Yitzchok Zev Soloveitchik

Yitzchok Zev Soloveitchik

Rabbi Yitzchok Zev Soloveitchik (Hebrew: יצחק זאב סולובייצ'יק), also known as Velvel Soloveitchik ("Zev" means "wolf" in Hebrew, and "Velvel" is the diminutive of "wolf" in Yiddish) or as the Brisker Rov ("rabbi of/from Brisk", (1886-1959), was a son of Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik of Brisk. He is also commonly known as the "GRYZ", an acronym for " Gaon Rabbi Yitzchak Zev " ("genius Rabbi Isaac Wolf") and "The Rov".

He was the town rabbi of the Jewish community in Brisk and was the rosh yeshiva ("dean") of its "yeshiva". He fled the Holocaust and moved to the Palestine, where he re-established the Brisk Yeshiva in Israel. In Jerusalem he continued educating students as his father did, with what would come to be known as the "Brisker derech" (Yiddish: the "Brisk method" or "Brisk approach") of analyzing Talmud. This form of analysis stressed conceptual understanding combined with strict adherence to the text; it is also characterised by its emphasis on MaimonidesMishneh Torah. After his death, the yeshiva split, each son taking part of the following of the yeshiva.

The Brisker Rov was a leader of the Haredi community in Israel and advocated complete withdrawal of participation with the Israeli government, the secular ideals and values of which were, in his view, antithetical to the principals of Orthodox Judaism. He went as far as opposing the reliance on government funding in support of yeshivas and other Torah institutions. This viewpoint was supported by Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum and disputed by Rabbi Elazar Shach.

Halakhic approach

The Brisker Rov was known for his stringency in halakha. This partly stems from his use of the Brisker method of study, in which laws are broken down into precise components, which can then be assembled into new combinations, creating novel halachic possibilities which perhaps a person should be strict to follow or avoid. But this does not explain all of his stringencies.

For example, he is reputed to have observed a "second day" of Yom Tov in his home in Jerusalem. Normally, this second day is observed outside Israel, in memory of ancient times, when people far from Jerusalem would not hear about the declaration of the new month and would not know on which day to celebrate holidays. However, the Brisker Rov worried that while the messengers announcing the new month traveled from Jerusalem to the outskirts of Israel, they may not have passed by the exact place where he lived. Taking this possibility into account, he observed a second day of Yom Tov, just to be safe.

However, in one case the Brisker Rov surprised observers by not following a well-known stringency. Halakha says that on Sukkot, one is required to eat certain foods in a sukkah, and it is praiseworthy but not required that "all" eating and drinking to take place in the sukkah. However, the Brisker Rov was willing to eat and drink these foods outside the sukkah. From this it is apparent that all his other stringencies were not simply the result of extra devotion, but rather came from a conviction that halakha on its most basic level might in fact require those practices.

ee also

* Brisk yeshivas


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Soloveitchik — ( he. סולובייצ יק) (also Soloveichik) is a surname. It is notably the name of a rabbinic family descended from Yosef Dov Soloveitchik (Beis Halevi) (1820 1892). Other notable members include:* Ahron Soloveichik (1917 2001) * Berel Soloveitchik *… …   Wikipedia

  • Soloveitchik — (ou Soloveichik ; hébreu סולובייצ יק) est un patronyme porté entre autres par une famille rabbinique descendant de Yossef Dov Soloveitchik (Beis Halevi) (1820 1892). D autres membres notables incluent : Ahron Soloveichik (1917 2001)… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Meshulam Dovid Soloveitchik — Rabbi Meshulam Dovid Soloveitchik Rosh Yeshivas Brisk Position Rosh yeshiva Yeshiva Brisk yeshiva, Jerusalem Personal details …   Wikipedia

  • Joseph B. Soloveitchik — Infobox Person name = Rabbi Joseph Ber Soloveitchik image size = 186px caption = Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik of Yeshiva University birth date = February 27, 1903 birth place = Pruzhany, Belarus death date = Death date and age|1993|4|9|1903|2|27… …   Wikipedia

  • Chaim Soloveitchik — This article is about the founder of the Brisk rabbinical dynasty. For his great grandson, the Jewish historian, see Haym Soloveitchik. Reb Chaim Brisker …   Wikipedia

  • Binyomin Paler — Rabbi Binyomin Paler (1908 August 6, 2000) was a Haredi rosh yeshiva and Talmudist who is regarded as one of those who brought the Brisk yeshivas and methods from Europe to the United States. He was considered one of the closest students of Rabbi …   Wikipedia

  • Malkiel Kotler — Rabbi Kotler Rabbi Aryeh Malkiel Kotler is one of the Roshei Yeshiva, or Deans, of Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, New Jersey. He is the son of Rabbi Shneur Kotler who preceded him as rosh yeshiva, the grandson of the yeshiva s founder, Rabbi… …   Wikipedia

  • Mordechai Pogramansky — (1904?, Tauragė, Lituanie 1949, Suisse) est un rabbin orthodoxe non consistorial français, nè en Lituanie, un disciple de Israël de Salant[1], connu comme le Génie de Tavrig ou encore comme le Génie de Telz, passé à l Ouest clandestinement après… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Binyomin Beinush Finkel — Rabbi Binyomin Beinush Finkel, (1911 February 13, 1990), was the rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Mir in Jerusalem. He was born in Mir, Belarus, where his father Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Finkel was the rosh yeshiva of the Mir yeshiva. Rabbi Finkel acquired… …   Wikipedia

  • Gadol — or godol גדול (plural: gedolim גדולים) (Hebrew big or great ), is a Hebrew term used mostly by Haredi Litvish Jews to refer to the most revered rabbis of their generation. These rabbis are usually held in high esteem by other Haredi or Orthodox… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”