Yisroel Zev Gustman (1908 - June 10, 1991)
[2014 28 Sivan=June 26; 23rd Yartzeit of 1991 28 Sivan=June 10 ] was a
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 of ...
, and the last
Dayan (rabbinic judge)
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
Vilna
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional u ...
during
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 ...
.
After the war he moved to the United States,
[ headed a Yeshiva on Eastern Parkway, in ]Brooklyn, NY
Brooklyn () is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county i ...
,[ and in 1971 immigrated to Israel, where he established the ''Netzach Yisroel - Vilna Ramiles'' Yeshiva in the Rechavia neighborhood of Jerusalem.][
On Thursday afternoons he gave an open, high-level shiur in the yeshiva, attended by "Rabbis, intellectuals, religious court judges, a Supreme Court justice and various professors."][
]
Biography
Yisroel Zev Gustman was born in Lithuania (then in the Pale of Settlement
The Pale of Settlement (russian: Черта́ осе́длости, '; yi, דער תּחום-המושבֿ, '; he, תְּחוּם הַמּוֹשָב, ') was a western region of the Russian Empire with varying borders that existed from 1791 to 19 ...
of the Russian Empire) in 1908. In his youth he was known as an ''illui
''Illui'' ( he, עילוי or עלוי also ilui; pronounced plural: ''illuim'') is a young Torah and Talmudic prodigy or genius. The Hebrew term and title is applied to exceptional Talmudic scholars among Orthodox Jews. It is used among Engli ...
'' and learned in Chavrusa
''Chavrusa'', also spelled ''chavruta'' or ''ḥavruta'' (Aramaic: חַבְרוּתָא, lit. "fellowship" or "group of fellows"; pl. חַבְרָוָותָא), is a traditional rabbinic approach to Talmudic study in which a small group of stud ...
together with Chaim Shmuelevitz in Grodno,[ and learned from ]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 ...
at the Grodno Yeshiva
Yeshiva Shaar HaTorah – Grodna, often referred to as the Grodna Yeshiva or simply as Grodna, was an Orthodox Jewish yeshiva in the Belarusian city of Grodno, then under Russian rule. Founded during World War I, Shimon Shkop became rosh yesh ...
.
At age 20 he married a daughter of Rabbi Meir Bassin, who died shortly before the wedding; despite his age, Gustman inherited Bassin's positions of[ both dayan in the ]Bais Din
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 ...
of Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski
Chaim Ozer Grodzinski ( he, חיים עוזר גראדזענסקי; August 24, 1863 – August 9, 1940) was a ''Av beis din'' (rabbinical chief justice), ''posek'' (halakhic authority), and Talmudic scholar in Vilnius, Lithuania in the late 19th a ...
and 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 ...
of the Ramailes Yeshiva
The Ramailes Yeshiva was an Orthodox Jewish yeshiva in Šnipiškės, Vilnius, Lithuania. It was established in the early nineteenth century, most likely in 1815.
Name
The yeshiva's commonly used name, ''Ramailes'', is based on the name of th ...
in Vilna.[ Gustman, his wife Sarah and a daughter survived.
]
Life in Israel
The yeshiva he opened in Israel was named after the yeshiva in Vilna he had headed, beginning in 1935[ until World War II. Instrestingly, as a form of payback that his life was saved by "the shelter of the bushes and the fruit of the trees" in a forest during the war, he personally acted as gardener in a yeshiva in Israel.][
]
Written Works
Gustman's main writings, some published posthumously by his son-in-law, were volumes on the following Talmudic tractates:
* Gittin
* Kiddushin
* Bava Kama
* Bava Metzia
* Bava Batra
* Nedarim
* Ketubot
*''Kuntresei Shiurim''
References
External links
Artscroll book ''Rav Gustman''
OU web site story about Rav Gustman
* Photo on Hebrew Wikipedia of Rav Gustman
Jewish History Soundbites: From Vilna to Rechavia: The Life of Rav Yisroel Zev Gustman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gustman, Yisroel Zev
1908 births
1991 deaths
Rabbis from Vilnius
Orthodox rabbis from New York City
Rabbis in Jerusalem
20th-century American rabbis
