Rephoel Baruch Sorotzkin (February 5, 1917 – February 10, 1979) was 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 ...

(dean) of the

Telz 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 ...

in Cleveland. He was born on February 5, 1917 (13th of

Shevat Shevat (, , ; from ) is the fifth month of the civil year starting in Tishre (or Tishri) and the eleventh month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar starting in Nisan. It is a month of 30 days. Shevat usually occurs in January– ...

, 5677) in

Zhetl 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. Histo ...

, in the

Grodno Governorate Grodno Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Northwestern Krai of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Grodno. It encompassed in area and consisted of a population of 1,603,409 inhabitants by 1897. Gro ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

(present-day

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

). His father, Rabbi Zalman Sorotzkin was the town's

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 ...

. As a young man, Sorotzkin studied under Rabbi

Elchonon Wasserman Elchonon Bunim Wasserman (; ; 18746 July 1941) was a prominent rabbi and rosh yeshiva (dean) in prewar Europe. He was one of the closest students of Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan (the Chofetz Chaim) and a noted Talmid Chacham. In the interwar perio ...

in the

Baranovich Yeshiva Yeshiva Ohel Torah-Baranovich, commonly referred to as the Baranovich Yeshiva or simply as Baranovich, was an Orthodox Jewish yeshiva in Baranavichy, Belarus (which at its founding was ruled by the Russian Empire and after World War I, the Second ...

, and then under Rabbi

Baruch Ber Lebovitz Boruch Ber Leibowitz ( ; 1862 – November 17, 1939, known as Reb Boruch Ber, was a rabbi famed for his Talmudic lectures, particularly in that they were rooted styled in the method of his teacher Chaim Soloveitchik. He is known for leading Ye ...

Kamenitz Kamyenyets or Kamenets, also known as Kamyanyets, is a town in Brest Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Kamyenyets District. The town is located in the northwestern corner of Brest Region on the Lyasnaya River, about nor ...

. In 1940, Rabbi Boruch Sorotzkin married Rochel Bloch, daughter of the Telzer Rav and Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi

Avraham Yitzchak Bloch Avraham Yitzchak Bloch (; 1891 - July 15, 1941) was the ''Rosh yeshiva'' of the Telz Yeshiva in Lithuania, and one of the greatest pre-Holocaust rabbinic figures. Early life Avraham Yitzchak Bloch was born in 1891 into a Jewish family and was ...

. Sorotzkin was involved in the "tension" over visas needed to flee: the two factions were "those from Lithuanian versus Polish Yeshivot;" control of the ''Kobe committee'' was by "students from the Polish yeshivot." The rabbi and his wife fled Europe at the start of World War II, via Shanghai, and made their way to the United States. There, they joined his wife's uncles (and his own cousins) Rabbi

Eliyahu Meir Bloch Rabbi Eliyahu Meir Bloch (October 23, 1894 – January 22, 1955), often referred to as Rav Elya Meir Bloch, was a leading Orthodox Jewish rabbi in the United States in the years after World War II. He founded the Telshe Yeshiva in Cleveland, ...

and Rabbi Chaim Mordechai Katz who had re-established the

in Cleveland, Ohio.

Teaching

In 1943 Sorotzkin began delivering classes in the

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 1953 Sorotzkin was appointed associate dean of the

. In 1962 Sorotzkin became dangerously ill and the name Rephoel was added to his name. In 1964, when the Telz Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Chaim Mordechai Katz died, Sorotzkin together with Rabbi

Mordechai Gifter Mordechai Gifter (October 15, 1915 - January 18, 2001) was an American Haredi rabbi. He was the rosh yeshiva (dean) of the Telz Yeshiva in Cleveland. He was a staunch opponent of Zionism. Gifter studied in yeshivas in Lithuania, and held seve ...

assumed the leadership of the yeshiva. In the Telzer tradition, Rabbi Sorotzkin extended his sphere of activities to include even more areas of communal responsibility, such as working for

Chinuch Atzmai Jewish education (, ''Chinuch'') is the transmission of the tenets, principles, and religious laws of Judaism. Jews value education, and the value of education is strongly embedded in Jewish culture. Judaism places a heavy emphasis on Torah s ...

Torah Umesorah 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 () o ...

and

Agudath Israel of America Agudath Israel of America (; also called the Agudah) is an American organization that represents Haredi Judaism, Haredi Orthodox Jews. It is loosely affiliated with the international World Agudath Israel. Agudah seeks to meet the needs of the Har ...

where he served as one of the youngest member of its Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah - Council of Torah Sages.

Death and family

Sorotzkin died on Saturday, February 10, 1979. His brothers included rabbis Eliezer Sorotzkin, founder of Kiryat Telz-Stone in Israel, and Yisrael Sorotzkin, rosh yeshiva in Lomza and Av Beit Din in Petah Tikva. His sons include Rabbi

Yitzchok Sorotzkin Avrohom Yitzchok Sorotzkin (born October 1945) is a prolific writer and former Rosh Yeshiva of Telshe yeshiva who delivers the most advanced Talmudic lecture at the Mesivta of Lakewood. He is a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah (Council of Tor ...

, dean of the Telz Yeshiva and Mesivta of Lakewood, New Jersey. Many of his lectures on

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 ...

were posthumously published by his children under the title ''Sefer Habinah V’habrachah''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sorotzkin, Baruch 1917 births 1979 deaths People from Dzyatlava People from Slonimsky Uyezd Belarusian Haredi rabbis Rosh yeshivas American Haredi rabbis Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah Burials at Har HaMenuchot Rabbis from Ohio