Shmaryahu Yosef Chaim Kanievsky ( he, שמריהו יוסף חיים קַניֶבסקִי; January 8, 1928 – March 18, 2022) was an Israeli

Haredi Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...

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 of ...

and ''

posek In Jewish law, a ''Posek'' ( he, פוסק , pl. ''poskim'', ) is a legal scholar who determines the position of ''halakha'', the Jewish religious laws derived from the written and Oral Torah in cases of Jewish law where previous authorities a ...

''. He was a leading authority in Haredi Jewish society on legal and ethical practice. Known as the "minister of Torah", much of his prominence came through

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 ...

education and advice about Jewish law. Though Kanievsky held no formal community-wide post, he was the ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' head of the Lithuanian branch of

Haredi Judaism Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...

, revered as a consummate scholar of Jewish law and tradition, with unimpeachable rulings.

Early life

Chaim Kanievsky was born in

Pinsk Pinsk ( be, Пі́нск; russian: Пи́нск ; Polish: Pińsk; ) is a city located in the Brest Region of Belarus, in the Polesia region, at the confluence of the Pina River and the Pripyat River. The region was known as the Marsh of Pinsk ...

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 ...

(now in Belarus), to

Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky ( he, יעקב ישראל קַנִיֶּבְסְקִי), known as The Steipler or The Steipler Gaon (1899– 10 August 1985), was an ultra-Orthodox rabbi, Talmudic scholar, and ''posek'' ("decisor" of Jewish law), ...

, known as the "Steipler Gaon", and Miriam Karelitz (Pesha Miriam: Pesha was added), sister of

Avraham Yeshayahu Karelitz Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz (7 November 1878 – 24 October 1953), also known as the Chazon Ish () after his magnum opus, was a Belarusian-born Orthodox rabbi who later became one of the leaders of Haredi Judaism in Israel, where he spent his ...

, known as the "Chazon Ish". When Kanievsky was six years old, the family moved to

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

. After his

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...

, he never left the country, even briefly. He worked hard learning Torah in his youth and was able to elucidate complicated rabbinic teachings as a young adult. During the 1947–1949 Palestine war, Rav Chaim, then a student at the

Lomza Yeshiva The Lomza Yeshiva ( he, ישיבת לומזה) was an Orthodox Jewish yeshiva in Łomża, Poland, founded by Rabbi Eliezer Bentzion Shulevitz in 1883. Rabbi Yechiel Mordechai Gordon served as the yeshiva's rosh yeshiva for many years, and Rabbi Mo ...

, served in the Israel Defense Forces, guarding an outpost overlooking Jaffa.

Rabbinic career

Kanievsky became a major authority on all matters of Jewish law, authoring several books about Jewish legal writings. Kanievsky was the official rabbi and spiritual guide for the non-profit organization Belev Echad, which was founded in Israel in 2011 and was dedicated to assisting sick and disabled children and adults. Kanievsky's father gave him explicit instructions to devote his time exclusively to learning, and not to giving shiurim (lectures), which he followed. The only known exception was in the year after his father's death, when he would give a complex shiur in

Talmud Yerushalmi The Jerusalem Talmud ( he, תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשַׁלְמִי, translit=Talmud Yerushalmi, often for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century ...

in his father's memory. He stopped immediately thereafter, claiming it took away time from learning. The amount of time it took him to prepare each lecture was five minutes. Starting around 2010, some controversy arose as to who would take over the reins of control from the aging founder and director of Bnei Brak's Mayanei Hayeshua Medical Center, . Historically, the hospital had been managed by three distinct groups: A board of directors, an association of rabbis and public servants, and most influential of all, the "Halakhic Supervision Committee", a rabbinical committee consisting of Shmuel Wosner, Nissim Karelitz and

Yitzchok Zilberstein Yitzchok Zilberstein ( he, יצחק זילברשטיין, also spelled Silberstein) (born 1934) is a prominent Orthodox rabbi, posek (Jewish legal authority) and expert in medical ethics. He is the ''av beis din'' of the Ramat Elchanan neighborho ...

, with Yisrael Rand, a confidant of

Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman ( he, אהרן יהודה לייב שטינמן), also Shtainman or Steinman (November 3, 1914 – December 12, 2017), was a Haredi rabbi in Bnei Brak, Israel. Following the death of Yosef Shalom Elyashiv in 2012 ...

