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Israel Meir Kagan
Yisrael Meir ha-Kohen Kagan (February 6, 1838 – September 15, 1933) was an influential Lithuanian Jewish rabbi, Halakhist, posek, and ethicist whose works continue to be widely influential in Orthodox Jewish life. He was known popularly as the Chofetz Chaim, after his book on lashon hara, and was also well known for the Mishna Berurah, his book on ritual law. Biography Kagan was born on February 6, 1838 in Dzienciol (), Grodno Governorate in Russian Empire (today Dzyatlava in Belarus), and died on 15 September 1933 in Raduń (), Nowogródek Voivodeship in Second Polish Republic (now in Belarus). When Kagan was ten years old, his father died in a cholera epidemic at the age of 46. His mother moved the family to Vilnius in order to continue her son's Jewish education. While in Vilnius, Kagan became a student of Jacob Barit. Kagan's mother remarried and moved to Radin, taking the name of her new husband, Poupko, which the young Kagan adopted as well. At 17, he married the d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dzyatlava
Dzyatlava or Dyatlovo is a town in Grodno Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Dzyatlava District. It is located about southeast of Grodno. The population was 7,700 in 2016. As of 2025, it has a population of 7,596. History Being 80 kilometres south of present-day Lithuania, Zietela's environs had been known by linguists as the outermost indigenous Lithuanian speaking "island" apart from the contiguous Lithuanian language territory. The Lithuanian speakers spoke a unique dialect, known as the "Zietela dialect"; it has been speculated that the ancestors of its speakers might have been Lithuanized Jotvingians. It drew the attention by many prominent linguists, such as Christian Schweigaard Stang, Vladimir Toporov, Kazimieras Būga and Juozas Balčikonis. In 1886, 1,156 people in nearby villages declared themselves Lithuanians, however, the real number might have been much greater.Gediminas Zemlickas, "Paminklas mirusiai ðnektai (2)" onument to the Ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nowogródek Voivodeship (1919–1939)
Nowogródek Voivodeship () was a unit of administrative division of the Second Polish Republic between 1921 and 1939, with the capital in Nowogródek (now Navahrudak, Belarus). Following German and Soviet Union, Soviet Invasion of Poland (1939), Invasion of Poland of September 1939, Poland's borders Territories of Poland annexed by the Soviet Union, were redrawn in accordance with the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. The Nowogródek Voivodeship was incorporated into the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic in an atmosphere of terror, following Elections to the People's Assemblies of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus, staged elections. With the end of World War II, at the insistence of Joseph Stalin at the Tehran Conference of 1943, the area Territorial changes of Poland immediately after World War II, remained in Soviet hands, and the Polish population was soon Repatriation of Poles (1944–1946), forcibly resettled. Since 1991, most part of it belongs to the sovereign Republic of Be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World Agudath Israel
World Agudath Israel (), usually known as the Aguda, was established in the early twentieth century as the political arm of Ashkenazi Torah Judaism. It succeeded ''Agudath Shlomei Emunei Yisroel'' (Union of Faithful Jewry) in 1912. Its base of support was located in Eastern Europe before the Second World War but, due to the revival of the Hasidic movement, it included Orthodox Jews throughout Europe. Prior to World War II and the Holocaust, Agudath Israel operated a number of Jewish educational institutions throughout Europe. After the war, it has continued to operate such institutions in the United States as Agudath Israel of America, and in Israel. Agudath Israel is guided by its Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah (Council of Sages) in Israel and the US. History Katowice Conference World Agudath Israel was established by Jewish religious leaders at a conference held at Kattowitz (Katowice) in 1912. They were concerned that the Tenth Zionist Congress had defeated a motion by the Tor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Torah, Written and Oral Torah, Oral, as literally revelation, revealed by God in Judaism, God on Mount Sinai (Bible), Mount Sinai and faithfully transmitted ever since. Orthodox Judaism therefore advocates a strict observance of Jewish Law, or ''halakha'', which is to be Posek, interpreted and determined only according to traditional methods and in adherence to the continuum of received precedent through the ages. It regards the entire ''halakhic'' system as ultimately grounded in immutable revelation, essentially beyond external and historical influence. More than any theoretical issue, obeying the Kosher, dietary, Tumah and taharah, purity, ethical and other laws of ''halakha'' is the hallmark of Orthodoxy. Practicing members are easily distinguishable by their lifestyle, refraining from doing 39 Melakhot, numerous rou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mitzvot
In its primary meaning, the Hebrew word (; , ''mīṣvā'' , plural ''mīṣvōt'' ; "commandment") refers to a commandment from God to be performed as a religious duty. Jewish law () in large part consists of discussion of these commandments. According to religious tradition, there are 613 such commandments. In its secondary meaning, the word ''mitzvah'' refers to a deed performed in order to fulfill such a commandment. As such, the term ''mitzvah'' has also come to express an individual act of human kindness in keeping with the law. The expression includes a sense of heartfelt sentiment beyond mere legal duty, as "you shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18). For some ''mitzvot'', the purpose is specified in the Torah; though, the opinions of the Talmudic rabbis are divided between those who seek the purpose of the ''mitzvot'' and those who do not question them. The former believe that if people were to understand the reason for each ''mitzvah'', it would h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Radin 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), sefer'') in 1869. Because of its founder's nickname, the institution is often referred to as Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim of Radin. Its successors officially adopted this name. Origins In 1869 when the Chofetz Chaim returned from Vasilishki to Radun his first action was to establish a group to whom he could spread the knowledge of Torah. The founding of the yeshiva is mentioned in one of the letters of the Chofetz Chaim: :''"The beginning of the founding began from when I returned from the town of Vashilyshok...in the year 1869. Following my arrival in Raduń, the Almighty stirred my spirit to gather young students and scholars for the study of Torah..."'' Although at the time Raduń was practically an isolated village, away from undesirable urba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leo Jung
