Ahron Dovid Burack (also known as Aaron David or Ahron David; ; 16 May 1892 – 7 October 1960) was a Lithuanian-American

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 t ...

and

rosh yeshivah Rosh yeshiva or Rosh Hayeshiva (, 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 the Torah ...

Early life and education

Ahron Dovid Burack was born in Popelan (now Papile) in

Kovno Governorate Kovno Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Kovno (Kaunas). It was formed on 18 December 1842 by Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, Nicholas I from the western part of Vilna Govern ...

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, on 16 May 1892Schwartz J., Kaye S.A., and Simons, J., eds. ''Who's Who in World Jewry''. (p. 149) Jewish Biographical Bureau. 1933."YU Torah Online: Our Speakers: Rabbi Ahron Dovid Burack", http://www.yutorah.org/speakers/speaker.cfm?teacherId=80035, accessed 12 October 2008. to Chaim Natan Burack and Basse Gittel Gibberman. As a young man in Lithuania, he studied at

Yeshivas Knesses Yisrael (Slabodka) Yeshivas Knesses Yisrael (; ) was a yeshiva located in the town of Vilijampolės Slabada in the Kovno Governorate of the Russian Empire (now Vilijampolė in Kaunas, Lithuania). It operated from the late 19th century until World War II. Origins ...

near

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

and at the

Telshe Yeshiva Telshe Yeshiva (; ; also spelled ''Telz'') is a yeshiva in Wickliffe, Ohio, formerly located in Telšiai, Lithuania. During World War II the yeshiva relocated to Cleveland, Ohio in the United States and is now known as the Rabbinical College of ...

near

Telšiai Telšiai (; Samogitian language, Samogitian: ''Telšē'') is a city in Lithuania with about 21,499 inhabitants. It is the capital of Telšiai County and Samogitia region, and it is located on the shores of Lake Mastis. Telšiai is one of the ol ...

, where he was ordained by Rabbi Yosef Leib Bloch.

Rabbinical Positions

Burack immigrated to the United States in 1913. Following his arrival, Ahron Dovid Burack became rabbi of Beit Hamedrish Etz Chaim Anshei Volozhin in New York City. In 1917, the

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tra ...

synagogue Ohel Moshe Chevra Tehilim in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York, granted Burack a lifetime contract to serve as rabbi of the congregation. Burack was an outspoken advocate for Jewish communal and Zionist causes. He was a leader of the

Union of Orthodox Rabbis The Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada (UOR), often called by its Hebrew name, Agudath Harabonim or (in Ashkenazi Hebrew) Agudas Harabonim ("union of rabbis"), was established in 1901 in the United States and is the oldest ...

of the United States and Canada and the

Religious Zionists of America The Religious Zionists of America (Hebrew official name: Religious Zionists of America/Mizrachi-Hapoel Hamizrachi, also known as Mizrachi, is an American-based organization that is the official body for those, mostly Modern Orthodox Jews who id ...

(Hapoel Hamizrachi), and was also involved with the

United Jewish Appeal The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), formerly the United Jewish Communities (UJC), is an American Jewish umbrella organization for the Jewish Federations system, representing over 350 independent Jewish communities across North Ameri ...

, the

Jewish National Fund The Jewish National Fund (JNF; , ''Keren Kayemet LeYisrael''; previously , ''Ha Fund HaLeumi'') is a non-profit organizationProfessor Alon Tal, The Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, The Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben Gurion ...

and the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (

HIAS HIAS, founded as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, is a Jewish American nonprofit that provides humanitarian aid and assistance to refugees. It was established on in 1881 to help Russian Jewish immigrants to the United States escaping antisemi ...

)."Prof. Burack, Orthodox Leader, Dies During Synagogue Services", Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 10 October 1960. Available online at http://www.jta.org/1960/10/10/archive/prof-burack-orthodox-leader-dies-during-synagogue-services , accessed 06 December 2015. He was among a group of rabbis who implored President

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

and the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

to help rescue European Jews during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, reading a petition as part of a demonstration on the steps of the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the United States Congress, the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal g ...

