Avraham Grodzinski
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Avraham Grodzinski (c. 1884 - July 13, 1944) was 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 of t ...
who served as the
mashgiach ruchani A mashgiach ruchani (; pl., ''mashgichim ruchani'im''), sometimes mashgiach for short, is a spiritual supervisor or guide. They are usually a rabbi who has an official position within a yeshiva and is responsible for the non-academic areas of yesh ...
(spiritual supervisor) of the Slabodka yeshiva in Lithuania. He is best known for being the primary disciple of Nosson Tzvi Finkel, the Alter of Slabodka", and for his book of '' mussar'' (ethics) lectures called ''Toras Avraham''.Published posthumously by his son Yitzchak Grodzinsky in conjunction with Kollel ''Toras Avraham''


Early life

Grodzinski was born in 1883 in
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
to parents of
Lithuanian Jewish {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Litvaks , image = , caption = , poptime = , region1 = {{flag, Lithuania , pop1 = 2,800 , region2 = {{flag, South Africa , pop2 = 6 ...
descent. His grandfather, Zev Grodzinski, emigrated from Lithuania to Warsaw, and his father, Yitzchak (Itcheh) was one of the leaders of the Warsaw Jewish community. Itcheh established and supported a
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 ...
in Warsaw, regarding which the
Chofetz Chaim The ''Sefer'' ''Chofetz Chaim'' (or ''Chafetz Chaim'' or ''Hafetz Hayim'') (, trans. "Pursuer of Life") is a book by Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan, who is also called "the Chofetz Chaim" after it. The book deals with the Jewish laws of speech. The ...
commented "Reb Itcheh saved Jewish education in Warsaw".heard on a tape from
Berel Wein Berel Wein (; born March 25, 1934) is an American-born Orthodox rabbi, lecturer and writer. He authored several books, in both Hebrew and English, concerning Jewish history and popularized the subject through more than 1,000 audio tapes, new ...
of Yeshiva Shaarei Torah circa 1988
His home was dedicated solely to the dissemination of
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 () ...
and ''
chesed (, also Romanization of Hebrew, Romanized: ) is a Hebrew language, Hebrew word that means 'kindness or love between people', specifically of the devotional piety of people towards God as well as of love or mercy of God towards humanity. It is fr ...
'' (lovingkindness); tens of poor people partook in meals on a daily basis. Grodzinski once quipped, "From a young age, I was so busy assisting and catering to all the guests and helping my father in all his ''chesed'' activities, I did not have a childhood". Itcheh was very close to the great Torah leaders of his time, many of whom frequented his home when visiting Warsaw. The Beis Halevi asked Itcheh to accompany him to Brisk to accept the helm of the rabbinate there.


Slabodka and the Alter

After short stints studying Torah in Yeshivas Radin and
Łomża Łomża () is a city in north-eastern Poland, approximately to the north-east of Warsaw and west of Białystok. It is situated alongside the Narew river as part of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the capital of Łomża County and has been the se ...
, in 1899 Grodzinski enrolled in the Slabodka yeshiva in Lithuania, which was under the leadership of Nosson Tzvi Finkel. Under the auspices of Finkel, known as the 'Alter of Slabodka', Grodzinski began years of toil in Torah and self-perfection. Although few details from those years are known, the little that is known gives a picture of his character and the methods he used to further his development. He spent two years perfecting the attribute of "greeting every individual with a pleasant facial countenance". People would later attest to the extent of which he inculcated this precept into his character; even in the most horrific times in the
Kovno Ghetto The Kovno Ghetto was a ghetto established by Nazi Germany to hold the Lithuanian Jews of Kaunas (Kovno) during the Holocaust. At its peak, the ghetto held 29,000 people, most of whom were later sent to concentration and extermination camps, o ...
during the
Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
, his pleasant facial expression masked his internal grief. Grodzinski's work on character development never interfered with his intense
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 ...
ic study. During his tenure in Slabodka, Grodzinski forged a deep and close relationship with the Alter. He immersed himself in his mentor's teachings, mastering them all and internalizing them. The Alter, in turn, pointed to him as "my portion in all my efforts." His relationship with the Alter was fundamental to his own personal growth, and years later, when he accepted the mantle of leadership in the Slabodka yeshiva, the presence of the Alter never left his consciousness.


Death

In 1944, Grodzinski was burned alive when the Kovna hospital he was confined to was set ablaze. Of his eight children, four were murdered in the Holocaust and four survived.


Works

*''Torat Avraham''


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grodzinski, Avraham 1883 births 1944 deaths 20th-century Lithuanian writers 20th-century Lithuanian rabbis Haredi rabbis in Europe Lithuanian Jews who died in the Holocaust Lithuanian Haredi rabbis Mashgiach ruchani Writers of Musar literature Writers from Warsaw Kovno Ghetto inmates Slabodka yeshiva alumni