Rabbi Leo Jung (''Hebrew:'' Eliyahu; June 20, 1892 – December 19, 1987) was one of the major architects of American Orthodox Judaism. He was the indirect progenitor of the religious day school system common throughout North American Jewish communities, He was also a major fundraiser and activist for many Jewish causes worldwide, in the periods before, during and after the Holocaust. Background and education Leo Jung was born on June 20, 1892, in Uherský Brod, Moravia, Austria-Hungary. His father, Meir Tzvi Jung held rabbinic post in Mannheim then was elected rabbi of Uherský Brod in 1890. The elder Jung believed in the '' Torah im Derekh Eretz'' (Torah combined with worldly activity) philosophy of Samson Raphael Hirsch. Later he moved to London. Jung's father founded schools in Uherský Brod, Kraków and London, where both religious and secular learning took place. In London, Meir Tzvi was a leader in Agudat Yisrael, and the Sinai Movement. The Sinai Movement was a movemen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vasilishki
Vasilishki (; ; ; ; ) is an agrotown in Shchuchyn District, Grodno Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Vasilishki selsoviet. History Within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Vasilishki was part of Vilnius Voivodeship. In 1706, during the Great Northern War, King Stanisław Leszczyński stayed in the town. In 1766, the Wasiliszki starostwo was held by Michał Kazimierz Ogiński. In 1795, the town was acquired by the Russian Empire as a result of the Third Partition of Poland. In late 18th century it was part of Lida ''powiat'' of Wilno Governorate, Russian Empire. From 1919 until 1929, Vasilishki (''Wasiliszki'') was part of Lida County and from 1929 until 1939 of Szczuczyn County of the Nowogródek Voivodeship of the Second Polish Republic. In the 1921 census, 74.8% people declared Polish nationality, and 25.2% declared Jewish nationality. World War II In September 1939, Vasilishki was occupied by the Red Army and, on 14 November 1939, incorporated into ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minsk
Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administrative centre of Minsk region and Minsk district. it has a population of about two million, making Minsk the Largest cities in Europe, 11th-most populous city in Europe. Minsk is one of the administrative capitals of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). First mentioned in 1067, Minsk became the capital of the Principality of Minsk, an appanage of the Principality of Polotsk, before being annexed by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1242. It received town privileges in 1499. From 1569, it was the capital of Minsk Voivodeship, an administrative division of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was part of the territories annexed by the Russian Empire in 1793, as a consequence of the Second Part ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 centerpiece of Jewish culture, Jewish cultural life and was foundational to "all Jewish thought and aspirations", serving also as "the guide for the daily life" of Jews. The Talmud includes the teachings and opinions of thousands of rabbis on a variety of subjects, including halakha, Jewish ethics, Jewish philosophy, philosophy, Jewish customs, customs, Jewish history, history, and Jewish folklore, folklore, and many other topics. The Talmud is a commentary on the Mishnah. This text is made up of 63 Masekhet, tractates, each covering one subject area. The language of the Talmud is Jewish Babylonian Aramaic. Talmudic tradition emerged and was compiled between the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE and the Arab conquest in the early seve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mendel Zaks
Menachem Mendel Yosef Zaks (; 1898–1974) (commonly known as Rabbi Mendel Zaks) was an Orthodox Jewish rabbi in Belarus and the United States, best known for being the ''Rosh Yeshiva'' of the Raduń Yeshiva and being the son-in-law to Yisrael Meir Kagan, the ''Chofetz Chaim''. Early life Zaks was born in Siluva. Before joining the yeshiva in Radun, he studied in the Yeshiva Knesses Beis Yitzchok (while it was still in Slabodka, before it moved to Kaminetz). He was forced to leave Radun during World War I and then studied under Reuven Dov Dessler. He also studied under Meir Simcha of Dvinsk whose ''Meshech Chochmah'' he had helped print. After the war, Zaks returned to Radun where he studied with his future father-in-law. In 1922, he married Faiga Chaya, Kagan's youngest daughter (who was 64 at the time of her birth). By doing so, he joined Kagan as leader of the yeshiva and in all other communal affairs. Zaks was immediately recognized for his teaching and leadership abili ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Naftoli Trop
Rabbi Naftoli Trop (April 1871 - September 24, 1928) was a renowned Talmudist and Talmid Chacham. He served as ''rosh yeshiva'' of Raduń Yeshiva, Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim in Radun, Belarus, Radun, Second Polish Republic, Poland. Early years In his youth he studied with his father, who was ''rosh yeshiva'' of a local yeshiva, and at 14, he left to learn in Kelm Talmud Torah, Kelm, where his study partner for ten years was Yerucham Levovitz, who went on to become ''Mashgiach ruchani, mashgiach'' of the Mir Yeshiva (Poland), Mir yeshiva. Rabbi Trop proceeded to briefly study in Yeshivas Knesses Yisrael (Slabodka), Slabodka and Telshe yeshiva, Telz, where he became close to Eliezer Gordon. He learned for a short time in the Novardok yeshiva in Slonim, where he formed a close relationship with Yosef Yozel Horwitz (known as "the ''Alter'' of Novardok"). In 1889, when Yaakov Yitzchak (Itzele) Rabinowitz was appointed ''rosh yeshiva'' at Slabodka, Trop returned to Slabodka to study under Rab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