Building.Breitman, Richard, and Lichtman, Allan J. ''FDR and the Jews''. (p. 230) Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard University. 2013.

Teaching and Writing

Burack was appointed Rosh Yeshiva at the

Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS ) is the rabbinical seminary of Yeshiva University (YU). It is located along Amsterdam Avenue in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Named after Yitzchak Elchanan S ...

in 1919 and continued to serve until his death in 1960. He was also a professor of Talmud and Homiletics at

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a Private university, private Modern Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City.

. He was the author of פרחי אהרון ''Pirchei Aharon'' (''Flowers of Aaron''), two volumes of "

homiletics In religious studies, homiletics ( ''homilētikós'', from ''homilos'', "assembled crowd, throng") is the application of the general principles of rhetoric to the specific art of public preaching. One who practices or studies homiletics may be ...

and

halacha ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is based on biblical commandments ('' mi ...

" published in 1954.

Yeshivat Pirchei Aharon

Burack died in New York on October 7, 1960, during the

Sukkot Sukkot, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles or Feast of Booths, is a Torah-commanded Jewish holiday celebrated for seven days, beginning on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei. It is one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals on which Israelite ...

holiday,"Dr. Aaron D. Burack, 68, Dies; Professor at Yeshiva University", ''New York Times'', 8 October 1960. and was later buried in the

Sanhedria Cemetery Sanhedria Cemetery () is a 27-dunam (6.67-acre) Jewish burial ground in the Sanhedria neighborhood of Jerusalem, adjacent to the intersection of Levi Eshkol Boulevard, Shmuel HaNavi Street, and Bar-Ilan Street. Unlike the Mount of Olives and ...

in Jerusalem."Remains of Rabbi Burack, Leader of U.S. Orthodox Jewry, Buried in Israel", Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 15 March 1962. Available online at http://www.jta.org/1962/03/15/archive/remains-of-rabbi-burack-leader-of-u-s-orthodox-jewry-buried-in-israel , accessed 06 December 2015. Following his death in 1960, a secondary school in Kiryat Shmuel,

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

, Israel, was named Yeshivat Pirchei Aharon in tribute to Rabbi Ahron Dovid Burack's memory and his work."YBA Pirchei Aharon celebrates 50th anniversary", AFYBA E-Newsletter 3(1), September 2010. Available online at http://www.afyba.org/newsletter/2010/september/ , accessed 06 December 2015. The school, which provides both secular and Torah education, is affiliated with the

Bnei Akiva Bnei Akiva (, , "Children of Akiva") is the largest religious Zionist youth movement in the world, with over 125,000 members in 42 countries. It was first established in Mandatory Palestine in 1929, advocating the values of Torah and labor. Bne ...

movement. Notable alumni of Yeshivat Pirchei Aharon include Israel's former Ashkenazi

Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi () is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a capitulation by Ben-Zion Meir ...

Yona Metzger Yona Metzger (; born 1953) is an Israeli Orthodox rabbi and the former Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel. In 2013, while chief rabbi, a fraud investigation was opened. Metzger later pleaded guilty to a number of corruption charges, was tried and ...

and past mayors of the cities of Jerusalem ( Uri Lupolianski) and

Akko Acre ( ), known in Hebrew as Akko (, ) and in Arabic as Akka (, ), is a city in the coastal plain region of the Northern District of Israel. The city occupies a strategic location, sitting in a natural harbour at the extremity of Haifa Bay on ...

(Acre) (Shimon Lankry).

References

External links

Guide to the Aaron David Burack Papers, Yeshiva University Archives

Archive of Rabbi Aharon Dovid Burack's Shiurim (Lessons), YUTorah Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burack, Ahron Dovid 1892 births 1960 deaths People from Papilė People from Shavelsky Uyezd Lithuanian Orthodox rabbis Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent 20th-century Lithuanian rabbis Yeshiva University rosh yeshivas