Ahron (Aaron) Soloveichik (; 1918 – October 4, 2001) was an Orthodox Jewish ''

rosh yeshiva Rosh yeshiva or Rosh Hayeshiva (, plural, 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 th ...

'' (seminary dean) and scholar of

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 cen ...

and ''

halakha ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Torah, Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is ...

''.

Biography

The youngest of five children, Ahron Soloveichik was born to

Moshe Soloveichik Moshe Soloveichik (1879 – January 21, 1941) was an Orthodox rabbi. He was Rosh Yeshiva at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary of Yeshiva University. Biography He was born in Valozhyn, the middle son of Chaim Soloveitchik and gr ...

Khislavichi Khislavichi (, ''Khoslovitz'') is an types of inhabited localities in Russia, urban locality (an urban-type settlement) and the administrative center of Khislavichsky District of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located by the right bank of the Sozh River ...

, Russia, at which time his father was the

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 ...

of that town. Joseph Soloveitchik and Samuel Soloveichik were his older brothers. His family first moved to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

in 1920. Before his father moved to New York in 1929, Moshe engaged his student Yitzchak Hutner to become Soloveichik's rebbe. Soloveichik was Hutner's first student. Soloveichik celebrated his

bar mitzvah A ''bar mitzvah'' () or ''bat mitzvah'' () is a coming of age ritual in Judaism. According to Halakha, Jewish law, before children reach a certain age, the parents are responsible for their child's actions. Once Jewish children reach that age ...

in Warsaw and then immigrated with his family to join his father in the United States in 1930. After he graduated from Yeshiva College, he went to law school at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

and graduated with a law degree in 1946. He then spent the next 20 years teaching at

yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; 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 are studied in parallel. The stu ...

s in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Soloveichik's first teaching position was in Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem then headed by

Moshe Feinstein Moshe Feinstein (; Lithuanian pronunciation: ''Moishe Fainshtein''; ; March 3, 1895 – March 23, 1986) was a Russian-born American Orthodox Jewish rabbi, scholar, and ''posek'' (authority on ''halakha''—Jewish law). He has been called ...

, from whom he received his ''

semikhah ''Semikhah'' () is the traditional term for rabbiinic ordination in Judaism. The original ''semikhah'' was the formal "transmission of authority" from Moses through the generations. This form of ''semikhah'' ceased between 360 and 425 CE. Si ...

'' (rabbinic ordination). Shortly thereafter Soloveichik was appointed by Hutner to give the highest daily lecture in

Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin or Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin () is an American Haredi Lithuanian-type boys' and men's yeshiva in Brooklyn, New York. The school's divisions include a preschool, a ''yeshiva ketana'' (elementary school), a ''mesivta ...

. Soloveichik's final position in New York was at

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

, where he instituted a weekly ''

hashkafa ''Hashkafa'' (; plural ''hashkafot'', ''hashkafos'', ''hashkafas'') is the Hebrew term for worldview and guiding philosophy, used almost exclusively within Orthodox Judaism. A ''hashkafa'' is a perspective that Orthodox Jews adopt that defines m ...

'' class in addition to giving one of the advanced daily Talmud classes, and where he was the first rabbi to be named Lecturer of the Year at Yeshiva University. In 1966, he moved to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

to head the Hebrew Theological College in

Skokie, Illinois Skokie (; formerly Niles Center) is a Village (United States), village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 67,824. Skokie lies approximately north of Chicago's dow ...

. After differing with the administration there on certain key issues, he was let go in 1974 and opened his own yeshiva as the ''

Rosh Yeshiva Rosh yeshiva or Rosh Hayeshiva (, plural, 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 th ...

'' of Yeshivas Brisk ( Brisk Rabbinical College) in Chicago, an American incarnation of the

Brisk yeshivas The Soloveitchik dynasty of rabbinic scholars and their students originated the Brisker method of Talmudic study, which is embraced by their followers in the Brisk yeshivas. It is so called because of the Soloveitchiks' origin in the town of Br ...

and methods. Soloveichik taught

Torah The Torah ( , "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. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

for 58 years, the last 34 of which were in Chicago. Although a stroke in 1983 left him partially paralyzed he continued his duties at Yeshivas Brisk in Chicago and flew to New York every week to deliver a Talmudic lecture at

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

(a position he accepted after his older brother Rabbi Dr.

Joseph B. Soloveitchik Joseph Ber Soloveitchik ( ''Yosef Dov ha-Levi Soloveychik''; February 27, 1903 – April 9, 1993) was a major American Orthodox rabbi, Talmudist, and modern Jewish philosopher. He was a scion of the Lithuanian Jewish Soloveitchik rabbinic ...

became ill and was unable to continue lecturing). His wife, Ella Shurin, was a writer and teacher. The couple raised six children all of whom are rabbis or women married to rabbis. His grandchildren include Rabbi Dr. Meir Soloveichik (renowned scholar and writer) and Nachama Soloveichik (Communications Director for Senator

Pat Toomey Patrick Joseph Toomey Jr. (born November 17, 1961) is an American businessman and politician who served as a United States senator from Pennsylvania from 2011 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he served three terms as the U.S. represen ...

and the Nikki Haley 2024 presidential campaign).

Works

Other works in Hebrew include commentaries on the works of Maimonides (''Parach Mateh Aharon'') and the laws of mourning (''Od Yisrael Yosef Beni Chai'') which was dedicated in memory of his grandson who died young after a long battle with cancer. Additional works in English include Logic of the Heart Logic of the Mind - Wisdom and reflections on topics of our times.

Notes

Articles

* HaDarom, No. 22, Tisrei 5726 (Oct. 1955)
בענין קידוש החודש
* HaDarom, No. 23, Nissan 5726 (April 1956): דין שימור במצות מצוה * Bais Yitzchak, 1987: בענין יהרג ועל יעבור

External links

My Grandfather, Rav Ahron
by Nachama Soloveichik.
Rabbi Aaron Soloveichik
(by Schulamith Halevy (he))
Filmed interview
regarding

anusim Anusim (, ; singular male, anús, ; singular female, anusá, , meaning "coerced") is a legal category of Jews in '' halakha'' (Jewish law) who were forced to abandon Judaism against their will, typically while forcibly converted to another re ...

(March 23, 1998)
Rabbi Soloveichik responsum
to Schulamith Halevy (he) PDF {{DEFAULTSORT:Soloveichik, Ahron Soloveitchik rabbinic dynasty 1917 births 2001 deaths American Orthodox rabbis Rosh yeshivas Orthodox rabbis from Russia Lithuanian Orthodox rabbis Yeshiva University rosh yeshivas 20th-century Lithuanian rabbis Burials at the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives Rabbis from Chicago