Shlomo Polachek ( he, שלמה פוליצ'ק; 1877 – July 9, 1928) known as "the Meitscheter Illui" was born in Sinichinitz, near Meitchet, Grodna. He was an important

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 ...

ic scholar and one of the earliest

roshei yeshiva Rosh yeshiva ( he, ראש ישיבה, pl. he, ראשי ישיבה, '; Anglicized pl. ''rosh yeshivas'') is the title given to the dean of a yeshiva, a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primar ...

in America.

Biography

He entered the

Volozhin yeshiva Yeshivas Etz Ḥayyim (), commonly called the Volozhin Yeshiva (), was a prestigious Lithuanian ''yeshiva'' located in the town of Volozhin, Russian Empire (now Valozhyn, Belarus). It was founded around 1803 by Rabbi Ḥayyim Volozhiner, a stude ...

when he was only twelve years old, and remained there until its close in the winter of 1892. He then went to learn with his mentor, Rabbi

Chaim Soloveitchik Chaim (Halevi) Soloveitchik (Yiddish: חיים סאָלאָווייטשיק, pl, Chaim Sołowiejczyk), also known as Reb Chaim Brisker (1853 – 30 July 1918), was a rabbi and Talmudic scholar credited as the founder of the popular Brisker appr ...

, in Brisk for the next four years. 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 ...

attested that he personally heard from Rabbi

, regarding Polachek in 1896, “''Aza meshunediger illui vi der Meitsheter hob ich in leben nit gezen'' — I’ve never met a genius like the Meitscheter in my entire life.” Polachek went on to become the ''

rosh yeshiva Rosh yeshiva ( he, ראש ישיבה, pl. he, ראשי ישיבה, '; Anglicized pl. ''rosh yeshivas'') is the title given to the dean of a yeshiva, a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primar ...

'' in ''yeshivos'' in

Lida Lida ( be, Лі́да ; russian: Ли́да ; lt, Lyda; lv, Ļida; pl, Lida ; yi, לידע, Lyde) is a city 168 km (104 mi) west of Minsk in western Belarus in Grodno Region. Etymology The name ''Lida'' arises from its Lithuani ...

and

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Białystok is located in the Białystok Up ...

. At the invitation of Rabbi Dr. Dov Revel, Polachek arrived in America in 1922 to become a ''rosh yeshiva'' at the

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 ...

(RIETS) the rabbinical school of

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City."About YU
on the Yeshiva Universit ...

and its Yeshiva College, America's first

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 ...

. He taught at RIETS for six years until his sudden passing in 1928.

Views

Polachek held some broad-minded views relative to some of his contemporaries. For example,

Jeffrey S. Gurock Jeffrey S. Gurock is Libby M. Klaperman Professor of Jewish History at Yeshiva University in New York City. Biography Gurock earned a bachelor's degree from the City College of New York and a master's degree from Columbia University. He served as ...

writes in ''Judaism's Encounter with American Sports'' (

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

Press): Following the sudden passing of Polachek in 1928, more than 15,000 people at gathered at his funeral outside the Yeshiva on the Lower East Side. Among those who eulogized him were Rabbi Boruch Ber Lebowitz. Rabbi Shimon Shkop was persuaded to replace him for a short period of time.

Family

His children were notable in their own right, including daughter

Rebbetzin Rebbetzin ( yi, רביצין) or Rabbanit ( he, רַבָּנִית) is the title used for the wife of a rabbi—typically among Orthodox, Haredi, and Hasidic Jews—or for a female Torah scholar or teacher. Etymology The Yiddish word has a ...

Libby Mowshowitz (married to Rabbi Dr. Israel Mowshowitz), a son who received a PhD, and another son who became a doctor .

Prominent Students

Some of Polachek's prominent students included: * Rabbi Menachem Perr * Rabbi Nosson Meir Wachtfogel * Rabbi Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg * Rabbi Isaac Tendler * Rabbi Zalman Levine * Rabbi Mordechai Stern * Rabbi Nisan Waxman

Observance of his Yahrtzeit

Each year on the 21st of Tammuz, there is a pilgrimage to his grave at the Mount Judah Cemetery in Ridgewood, Queens.

References