The Yeshiva of Aix-les-Bains is one of the principal Talmudic academies in France. It is officially named Yeshivas Chachmei Tsorfat ("Yeshiva of the Sages of France") after the medieval rabbinic authorities who lived in France, including

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compre ...

and many Baalei

Tosafot The Tosafot, Tosafos or Tosfot ( he, תוספות) are medieval commentaries on the Talmud. They take the form of critical and explanatory glosses, printed, in almost all Talmud editions, on the outer margin and opposite Rashi's notes. The auth ...

. Since 1945, the Yeshiva has been located in the spa town of

Aix-les-Bains Aix-les-Bains (, ; frp, Èx-los-Bens; la, Aquae Gratianae), locally simply Aix, is a commune in the southeastern French department of Savoie.

, and is directed currently by Rabbi Yitzhak Weil.

History

The yeshiva was established by Rabbi Ernest Weill, chief rabbi of

Colmar Colmar (, ; Alsatian: ' ; German during 1871–1918 and 1940–1945: ') is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), it is ...

, in Neudorf,

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

in 1933.Gold, Nechama. "European Kehillos: Aix-les-Bains". ''Jewish Tribune'' Good Shabbos Supplement, 11 July 2018 It was directed initially by Rabbi Simcha Wasserman, son of the eminent Talmudist, Rabbi Elchonon Wasserman. At its inception, the yeshiva was the only yeshiva in France and the first academy for talmudic studies - not a rabbinical training seminary - established in France since Napoleonic times. In 1938, Rabbi Wasserman emigrated to 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 ...

, leaving the leadership of the yeshiva to Rabbi Chaim Yitzchak Chajkin, a disciple of Rabbi Israel Meir Kagan, the ''Chofetz Chaim'', and Rabbi Elchonon Wasserman. Rabbi Chajkin was soon deported to Germany, and the yeshiva was forced to close its doors in 1939 until the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The Yeshiva reopened its doors after the war in June 1945 in the thermal resort town of

Aix-les-Bains Aix-les-Bains (, ; frp, Èx-los-Bens; la, Aquae Gratianae), locally simply Aix, is a commune in the southeastern French department of Savoie.

, again led by Rabbi Chaim Yitzchak Chajkin after his release from German captivity. The new yeshiva welcomed numerous young survivors of the

Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as concen ...

, and many Jewish children who had been hidden with non-Jewish families to escape deportation during

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 ...

. From the late 1940s, the yeshiva welcomed thousands of students from North Africa, especially Morocco and Tunisia. Numerous rabbinic figures have had a close association with the Yeshiva of Aix-les-Bains through repeated visits or lengthy sojourns, among them Rabbi Israel Abuhatzeira, the

Baba Sali Israel Abuhatzeira ( he, ר׳ יִשְׂרָאֵל אַבּוּחַצִירָא), known as the Baba Sali ( ar, بابا صلى, he, בַּאבָּא סָאלִי, lit. "Praying Father") (1889–1984) was a leading Moroccan Sephardic rabbi and ka ...

, Rabbi

Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman ( he, אהרן יהודה לייב שטינמן), also Shtainman or Steinman (November 3, 1914 – December 12, 2017), was a Haredi rabbi in Bnei Brak, Israel. Following the death of Yosef Shalom Elyashiv in 2012 ...

, Rabbi Yitzhak Kaduri, Rabbi

Ovadia Yosef Ovadia Yosef ( he, , Ovadya Yosef, ; September 24, 1920 – October 7, 2013) was an Iraqi-born Talmudic scholar, a posek, the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1973 to 1983, and a founder and long-time spiritual leader of Israel's ultra-Orthodo ...

, Rabbi Mordechai Pogramansky, Chief Rabbi of Morocco Rav Yedidia Monsonego, Rabbi

Yisroel Avrohom Portugal Yisroel Avrohom Portugal (or Israel Abraham Portugal) (June 2, 1923April 1, 2019) son of Rabbi Eliezer Zusia Portugal and his first wife, Sheina Rachel, was the Rebbe (Grand Rabbi) of Skulen in Brooklyn, New York. He was the last Holocaust era R ...

Skulen (Hasidic dynasty) Skulen () Hasidic dynasty was founded by Rav Eliezer Zusia Portugal. It was headed by his son, Rav Yisroel Avrohom Portugal until his death on April 1, 2019. Its name is originated from Sculeni (Yiddish: סקולען Skulen), a town in Bessarabia ...

, and three generations of the rebbes of Pshevorsk. Rabbi Moshe Yitzchok Gewirtzman, the founder of the Hasidic Dynasty of Pshevorsk, spent several summers in Aix-les-Bains, and formed a close relationship with the yeshiva. The connection between Pshevorsk and Aix-les-Bains continued with his successors Rabbi Yaakov Leiser and the current Pshevorsker rebbe, Rabbi Leibush Leiser. Since its inception, the yeshiva has drawn its students from 20 countries across Europe, North Africa, Israel, and beyond. The yeshiva has several educational divisions, including a high school division featuring a full general studies curriculum accredited by the French Ministry of Education, in addition to its traditional yeshiva curriculum of Talmudic studies and Jewish law. The Aix-les-Bains Yeshiva Today
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References

External links

*Official website of the Yeshiva of Aix-les-Bains: http://www.aixyeshiva.org {{Authority control

Aix-les-Bains Aix-les-Bains (, ; frp, Èx-los-Bens; la, Aquae Gratianae), locally simply Aix, is a commune in the southeastern French department of Savoie.

Jewish French history Jewish educational organizations Aix-les-Bains Savoie Orthodox Judaism in France