Yitzchok Shlomo Zilberman ( he, יצחק שלמה זילברמן ; 30 April 1929 – 13 March 2001) was an Israeli

Haredi Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...

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 educator, pioneer of the

Zilberman Method The Zilberman Method is a system of teaching the Torah to young students, pioneered by Jerusalem rabbi Yitzchak Shlomo Zilberman, that emphasizes rote learning of the text, while leaving the more advanced study of Talmud to older students. Schoo ...

Torah study Torah study is the study of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature, and similar works, all of which are Judaism's Sifrei kodesh, religious texts. According to Rabbinic Judaism, the study is done for the purpose of the ''mi ...

. He founded

Yeshivat Aderet Eliyahu Yeshivat Aderet Eliyahu (ישיבת אדרת אליהו), commonly referred to as "Zilberman's," is a Haredi, Lithuanian educational facility located between the Jewish and Muslim quarters of the Old City of Jerusalem. The yeshiva encompasses th ...

, part of a community that follows the path of the

Vilna Gaon Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, ( he , ר' אליהו בן שלמה זלמן ''Rabbi Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman'') known as the Vilna Gaon (Yiddish: דער װילנער גאון ''Der Vilner Gaon'', pl, Gaon z Wilna, lt, Vilniaus Gaonas) or Elijah of ...

Early life

Yitzchok Shlomo Zilberman was born in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

to Rabbi Dr. Avraham Moshe Zilberman, translator of the

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, and Rivka, née Levy. His mother died when he was 3 years old, and he was raised by his father."Rav Yitzchok Shlomo Zilberman: The Zilberman Derech -Charting a New-Old Path"
''The Jewish Eye'' In 1934, in response to the coming to power of

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

, Zilberman escaped with his father, brother, and sister to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. In 1939, after his father died, Zilberman caught the last boat leaving England for

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

before the war halted sea traffic, and he made ''

aliyah Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the Israel, State of Israel ...

''. He went to live with his uncle Yaakov Levy in

Rehavia Rehavia or Rechavia ( he, רחביה, ar, رحافيا) is an upscale Jerusalem neighborhood located between the city center and Talbiya. Since its establishment in the 1920s, the area has always been associated with German-Jewish culture and tra ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, the director of the labor ward at Bikur Cholim Hospital. He studied at the Horev Yeshiva, and continued his education at

Kol Torah Kol Torah is a yeshiva in the Bayit Vegan neighborhood of Jerusalem. History Yeshivas Kol Torah was founded in 1939 by Yechiel Michel Schlesinger (1898–1948), born in Hamburg, Germany and Boruch Kunstadt, a dayan from Fulda, Germany. It w ...

under the watchful eye of Rabbi Dr. Yechiel Michel Schlesinger. He later went on to study in the Mir Yeshiva. Lacking the guidance of a father figure, Zilberman struggled in his youth to find an appropriate spiritual path within

Orthodox Judaism Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on M ...

to which he could relate. He first experimented with

Hasidic Judaism Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Judaism, Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory ...

, in particular

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 ...

and Breslov, before eventually adopting the stance of the

Perushim The ''perushim'' ( he, פרושים) were Jewish disciples of the Vilna Gaon, Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, who left Lithuania at the beginning of the 19th century to settle in the Land of Israel, which was then part of Ottoman Syria under Ottoman ...

of the Sha'arei Hesed neighbourhood, followers of the

Educator

Zilberman began his teaching career as a tester at Kolel Shomrei HaChomos. In the 1960s, he was instrumental in founding the Kaminetz and Hadar Zion

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 educat ...

s, but his maverick teaching style caused him difficulties, which ultimately led to a parting of ways with those institutions. During this time, Zilberman became active as a ''

sofer A sofer, sopher, sofer SeTaM, or sofer ST"M ( he, סופר סת״ם, "scribe"; plural of is , ; female: ) is a Jewish scribe who can transcribe Sifrei Kodesh (holy scrolls), tefillin (phylacteries), mezuzot (ST"M, , is an abbreviation of thes ...

'', in order to avoid deriving benefit from Torah scholarship.

Zilberman Method

In the beginning of the 1980s, after having had limited success with incorporating his teaching style in existing institutions, Zilberman founded, with the help of his sons,

, in the northern part of the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem. The school, also known as "Zilberman's

Cheder A ''cheder'' ( he, חדר, lit. "room"; Yiddish pronunciation ''kheyder'') is a traditional primary school teaching the basics of Judaism and the Hebrew language. History ''Cheders'' were widely found in Europe before the end of the 18th ...

", adopted its founder's method, and became an inspiration for many of his students, who later branched out all over the country founding schools with the same teaching approach. The Zilberman Method was not a new innovation, but rather a return to an ancient form of

elucidated in the

Mishna The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah ...

and

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 ...

, and favoured by both the

Maharal Judah Loew ben Bezalel (; between 1512 and 1526 – 17 September 1609), also known as Rabbi Loew ( Löw, Loewe, Löwe or Levai), the Maharal of Prague (), or simply the Maharal (the Hebrew acronym of "''Moreinu ha-Rav Loew''", 'Our Teacher, Rabbi ...

and the Vilna Gaon. In ''

Pirkei Avos Pirkei Avot ( he, פִּרְקֵי אָבוֹת; also transliterated as ''Pirqei Avoth'' or ''Pirkei Avos'' or ''Pirke Aboth''), which translates to English as Chapters of the Fathers, is a compilation of the ethical teachings and maxims from ...

'' 5 it states, "A 5-year-old earnsthe Torah, a ten-year old earnsthe Mishna, a 15-year-old earnsthe Talmud." In

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...

