Rabbi Yechezkel Levenstein (Rav Yechezkel HaLevi Levenstein), known as Reb Chatzkel, (1885 – 18

Adar Adar ( he, אֲדָר ; from Akkadian ''adaru'') is the sixth month of the civil year and the twelfth month of the religious year on the Hebrew calendar, roughly corresponding to the month of March in the Gregorian calendar. It is a month of 29 ...

1974), was the

mashgiach ruchani A mashgiach ruchani ( he, משגיח רוחני; pl., ''mashgichim ruchani'im'') or mashgicha ruchani – sometimes mashgiach/mashgicha for short – is a spiritual supervisor or guide. He or she is usually a rabbi who has an official position wit ...

of the Mir yeshiva, in

Mir, Belarus Mir ( be, Мір; russian: Мир; ) is a town in the Karelichy District (Карэліцкі раён) of Grodno Region, Belarus on the banks of Miranka River, about 85 kilometers southwest of the national capital, Minsk. History Mir village was ...

and during the yeshiva's flight to

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 ...

and on to

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...

due to the invasion of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. He was a leader of several

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 a ...

s in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

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 territori ...

, and

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 ...

, and raised several generations of

Torah 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 ...

-observant

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

ry. He was a disciple of R' Nachum Zev Ziv son of R'

Simcha Zissel Ziv Simcha Zissel Ziv Broida ( he, שמחה זיסל זיו; 1824–1898), also known as Simhah Zissel Ziv or the ''Alter of Kelm'' (the Elder of Kelm), was one of the foremost students of Yisrael Salanter and one of the early leaders of the Musar m ...

Biography

Rabbi Levenstein was born in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

(5656) His mother, Zlota, died when he was just five years old; his father, Reb Yehuda, subsequently remarried. He studied for years in the yeshiva in

Łomża Łomża (), in English known as Lomza, is a city in north-eastern Poland, approximately 150 kilometers (90 miles) to the north-east of Warsaw and west of Białystok. It is situated alongside the Narew river as part of the Podlaskie Voivodeship ...

, where he was imbued with mussar, then in Raduń Yeshiva under the

Chofetz Chaim The '' Sefer'' ''Chafetz Chaim'' (or ''Chofetz Chaim'' or ''Hafetz Hayim'') ( he, חָפֵץ חַיִּים, trans. "Desirer of Life") is a book by Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan, who is also called "the Chofetz Chaim" after it. The book deals wit ...

and the famous mashgiach Rav

Yeruchom Levovitz Rav Yeruchom Levovitz ( he, ירוחם ליוואוויץ; ca. 1875-1936), also known by his hundreds of students simply as The Mashgiach, was a famous mashgiach ruchani and baal mussar (Jewish Ethics) at the Mir yeshiva in Belarus. Early life ...

, and finally in Kelm. His rebbetzin, Chaya, was an orphan. He had "rejected glowing offers made to him by wealthy men who wanted him for their daughters" saying they would "be unable to share a life of privation and restraint and of subsisting on the bare essentials." From 5695 (1935), for about 2 years he served as mashgiach of Yeshivas Lomza in Petach Tikvah, "despite the very difficult, poverty stricken life he led in Petach Tikvah." His impact was not only on the yeshiva but on some students who became "well known roshei yeshiva."

Sholom Schwadron Sholom Mordechai Hakohen Schwadron ( he, הרב שלום מרדכי הכהן שבדרון) (1912–21 December 1997) was a Haredi rabbi and orator. He was known as the "Maggid of Jerusalem" for his fiery, inspirational mussar talks. Some of ...

, Rav Chaim Kanievsky, Rabbi Eliyahu Dushnitzer

Shanghai

News reached

Adar 5703 (1943), where the ''Mir'' spent the war years, of the murders of so many of Lithuanian Jewry. The eulogy of the martyrs by the ''

mashgiach A mashgiach ( he, משגיח, "supervisor"; , ''mashgichim'') or mashgicha (pl. ''mashgichot'') is a Jew who supervises the kashrut status of a kosher establishment. Mashgichim may supervise any type of food service establishment, including sl ...

'' was published in a book, ''Mimizrach Shemesh''.

Yeshivos

The

Yeshivos 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 stud ...

that he founded or strongly influenced include: * Before World War II :* Mir Yeshiva (Poland), as Mashgiach Ruchani * After the War :* Mir Yeshivah (Yerushalayim) :* Ponovezh Yeshivah (B'nei Brak)

Works

*''Or Yechezkel'', a seven volume work of musar Mir Shanghai

Bibliography

* Kasnett, Yitzchak (2007) ''Reb Chatzkel. Rabbi Yechezkel Levenstein - Guardian of Torah and Mussar'', Artscroll Mesorah Publications,

External links

Matzav.com Article

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levenstein, Yechezkel Haredi rabbis in Europe Haredi rabbis in Israel Mashgiach ruchani 1895 births 1974 deaths Musar movement Raduń Yeshiva alumni Jews who emigrated to escape Nazism Rabbis from Warsaw Mir mashgiach ruchanis