Eliezer Yehuda Finkel, also known as Reb Leizer Yudel Finkel, (1879–1965) was the

Rosh Yeshiva Rosh yeshiva or Rosh Hayeshiva (, plural, pl. , '; 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, primarily the Talmud and th ...

(dean) of the Mir Yeshiva in both its

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

and Jerusalemic incarnations.

Early life

Finkel was the son of the Mussar movement leader, Nosson Tzvi Finkel. He studied under Chaim Soloveichik in Brisk. He also studied in

Raduń Yeshiva The Radin Yeshiva, originally located in Radun, Belarus, Radun, Vilna Governorate, Russian Empire (now in Belarus), was established by Rabbi Israel Meir Kagan (known as the ''Chofetz Chaim'' after the title of his well-known ''Sefer (Hebrew), sefe ...

. In 1903 Finkel married Malka, the daughter of Rabbi Eliyahu Boruch Kamai who was the Rosh Yeshiva of the

yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; 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 studied in parallel. The stu ...

Mir, Belarus Mir (; ; ) is an List of urban-type settlements in Belarus, urban-type settlement in Karelichy District, Grodno Region, Belarus. It is situated on the banks of Miranka River, about southwest of the capital, Minsk. As of 2025, it has a population ...

. Three years later he joined the staff of the Mir Yeshiva, and in 1917 became its Rosh Yeshiva upon the death of his father-in-law. During the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

, the Mir Yeshiva's enrollment grew close to 500

students A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution, or more generally, a person who takes a special interest in a subject. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school ...

from all over the world. During this time Finkel chose one of his students, Rabbi

Chaim Leib Shmuelevitz Chaim Leib Halevi Shmuelevitz, (; 1902–1979) — also spelled Shmulevitz — was a member of the faculty of the Mir Yeshiva (Poland), Mirrer Yeshiva for more than 40 years, in Poland, Shanghai and Jerusalem, serving as Rosh yeshiva during i ...

as a son-in-law and eventually successor.

World War II and after

With the outbreak of World War II, the yeshiva was forced into exile and eventually it found refuge in

Kobe Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...

, Japan and

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, China. While the student body, led by Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz eventually relocated to the United States (see Mir Yeshiva (Brooklyn)), Finkel established a new branch of the Mir Yeshiva in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

with a handful of advanced

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

ic students from

Etz Chaim Yeshiva Etz Chaim Yeshiva (, ''Yeshivat Etz Hayyim'', lit. "Tree of Life") was an orthodox yeshiva located on Jaffa Road close to the Mahane Yehuda Market in downtown Jerusalem. History Etz Chaim Yeshiva was originally a Talmud Torah that was establish ...

. Later Shmuelevitz came to Jerusalem to be Rosh Yeshiva under his father-in-law. One of Finkel's sons, Rabbi Beinish Finkel succeeded his brother-in-law Shmuelevitz as Rosh Yeshiva upon the latter's death in the 1979. He founded other yeshivas, including the original yeshiva of

Yitzchok Zev Soloveitchik Yitzchok Zev Halevi Soloveitchik (), also known as Velvel Soloveitchik ("Zev" means "wolf" in Hebrew, and "Velvel" is the Diminutive#Yiddish, diminutive of "wolf" in Yiddish language, Yiddish) or the Brisker Rov ("rabbi of/from Brest, Belarus, Br ...

, to whom he sent some of his top students.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finkel, Eliezer Yehuda (I) Rosh yeshivas Haredi rabbis in Europe Haredi rabbis in Israel 20th-century Russian rabbis 1879 births 1965 deaths Lithuanian Haredi rabbis Burials at Har HaMenuchot Mir rosh yeshivas Slabodka yeshiva alumni People from Mir, Belarus 20th-century rabbis in Jerusalem