63a it states, "A man should recite, and only later expound." This is in contrast to standard procedure in the Torah world, where intense scrutiny of the text at a relatively young age is favoured over the covering and committing to memory of vast amounts of material. Zilberman also instituted that school sessions be continued on

and

Jewish holidays Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' ( he, ימים טובים, , Good Days, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed in Judaism and by JewsThis article focuses on practices of mainstre ...

, albeit at a reduced schedule. Zilberman's life work was favoured by Shlomo Zalman Auerbach and the Tchebiner Rav. Zilberman kept the practice of donning his ''

tefilin Tefillin (; Israeli Hebrew: / ; Ashkenazic pronunciation: ), or phylacteries, are a set of small black leather boxes with leather straps containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah. Tefillin are worn by adult Jews during ...

'' all day, and so encouraged his students. In normative practice, the tefilin are removed after

Shacharit ''Shacharit'' ( he, שַחֲרִית ''šaḥăriṯ''), or ''Shacharis'' in Ashkenazi Hebrew, is the morning ''tefillah'' (prayer) of Judaism, one of the three daily prayers. Different traditions identify different primary components of ...

. Zilberman was one of the first rabbis to promote the usage of ''

tekhelet ''Tekhelet'' ( he, תְּכֵלֶת ''təḵēleṯ''; alternate spellings include ''tekheleth'', ''t'chelet'', ''techelet'' and ''techeiles'') is a "blue-violet", "blue", or "turquoise" dye highly prized by ancient Mediterranean civilizations. I ...

'', and encouraged his students and family to make use of the dye in their ''

tzitzit ''Tzitzit'' ( he, ''ṣīṣīṯ'', ; plural ''ṣīṣiyyōṯ'', Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazi: '; and Samaritan Hebrew, Samaritan: ') are specially knotted ritual Fringe (trim), fringes, or tassels, worn in antiquity by Israelites and toda ...

''. He encouraged his students to get married young, based upon a teaching in

Pirkei Avot Pirkei Avot ( he, פִּרְקֵי אָבוֹת; also transliterated as ''Pirqei Avoth'' or ''Pirkei Avos'' or ''Pirke Aboth''), which translates to English as Chapters of the Fathers, is a compilation of the ethics, ethical teachings and Maxim ...

Chapter 5.

Family

Zilberman married Sheindel, the daughter of Yom Tov Zlotnick of

, who bore him 9 sons and 9 daughters. All of his sons and sons-in-law are involved in Torah education. Zilberman's daughter Rachel Weiss and her three sons were killed in the

Jericho bus firebombing The Jericho bus firebombing was a Palestinian terrorist attack that occurred during the First Intifada outside the West Bank town of Jericho. In the attack, a bus was targeted by militants wielding molotov cocktails, and destroyed. It resulted i ...

. In 1991, Zilberman moved to the Jewish Quarter, to be in close proximity to his institutions. One year later, his wife died. He remarried in 1998. Zilberman died in 2001 after contracting an illness. He was buried in the

Mount of Olives Jewish Cemetery The Jewish Cemetery on the Mount of Olives is the oldest and most important Jewish cemetery in Jerusalem. It is approximately five centuries old, having been first leased from the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf in the sixteenth century. ...

Legacy

There are approximately 20 Torah institutions throughout Israel that adhere to Zilberman's teaching principles, and 3 internationally. Zilberman was the rabbi who influenced Israeli comedian

Uri Zohar Uri Zohar ( he, אורי זוהר; 4 November 1935 – 2 June 2022) was an Israeli film director, actor and comedian who left the entertainment world to become an Orthodox rabbi. Biography Uri Zohar was born in Tel Aviv. His parents were Polis ...

to become a ''

baal teshuva In Judaism, a ''ba'al teshuvah'' ( he, בעל תשובה; for a woman, , or ; plural, , , 'master of return God]') is a Jew who adopts some form of traditional religious observance after having previously followed a Jewish secularism, secular lif ...

'' (returnee to Judaism). Zohar would go on to have an enormous impact on a generation of spiritually ambivalent Israeli Jews. Another student, Yitzhak Pindrus, is a politician affiliated with the

United Torah Judaism United Torah Judaism ( he, יהדות התורה, ''Yahadut HaTora''), often referred to by its electoral symbol Gimel (), is a Haredi, religious conservative political alliance in Israel. The alliance, consisting of Agudat Yisrael and Degel HaT ...

party. In March 2010, students from Zilberman's yeshiva in the Jewish Quarter were tasked with running the day-to-day operations of the newly reconstructed

Hurva Synagogue The Hurva Synagogue ( he, בית הכנסת החורבה, translit: ''Beit ha-Knesset ha-Hurva'', lit. "The Ruin Synagogue"), also known as Hurvat Rabbi Yehudah he-Hasid ( he, חורבת רבי יהודה החסיד, "Ruin of Rabbi Judah the Piou ...

. In June 2010, some of those students, known as ''Zilbermanim'', were accused of causing difficulties for tourists wishing to gain access to the synagogue.Selig, Abe (6 June 2010
"Haredi Students Have Seized Control of Hurva Synagogue"
''The Jerusalem Post''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zilberman, Yitzchak Shlomo 1929 births 2001 deaths 20th-century educational theorists 20th-century Israeli educators 20th-century rabbis in Jerusalem Burials at the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives Israeli educational theorists Jewish educators People from Berlin Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Mandatory Palestine Haredi rabbis in Israel Orthodox Jewish outreach Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom