Dovid Leibowitz (May 15, 1887 – December 4, 1941) was a

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

-born 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 ...

. A disciple of Slabodka yeshiva in

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 ...

, he went on to found Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim in the United States, where he served as

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).

Early life

As a teenager Leibowitz studied in the Radin Yeshiva, where he held private study sessions with his great-uncle and founder of the yeshiva—

Yisrael 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 t ...

—helping him to write the last volume of his ''

Mishnah Berurah The ''Mishnah Berurah'' ( "Clear Teaching") is a work of ''halakha'' (Jewish law) by Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan (Poland, 1838–1933, also known as ''Chofetz Chaim''). It is a commentary on ''Orach Chayim'', the first section of the ''Shulchan Aru ...

''. He also studied there under

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 ...

. In 1908 Leibowitz transferred to the Slabodka yeshiva, where he studied under Nosson Tzvi Finkel. In 1915 Leibowitz succeeded his father-in-law as rabbi of

Šalčininkai Šalčininkai (; ; ''Solechnik''; ) is a City (Lithuania), city in Vilnius County, in south-eastern Lithuania, situated south-east of Vilnius, near the border with Belarus. Etymology The name of the city derives from Šalčia river, ''šalta'' ...

. After six years he returned to Slabodka as a founding member of the Slabodka ''

kollel A kollel (also kolel) (, , , , a "gathering" or "collection" f scholars is an institute for full-time, advanced Torah study, study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features Shiur (Torah), shiurim (lectures) and ...

''.

Career

In January 1927, Leibowitz went to the United States as a fund-raiser for the ''kollel'', and was invited to become the first

(dean) of Mesivta Torah Vodaath. Among his students were Gedalia Schorr and Avraham Yaakov Pam. In 1933, Leibowitz founded the Rabbinical Seminary of America (RSA) in the

Williamsburg Williamsburg may refer to: Places *Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia *Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City *Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California *Williams ...

neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. He did so after a dispute arose with Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz—head of Torah Vodaath—over the goals of Torah Vodaath, and consequent legal proceedings before a rabbinical court. Leibowitz served as RSA's first rosh yeshiva. The school, which later moved to

Kew Gardens Hills, Queens Kew Gardens Hills is a neighborhood in the middle of the New York City borough of Queens. The borders are Flushing Meadows–Corona Park to the west, the Long Island Expressway to the north, Interstate 495 (New York), Union Turnpike to the south ...

is better known today as Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim, so named for Leibowitz's great-uncle, who was known as the " Chofetz Chaim".

Death

Leibowitz died of a heart attack on Thursday December 4, 1941. His funeral was held on Sunday December 7, 1941. The yeshiva was headed for the following sixty-seven years by his only son, Henoch Leibowitz.

References

External links

Rabbi Leibowitz's gravestone
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leibowitz, Dovid 1887 births 1941 deaths Torah Vodaath rosh yeshivas 20th-century American rabbis People from Williamsburg, Brooklyn Religious leaders from Brooklyn Slabodka yeshiva alumni 20th-century Lithuanian rabbis