ( he, כְּפַר הָרֹאֶ"ה, ''lit.'' Haroeh Village) is a religious moshav in central Israel. Located in the coastal plain between Hadera and Netanya, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hefer Valley Regional Council. In it ...
, as a ''Dayan'' (rabbinic judge) in the Supreme religious court of Israel, as a member of the Chief Rabbinate Council, as
Rosh Yeshiva in
Mercaz HaRav
Mercaz HaRav (officially, he, מרכז הרב - הישיבה המרכזית העולמית, "The Center of Rabbi ook- the Central Universal Yeshiva") is a national-religious yeshiva in Jerusalem, founded in 1924 by Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Abraha ...
, and as President of the
Eretz Hemdah Institute. Rabbi Yisraeli was awarded the
Israel Prize in
Judaic Studies
Jewish studies (or Judaic studies; he, מדעי היהדות, madey ha-yahadut, sciences of Judaism) is an academic discipline centered on the study of Jews and Judaism. Jewish studies is interdisciplinary and combines aspects of history (espe ...
.
Biography
Childhood
Shaul Yisraeli was born in the city of
Slutsk
Slutsk ( officially transliterated as Sluck, be, Слуцк; russian: Слуцк; pl, Słuck, lt, Sluckas, Yiddish/Hebrew: סלוצק ''Slutsk'') is a city in Belarus, located on the Sluch River south of Minsk. As of 2022, its population i ...
, in the
Minsk Governorate
The Minsk Governorate (russian: Минская губерния, Belarusian: ) or Government of Minsk was a governorate ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire. The seat was in Minsk. It was created in 1793 from the land acquired in the partitio ...
of the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
(present-day
Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...
) to Rabbi Binyamin and Chava Izraelit. Rabbi Binyamin was the rabbi and
Av Beit Din (Chief Rabbinical Judge) of
Koydanovo, near
Minsk
Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
, devoting himself to its spiritual rehabilitation after World War I. Rabbi Binyamin was arrested by the Soviets for teaching
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 ...
to community members and was sent to
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...
; subsequently, all contact with him was lost. His mother Chava was later murdered by the
Nazis
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...
.
As a youth, he learned in the
Talmud Torah
Talmud Torah ( he, תלמוד תורה, lit. 'Study of the Torah') schools were created in the Jewish world, both Ashkenazic and Sephardic, as a form of religious school for boys of modest backgrounds, where they were given an elementary educ ...
and Yeshiva Ketana under Rabbi
Yehezkel Abramsky
Yehezkel Abramsky ( he, יחזקאל אברמסקי) (7 February 1886 – 19 September 1976), also affectionately referred to as Reb Chatzkel Abramsky, was a prominent and influential Lithuanian Jewish Orthodox rabbi and scholar, born and raised ...
in Slutsk; this during the period when 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 kn ...
was the Rosh Yeshiva. There he gained fame as a talmudic prodigy.
From 1987, he served as head of the Eretz Hemdah Institute, a prestigious Jerusalem
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); ...
(teachers college) that trains yeshiva students as rabbis, rabbinical court judges, and teachers.
Escape to Israel
In Communist Russia, Yisraeli studied in various "underground" yeshivot. In 1933, after his requests for an exit visa from Russia were repeatedly denied, he illegally crossed the frozen
Prut
The Prut (also spelled in English as Pruth; , uk, Прут) is a long river in Eastern Europe. It is a left tributary of the Danube. In part of its course it forms Romania's border with Moldova and Ukraine.
Characteristics
The Prut originates ...
river into
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
. Yisraeli and his two friends were caught by the Polish police, who planned to return them to the Russian authorities – likely a death sentence. Due to the intervention of Chief Rabbi
Avraham 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 of ...
and his son 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 Pal ...
, Yisraeli was released and granted an immigration certificate to
Mandatory Palestine
Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...
. He arrived in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
in 1933, and studied at Rabbi Kook's yeshiva,
Mercaz Harav
Mercaz HaRav (officially, he, מרכז הרב - הישיבה המרכזית העולמית, "The Center of Rabbi ook- the Central Universal Yeshiva") is a national-religious yeshiva in Jerusalem, founded in 1924 by Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Abraha ...
, for the following five years.
Rabbinic career
Yisraeli became rabbi of the religious
moshav Kfar Haroeh
Kfar Haroeh ( he, כְּפַר הָרֹאֶ"ה, ''lit.'' Haroeh Village) is a religious moshav in central Israel. Located in the coastal plain between Hadera and Netanya, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hefer Valley Regional Council. In it ...
in 1938, where he served as community rabbi until his 1965 appointment as judge (''dayyan'') in the Supreme
Rabbinical Court
A beit din ( he, בית דין, Bet Din, house of judgment, , Ashkenazic: ''beis din'', plural: batei din) is a rabbinical court of Judaism. In ancient times, it was the building block of the legal system in the Biblical Land of Israel. Today, it ...
in Jerusalem.
In 1982, after the passing of 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 Pal ...
, he was appointed
Rosh Yeshiva of
Mercaz HaRav
Mercaz HaRav (officially, he, מרכז הרב - הישיבה המרכזית העולמית, "The Center of Rabbi ook- the Central Universal Yeshiva") is a national-religious yeshiva in Jerusalem, founded in 1924 by Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Abraha ...
yeshiva.
He died on June 16, 1995 (19 Sivan 5755)
and is buried in the
Sanhedria Cemetery
Sanhedria Cemetery ( he, בית עלמין סנהדריה) is a 27- dunam (6.67- acre) Jewish burial ground in the Sanhedria neighborhood of Jerusalem, adjacent to the intersection of Levi Eshkol Boulevard, Shmuel HaNavi Street, and Bar-Ilan ...
in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
.
Views and
halachic
''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 comman ...
rulings
Like Rabbi
Eliezer Waldenberg
Eliezer Yehuda Waldenberg ( he, הרב אליעזר יהודה וולדנברג; December 10, 1915 – November 21, 2006) was a rabbi, posek, and dayan in Jerusalem. He is known as a leading authority on medicine and Jewish law and referred to as ...
, Yisraeli ruled that it is permitted to abort a fetus diagnosed as a
Tay–Sachs disease
Tay–Sachs disease is a genetic disorder that results in the destruction of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. The most common form is infantile Tay–Sachs disease, which becomes apparent around three to six months of age, with the baby ...
carrier to prevent future suffering of the child and mental anguish of the family. Other rabbinical authorities, however, strongly objected to this ruling.
Works
* ''Eretz Hemdah'' (1957) – "to clarify the
halacha
''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 comman ...
and its application to agricultural life"
* ''Perakim beMachshevet Yisrael'' (1952) – “an anthology of sources to clarify the main ideas of
Jewish philosophy"
* ''Amud HaYemini'' (1966) – “halachic clarification regarding the State,
responsa, and clarification of issues in several areas of the Torah”
* ''Havat Binyamin'' (1992) – rulings from his tenure on the rabbinical high court
* ''Mishpatei Shaul'' (1997) – rulings from his tenure on the rabbinical high court
* ''Siach Shaul'' (2009) - teaching on the Torah and holidays.
* ''Shaarei Shaul'' - comments on the Talmud.
References
External links
* 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
...
Rav Yisraeli – An Israeli Rabbion
Arutz Sheva.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yisraeli, Shaul
1909 births
1995 deaths
People from Slutsk
People from Slutsky Uyezd
Belarusian Orthodox rabbis
Soviet emigrants to Mandatory Palestine
Israeli people of Belarusian-Jewish descent
Religious Zionist Orthodox rabbis
Mercaz HaRav alumni