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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 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 ...
who has an official position within a
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 ...
and is responsible for the non-academic areas of yeshiva students' lives.''HaRav Schach: Conversations: Stories to Inspire the Yeshiva World''. Elʻazar Menaḥem Man Shakh - 2004 p52: "Speaking about the position of Mashgiach Ruchani (Spiritual Supervisor) in a yeshiva, Rav Schach used to say that while it goes without saying that the Mashgiach must be a God-fearing man, and a person capable of inspiring others with his ..." The position of mashgiach/mashgicha ruchani arose with the establishment of the modern " Lithuanian-style" mussar yeshivas. The prototype of this new type of rabbinical leader and educator was Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel (1849-1927) known as the Alter (elder) of the Slabodka yeshiva, Yeshivas Knesses Yisrael (Slabodka), in Lithuania. The role of the mashgiach/mashgicha ruchani was strongest in the era prior to World War II, when often the mashgichim were responsible for maintaining the yeshiva financially, recruiting and interviewing new students, and hiring staff, something akin to academic deans. After the
Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...
, the influence and position of the mashgiach/mashgicha decreased, and the roles of the
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 ...
s have grown at the expense of those of the mashgichim. A modern mashgiach/mashgicha is somewhat equivalent to the secular
counselor Counselor or counsellor may refer to: A professional In diplomacy and government * Counsellor of State, senior member of the British royal family to whom the Monarch can delegate some functions in case of unavailability * Counselor (dipl ...
position. The need for having mashgichim within the modern yeshivas was tied in with the rise of the modern mussar movement (teaching of Jewish ethics), inspired by the 19th-century rabbi Yisrael Lipkin Salanter, and was seen as necessary because yeshiva students faced greater pressures and problems from the world outside their yeshiva studies. Some yeshivas may refer to a mashgiach/mashgicha ruchani as a ''menahel ruchani'' (the word ''menahel'' means 'principal', as in the principal of a school, or 'supervisor'.)
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 ...
yeshivas have a similar position referred to as mashpia, meaning a person who provides (spiritual) influence.


Famous mashgichim

* Nosson Tzvi Finkel (1849-1927) mashgiach ruchani of Yeshivas Knesses Yisrael (Slabodka), Lithuania * Yehuda Leib Chasman, mashgiach ruchani of the Hebron Yeshiva, Israel * Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler (1892-1953), mashgiach ruchani of the
Ponevezh yeshiva Ponevezh Yeshiva, often pronounced as Ponevitch Yeshiva ( he, ישיבת פוניבז׳), is a yeshiva founded in 1908, and located in Bnei Brak, Israel since 1944. The yeshiva has over three thousand students, including those of affiliated insti ...
in
Bnei Brak Bnei Brak or Bene Beraq ( he, בְּנֵי בְּרַק ) is a city located on the central Mediterranean coastal plain in Israel, just east of Tel Aviv. A center of Haredi Judaism, Bnei Brak covers an area of 709 hectares (1752 acres, or 2.7 ...
, Israel * Binyamin Finkel, mashgiach ruchani of Yeshivas Mishkan Yisrael, Jerusalem * Yechezkel Levenstein (1895-1974), mashgiach ruchani of Mir yeshiva, Poland * Yeruchom Levovitz (1873-1936), mashgiach ruchani of the Mir yeshiva, Poland *
Moshe Rosenstein Rabbi Moshe Rosenstain ( he, רבי משה רוזנשטיין 1881–1940) was an Orthodox Jewish rabbi in pre-World War II Eastern Europe. He served as mashgiach ruchani in the Lomza Yeshiva in Poland. Early life Rabbi Rosenstain was born ...
(1880-1941), mashgiach ruchani of Lomza Yeshiva, Poland * Don Segal * Elyah Lopian (1876-1970) mashgiach ruchani of
Knesses Chizkiyahu Knesses Chizkiyahu was one of the first Litvak yeshivas founded after the establishment of the State of Israel and one of the first Torah institutions in the northern part of the country. Founded in Zikhron Ya'akov in 1949, it relocated to Kfar ...
, Israel * Matisyahu Salomon, mashgiach ruchani of
Gateshead Yeshiva Gateshead Talmudical College ( he, ישיבת בית יוסף גייטסהעד), popularly known as Gateshead Yeshiva, is located in the Bensham area of Gateshead in North East England. It is the largest yeshiva in Europe and considered to be o ...
and later, Beth Medrash Govoha (the Lakewood Yeshiva) * Nosson Meir Wachtfogel (1910-1998), mashgiach ruchani of Beth Medrash Govoha (the Lakewood Yeshiva), USA, from 1941-1998 *
Shlomo Wolbe Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe (August Wilhelm, 1914 - April 25, 2005) was a Haredi rabbi born in Berlin in the early part of the twentieth century. He is best known as the author of ''Alei Shur'' ( he, עלי שור), a musar classic discussing dimensional ...
(1914-2005) * Dov Yaffe (d. 2017), mashgiach ruchani of
Knesses Chizkiyahu Knesses Chizkiyahu was one of the first Litvak yeshivas founded after the establishment of the State of Israel and one of the first Torah institutions in the northern part of the country. Founded in Zikhron Ya'akov in 1949, it relocated to Kfar ...
, Israel * Avigdor Miller (1908-2001) mashgiach ruchani of Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin, USA, from 1944-1964 * Shlomo Carlebach (scholar), (b. 1925) mashgiach ruchani of Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin, USA, from 1966-1978


See also

*
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 ...
* Mussar movement * Mashpia


References


External links

* Jewish religious occupations Orthodox rabbinic roles and titles Musar movement Hebrew words and phrases {{Yeshiva-stub