Elya Svei (; March 19, 1924 ('' Taanis Esther 5684'') – March 26, 2009 (''

Rosh Chodesh In Judaism, Rosh Chodesh or Rosh Hodesh (; trans. ''Beginning of the Month''; lit. ''Head of the Month'') is a minor holiday observed at the beginning of every month in the Hebrew calendar, marked by the birth of a new moon. Rosh Chodesh is obs ...

Nisan Nisan (or Nissan; from ) in the Babylonian and Hebrew calendars is the month of the barley ripening and first month of spring. The name of the month is an Akkadian language borrowing, although it ultimately originates in Sumerian ''nisag' ...

5769'')) was an American

Haredi Haredi Judaism (, ) is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that is characterized by its strict interpretation of religious sources and its accepted (Jewish law) and traditions, in opposition to more accommodating values and practices. Its members are ...

Jewish

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 co-''

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 ...

'' (with Shmuel Kamenetsky) of the Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia. He was born in

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 died in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Biography

Elya Svei was born in

, Lithuania, where his father Shmuel Leib Svei was a rabbi. When he was nine years old, he moved to the United States to join his father, who was fundraising there. In the United States he attended Yeshiva Torah Vodaath, graduating its Hebrew Parochial High School division in 1941. Svei was a student of

Aharon Kotler Aharon Kotler (February 2, 1892 – November 29, 1962) was a Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) rabbi and a prominent leader of Orthodox Judaism in Lithuania and in the United States, where he founded Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood Township, New Jersey. ...

. He was a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah and chairman of the Rabbinic Administrative Board of

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 ...

until he resigned from both in June 2002, reportedly due to an ideological dispute with his colleagues. Svei was a founder of Sinai Academy in Brooklyn, a middle school and high school catering to the children of primarily non-observant Russian Jewish immigrants.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Svei, Elya 1924 births 2009 deaths 20th-century American rabbis 20th-century Israeli rabbis 21st-century American rabbis 21st-century Israeli rabbis American Haredi rabbis Haredi rabbis in Israel Haredi rosh yeshivas Israeli people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent Israeli people of Russian-Jewish descent Israeli rosh yeshivas Lithuanian emigrants to the United States Lithuanian Haredi rabbis Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah Rabbis in Jerusalem Russian expatriates in the United States Russian Haredi rabbis Soviet emigrants to Israel Soviet emigrants to the United States