Yosef Dov Soloveitchik (born 1820 in

Nesvizh Nesvizh, Niasviž ( be, Нясві́ж ; lt, Nesvyžius; pl, Nieśwież; russian: Не́свиж; yi, ניעסוויז; la, Nesvisium) is a city in Belarus. It is the administrative centre of the Nyasvizh District (''rajon'') of Minsk Region ...

Minsk Governorate The Minsk Governorate (russian: Минская губерния, Belarusian: ) or Government of Minsk was a governorate ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire. The seat was in Minsk. It was created in 1793 from the land acquired in the partiti ...

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 ...

; died May 1, 1892 in

Brest-Litovsk Brest ( be, Брэст / Берасьце, Bieraście, ; russian: Брест, ; uk, Берестя, Berestia; lt, Brasta; pl, Brześć; yi, בריסק, Brisk), formerly Brest-Litovsk (russian: Брест-Литовск, lit=Lithuanian Br ...

Grodno Governorate The Grodno Governorate, (russian: Гро́дненская губе́рнiя, translit=Grodnenskaya guberniya, pl, Gubernia grodzieńska, be, Гродзенская губерня, translit=Hrodzenskaya gubernya, lt, Gardino gubernija, u ...

, Russian Empire) was the author of Beis Halevi, by which name he is better known among

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 ce ...

ic scholars. He was the great-grandson of Chaim Volozhin.Russian Jewish Encyclopedia
/ref>

Early years

Yosef Dov Soloveitchik was born to Rivka, a granddaughter of Chaim Volozhin. His father was Yitschok Ze'ev, descendant of Simcha Rappaport. In his youth, Soloveitchik lived in Brod. One anecdote illustrates his early mastery of rabbinic learning. Shlomo Kluger, the

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 o ...

of Brod, enjoyed engaging in Talmud studies with him. When Soloveitchik was about to leave Brod, Kluger is reputed to have said to him, “You have always resolved my ''kushyos'' (difficult Talmudic questions). But I have one difficulty you cannot resolve. How will I manage to part from you?”

Rosh yeshiva

Soloveitchik was reputed to have one of the great minds of his time. In 1854, he was considered a candidate for ''

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 Volozhin yeshiva, over

Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin (20 November 1816 in Mir, Russia – 10 August 1893 in Warsaw, Poland), also known as Reb Hirsch Leib Berlin, and commonly known by the acronym Netziv, was an Orthodox rabbi, '' Rosh yeshiva'' (dean) of the Volozhin ...

. During this time he would lead the Yeshiva alongside the Netziv. However, Berlin would ultimately be selected for the position, resulting in Soloveitchik relocating to Brisk.

Rabbinate

In 1865, Soloveitchik became rabbi of

Slutsk Slutsk ( officially transliterated as Sluck, be, Слуцк; russian: Слуцк; pl, Słuck, lt, Sluckas, Yiddish/Hebrew: סלוצק ''Slutsk'') is a city in Belarus, located on the Sluch River south of Minsk. As of 2022, its population i ...

. After assuming this position, he went to visit the ''

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 ...

'' classes where the young boys received their education. When he observed the impoverished state of many children, he arranged for lunches to be served there, paid for by the community. His son,

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 ...

, once said that while he himself responded to peoples’ needs, his father went further and discovered on his own what their needs were. His pupils in Slutsk included Joseph Rosen, later to gain fame as "the Rogatchover Gaon", and

Zalman Sender Shapiro Zalman Tech Co. (usually simplified as ZALMAN) is a South Korean company that develops and provides aftermarket desktop computer products with primary focus on cooling enhancement. Zalman has done considerable product development since its foun ...

. He was a fierce opponent of the '' Maskilim'', as a result of which he left Slutsk in 1874. He then moved to Warsaw where he lived in poverty. When the rabbi of Brisk,

Yehoshua Leib Diskin Moshe Yehoshua Yehuda Leib Diskin (1818–1898), also known as the Maharil Diskin, was a leading rabbi, Talmudist, and Biblical commentator. He served as a rabbi in Łomża, Mezritch, Kovno, Shklov, Brisk, and, finally, Jerusalem, after moving t ...

left for the

Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isr ...

in 1877, Soloveitchik was offered the rabbinate of Brisk. He continued to hold that position until his death in 1892, when he was succeeded by his son Chaim Soloveitchik. He is buried in

Brest, Belarus Brest ( be, Брэст / Берасьце, Bieraście, ; russian: Брест, ; uk, Берестя, Berestia; lt, Brasta; pl, Brześć; yi, בריסק, Brisk), formerly Brest-Litovsk (russian: Брест-Литовск, lit=Lithuanian Br ...

Works

Soloveitchik composed works on Jewish law (

responsa ''Responsa'' (plural of Latin , 'answer') comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them. In the modern era, the term is used to describe decisions and rulings made by scholars ...

) called ''Shu"t Beis Halevi'', as well as a commentary on the first book and part of the second book of the Bible (''Beis Halevi al Hatorah'').

Family tree

Soloveitchik was the great-grandfather of the eponymous

Joseph B. Soloveitchik Joseph Ber Soloveitchik ( he, יוסף דב הלוי סולובייצ׳יק ''Yosef Dov ha-Levi Soloveychik''; February 27, 1903 – April 9, 1993) was a major American Orthodox rabbi, Talmudist, and modern Jewish philosopher. He was a scion ...

and another descendant,

Berel Soloveitchik Berel (Yosef Dov) Soloveichik (1915–1981) was a rabbi and the son of Rabbi Yitzchak Zev Soloveichik and one of the leading Rosh Yeshivas ("heads of the yeshiva") of the Brisk yeshivas in Jerusalem. He was a first cousin to Rabbi Joseph B. ...

who moved to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, both of whom are also known as "Yosef Dov Soloveitchik."

References