, serving as its secretary. Rothschild wanted his son Shlomo to become director, while the rabbinical committee thought him to be a poor choice. In 2013, Kanievsky wrote a letter of recommendation for Shlomo, with Shteinman and Wosner signing on. One year later, Kanievsky was persuaded to join the board of directors, and all remaining opposition to Shlomo dissipated. From the time of Shteinman's death in December 2017 until his own death, Kanievsky and

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 ...

head

Gershon Edelstein Gershon Edelstein (born 18 April 1923) is ''rosh yeshiva'' of the Ponevezh Yeshiva, president of the Vaad Hayeshivos, and the spiritual leader of the Degel HaTorah party in Israel. He is widely considered to be the Gadol Hador by the Litvish ...

were considered to be the leaders of the Israeli Haredi community. Kanievsky was known to study Torah 17 hours each day. He received thousands of visits every year from Jews seeking religious and '' halakhic'' advice. Eli Paley, the chairman of the Haredi Institute for Public Affairs, a Jerusalem-based research group, told ''The New York Times'' in January 2021 that Israel's Haredi Orthodox community saw "their existence as relying on Rabbi Chaim and his Torah learning". He was regarded as the preeminent leader of the non- Hasidic portion of Israel's Haredi Orthodox community as well. He woke up in the earlyhours of the morning to complete every day what he called his ''chovot'' (debts). He would say

Tikkun Chatzot Tikkun Chatzot ( he, תקון חצות, lit. "Midnight Rectification"), also spelled Tikkun Chatzos, is a Jewish ritual prayer recited each night after midnight as an expression of mourning and lamentation over the destruction of the Temple in Je ...

, then say 10 chapters of

Psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...

, then say Shacharit at around sunrise. His schedule - consisting of learning, writing books, and giving advice - was twenty hours long. He would complete every year the entire

Mishna The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah ...

Talmud Bavli 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 center ...

Nach Nach may refer to: * NACH, National Automation Clearing House * Nach (Bible acronym), an acronym for ''Nevi'im'' ''Ksuvim''/''Ktuvim'' (the Prophets and (Holy) Writings of ''Tanach'') * Nach (rapper), Spanish rap performance artist Ignacio For ...

Rambam Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah s ...

, Tur,

Shulchan Aruch The ''Shulchan Aruch'' ( he, שֻׁלְחָן עָרוּך , literally: "Set Table"), sometimes dubbed in English as the Code of Jewish Law, is the most widely consulted of the various legal codes in Judaism. It was authored in Safed (today in I ...

with commentaries, Mishnah Berurah,

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabba or Midrash Rabbah can refer to part of or the collective whole of specific aggadic midrashim on the books of the Torah and the Five Megillot, generally having the term "Rabbah" (), meaning "great," as part of their name. These midr ...

, Midrash Tanchumah,

Sifra Sifra ( Aramaic: סִפְרָא) is the Halakhic midrash to the Book of Leviticus. It is frequently quoted in the Talmud, and the study of it followed that of the Mishnah. Like Leviticus itself, the midrash is occasionally called "Torat Kohanim ...

, Sifri,

Tosefta The Tosefta ( Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: תוספתא "supplement, addition") is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the late 2nd century, the period of the Mishnah. Overview In many ways, the Tosefta acts as a supplement to the Mishnah ( ...

, and Zohar on the

Fast of the Firstborn Fast of the Firstborn ( he, תענית בכורות, ''Ta'anit B'khorot'' or , ''Ta'anit B'khorim'') is a unique fast day in Judaism which usually falls on the day before Passover (i.e., the fourteenth day of Nisan, a month in the Jewish calenda ...

. His family claimed he would learn in Torah in his sleep. He was widely believed to have had

Ruach Hakodesh In Judaism, the Holy Spirit ( he, רוח הקודש, ''ruach ha-kodesh'') refers to the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the universe or over God's creatures, in given contexts.Maimonides, Moses. Part II, Ch. 45: "The various cla ...

(Holy Spirit).

''Halakhic'' rulings

In 2012, Kanievsky ruled that it is forbidden to possess or use a smartphone without individual permission from a halakhic authority, and that owners are not allowed to sell their phones, but should instead burn them. In 2015, he instructed United Hatzalah paramedics that in the event of a terrorist attack, they should not treat the terrorists before the victims, even if the terrorist is more seriously injured, and they may even leave the terrorist to die. In 2016, Kanievsky declared that medicinal cannabis was

kosher for Passover ''Chametz'' (also ''chometz'', ', ''ḥameṣ'', ''ḥameç'' and other spellings transliterated from he, חָמֵץ / חמץ; ) are foods with leavening agents that are forbidden on the Jewish holiday of Passover. According to halakha, Jews ma ...

as long as the possession of the cannabis is not in violation of the

law of the land The phrase ''law of the land'' is a legal term, equivalent to the Latin ''lex terrae'', or ''legem terrae'' in the accusative case. It refers to all of the laws in force within a country or region, including statute law and case-made law. Use in ...

. In 2017, Kanievsky ruled that reporting instances of sexual child abuse to the police is consistent with ''halakha'' (Jewish law). In 2011, he interpreted

Arab Spring The Arab Spring ( ar, الربيع العربي) was a series of anti-government protests, uprisings and armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began in Tunisia in response to corruption and econo ...

uprisings as evidence that the Messiah might be near. In 2015, following the

2014 Jerusalem synagogue attack On the morning of 18 November 2014, two Palestinian men from Jerusalem entered Kehilat Bnei Torah synagogue, in the Har Nof neighborhood of Jerusalem, and attacked the praying congregants with axes, knives, and a gun. They killed four dual-nati ...

