Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman (
Shushan Purim
Purim (; , ; see Name below) is a Jewish holiday which commemorates the saving of the Jews, Jewish people from Haman, an official of the Achaemenid Empire who was planning to have all of Persia's Jewish subjects killed, as recounted in the Boo ...
1900,
Daŭhinava
Daŭhinava ( be, Даўгінава; russian: Долгиново ''Dolginovo''; pl, Dołhinów; yi, דאלהינאוו) is a village in the Vileyka District, Minsk Region, Belarus. It is located north of Minsk and east-northeast of Vilejk ...
- July 11, 1987)
was a prominent
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 rabbi who founded and served as ''
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 ...
'' (
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 ...
head) of
Yeshivas Ner Yisroel
Ner Israel Rabbinical College (ישיבת נר ישראל), also known as NIRC and Ner Yisroel, is a Haredi yeshiva (Jewish educational institution) in Pikesville (Baltimore County), Maryland. It was founded in 1933 by Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchok Ru ...
in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
.
Early life
Ruderman was born to a
Hasidic
Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...
family of the
Chabad
Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic group ...
denomination in
Daŭhinava
Daŭhinava ( be, Даўгінава; russian: Долгиново ''Dolginovo''; pl, Dołhinów; yi, דאלהינאוו) is a village in the Vileyka District, Minsk Region, Belarus. It is located north of Minsk and east-northeast of Vilejk ...
, in the
Vilna Governorate
The Vilna Governorate (1795–1915; also known as Lithuania-Vilnius Governorate from 1801 until 1840; russian: Виленская губерния, ''Vilenskaya guberniya'', lt, Vilniaus gubernija, pl, gubernia wileńska) or Government of V ...
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 R ...
), where his father, Rabbi Yehuda Leib Ruderman,
[ was the rabbi. He studied in Yeshivas Knesses Yisrael in Slabodke,][ under the "Alter", Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel, and the ''rosh yeshiva'', 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 ...
, receiving ''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 ...
'' from the latter in 1926.
Career
In 1924, two years before receiving semikhah
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 ...
(ordination), Ruderman married Faiga Kramer from a rabbinical family.[
In 1930, he joined his father-in-law, Rabbi Sheftel Kramer, at the latter's yeshiva in ]New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...
. In 1931, the Ruderman family moved to Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, where he served as one of the teachers at the Telshe Yeshiva
Telshe Yeshiva (also spelled ''Telz'') is a yeshiva in Wickliffe, Ohio, formerly located in Telšiai, Lithuania. During World War II the yeshiva began relocating to Wickliffe, Ohio, in the United States and is now known as the Rabbinical College ...
.
Building Torah in America
In 1933, with his father-in-law's encouragement, Ruderman moved to Baltimore, where he was immediately offered a rabbinical post at Tiferes Yisroel Shul.[ Ruderman accepted the position on the condition that he be permitted to open a yeshiva using the synagogue's facilities. He began with six students and named the newly formed yeshiva ''Ner Yisroel'' (after Rabbi ]Yisrael Lipkin 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. T ...
, the founder of 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: ...
).
The yeshiva grew quickly,[ and Ruderman approached the renowned Rabbi ]Shimon Schwab
Shimon (Simon) Schwab (December 30, 1908 – February 13, 1995) was an Orthodox rabbi and communal leader in Germany and the United States. Educated in Frankfurt am Main and in the ''yeshivot'' of Lithuania, he was rabbi in Ichenhausen, Bavaria, ...
, at the time rabbi of another Baltimore congregation, and invited him to join the faculty. Rabbi Schwab taught the first-year ''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) in Ner Israel for several years, until he moved to Washington Heights.
When Ruderman grew old, he became legally blind but could still read by holding a book within inches of his eyes that wore very thick glasses. He still held a ''siddur
A siddur ( he, סִדּוּר ; plural siddurim ) is a Jewish prayer book containing a set order of daily prayers. The word comes from the Hebrew root , meaning 'order.'
Other terms for prayer books are ''tefillot'' () among Sephardi Jews, ' ...
'' when daven
Jewish prayer ( he, תְּפִלָּה, ; plural ; yi, תּפֿלה, tfile , plural ; Yinglish: davening from Yiddish 'pray') is the prayer recitation that forms part of the observance of Rabbinic Judaism. These prayers, often with i ...
ing.
Ruderman led the yeshiva for 54 years until his death when Rabbi Shmuel Yaakov Weinberg
Shmuel Yaakov Weinberg, known as Yaakov Weinberg (also Jacob S. Weinberg) (1923 – July 1, 1999) was an Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish rabbi, Talmudist, and rosh yeshiva (dean) of Yeshivas Ner Yisroel, Ner Israel Rabbinical College in Baltim ...
, his son in law, took over.[http://matzav.com/rebbetzin-chana-weinberg-ah] Ruderman was ''rosh yeshiva'', while his brother-in-law, Rabbi Naftoli (Herman) Neuberger took care of the financial side. Together, they built it into one of the largest yeshivas in America
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 ...
, producing thousands of rabbis, educators and learned laymen.
Ruderman was also involved in many aspects of Jewish communal life outside of the Yeshiva. He was a member of the Council of Torah Sages
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...
of Agudath Israel and the chairman of the Rabbinic Advisory Board of Torah Umesorah
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 sa ...
.
Works
Around 1926, Ruderman published his only written work; it was re-printed in 1930, ''Avodas Levi''. The Sefer Avodath Levi Project to preserve his legacy has been in progress.[http://nerisrael.eu3.org] Posthumously, his students have published several volumes of his teachings: ethical insights based on the weekly ''parsha
The term ''parashah'' ( he, פָּרָשָׁה ''Pārāšâ'', "portion", Tiberian , Sephardi , plural: ''parashot'' or ''parashiyot'', also called ''parsha'') formally means a section of a biblical book in the Masoretic Text of the Tanakh (Heb ...
'' named ''Sichos Levi'', later re-written and republished as ''Sichos Avodas Levi'', lectures on the 19th century work ''Minchas Chinuch'' and other Talmudic
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 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 commandm ...
insights in ''Mas'as Levi'', and lectures on ''Sukkah'', ''Kiddushin'', ''Kesubos'', ''Bava Kamma'', and ''Bava Metzia'', as ''Shiurei Avodas Levi''.
Death
Ruderman's death on July 11, 1987, the 14th of Tammuz
Dumuzid or Tammuz ( sux, , ''Dumuzid''; akk, Duʾūzu, Dûzu; he, תַּמּוּז, Tammûz),; ar, تمّوز ' known to the Sumerians as Dumuzid the Shepherd ( sux, , ''Dumuzid sipad''), is an ancient Mesopotamian god associated with shep ...
, followed less than 18 months after the deaths of Rabbis Yaakov Kaminetsky and 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 ...
. Ruderman was one of the last surviving ''rosh yeshiva'' who came to America from Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
early in the 20th century.
His son-in-law, Rabbi Weinberg, who married his only child, Chana,[ succeeded him as ''rosh yeshiva'' of Ner Yisroel] until Rabbi Weinberg's death in 1999.
Weinberg's wife, Chana, died on January 23, 2012.
Ruderman was buried in Baltimore's United Hebrew Cemetery.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruderman, Yaakov Yitzchak
1900 births
1987 deaths
People from Vileyka District
People from Vileysky Uyezd
Belarusian Haredi rabbis
Polish emigrants to the United States
American Haredi rabbis
Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah
Rosh yeshivas
Yeshivas Ner Yisroel
Rabbis from Maryland
Slabodka yeshiva alumni