, he repeatedly referred to the imminent arrival of the Messiah, and urged

diaspora Jews The Jewish diaspora ( he, תְּפוּצָה, təfūṣā) or exile (Hebrew: ; Yiddish: ) is the dispersion of Israelites or Jews out of their ancient ancestral homeland (the Land of Israel) and their subsequent settlement in other parts of th ...

to make aliyah (immigrate to Israel), reportedly resulting in the arrival of a substantial number of

French Jews The history of the Jews in France deals with Jews and Jewish communities in France since at least the Early Middle Ages. France was a centre of Jewish learning in the Middle Ages, but persecution increased over time, including multiple expulsi ...

. In February 2020, shortly before the Israeli legislative elections, it was reported by one rabbi that Kanievsky had stated that the coming of the Messiah was possibly imminent.

Covid-19

At the beginning of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

in 2020, Kanievsky told his followers that the best ways to defeat the virus were to avoid ''

lashon hara ''Lashon hara'' (or ''loshon horo'', or ''loshon hora'') ( he, לשון הרע; "evil tongue") is the halakhic term for speech about a person or persons that is negative or harmful to them, even though it is true. It is speech that damages the p ...

'' (gossiping about one's peers), to strengthen humility, and to place the needs of others before their own. As a result of the discussion, he was visited, on March 15, by senior police officials who, with great respect, wanted to ask him of the importance of following the orders of medical professionals with regard to the outbreak. On March 29, after the ultra-Orthodox community was hit hard by the virus, with Bnei Brak having a high percentage of coronavirus cases in Israel, relative to its population, Kanievsky ruled that one who does not follow the Israeli Health Ministry's guidelines on

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

is in the position of a ''rodef'', i. e., one who pursues another with intent to kill, a murderer. He also ruled that telephones may be answered on Shabbat to get COVID-19 test results, and that minyanim must not meet at all during the pandemic – a stricter requirement than the Health Ministry's rules, which at the time allowed congregations to meet outdoors as long as participants are at least two meters (6 feet) distant from each other. On October 2, 2020, Kanievsky was diagnosed with COVID-19. On October 28, 2020, his physician said Kanievsky had recovered from the virus. Kanievsky endorsed vaccination for all, and wished experts success in the national campaign of vaccination. At one point in 2020, Rav Chaim advocated for Jewish academies to remain open. On the 11th of October, however, he rescinded.

Death

Funeral for Chaim Kanievsky in Bnei Brak

Kanievsky died at his home in Bnei Brak on March 18, 2022, at the age of 94. Around 750,000 mourners attended his funeral on March 20, 2022, making it one of the largest funerals in Israeli history, second only to Ovadia Yosef's funeral which had more than 850,000 in October 2013.

Personal life

Kanievsky was married to a daughter of

Yosef Sholom Eliashiv Yosef Shalom Elyashiv ( he, יוסף שלום אלישיב; 10 April 1910 – 18 July 2012) was a Haredi Rabbi and ''posek'' (arbiter of Jewish law) who lived in Jerusalem. Until his death at the age of 102, Rav Elyashiv was the paramount lead ...

, Batsheva Kanievsky (née Elyashiv). They had eight children. She died in 2011. Kanievsky was involved in the lives of his family, despite his extreme schedule. He would visit his sister and host his brother-in-law each Friday. He had a warm relationship with his children. He had a great degree of respect for his wife, and the two would assist each other in their spritual duties. Kanievsky would on principle not eat lunch until his wife was ready to join him. His family did not use public electricity on Shabbat. On long Friday nights, using a kerosene lamp, he would play "games" with his children. For one game, his children would read a Talmudic maxim to him from a book, and he would quote by memory the sources where it was found, often including ones not listed in the book. Another game was played by his children naming a book, and him pointing to its exact location on his bookshelf, which they would then bring down and look at together.

Published works

* ''Derech Emunoh'' on agricultural laws of Eretz Yisroel
Vol. 1Vol. 2Vol. 3Hashlama
* ''Derech Chochmoh'' on the laws of the

Beis Hamikdash The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two now-destroyed religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerus ...

References

External links

Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky
Wikinoah.org
Shiurim by Rabbi Kanievsky on various topics
Kolhashiurim.com
Divrei Torah by Rabbi Kanievsky on various topics
sites.google.com/site/onegshabboskodesh {{DEFAULTSORT:Kanievsky, Chaim 1928 births 2022 deaths Haredi rabbis in Israel People from Bnei Brak Exponents of Jewish law Israeli people of Belarusian-Jewish descent Israeli people of Polish-Jewish descent Polish emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Authors of books on Jewish law Rabbis in Bnei Brak