Rabbi Yechiel Michel Tucazinsky ( he, יחיאל מיכל טוקצינסקי) (1871–1955) was a

halachic ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical comman ...

scholar and author who served as

rosh yeshiva Rosh yeshiva ( he, ראש ישיבה, pl. he, ראשי ישיבה, '; 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, primar ...

of the Etz Chaim Yeshiva in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. He is best known for his work on the laws of mourning, Gesher HaChaim.

Biography

Yechiel Michel Tucazinsky was born on 27 December 1871 in

Lyakhavichy Liachavičy ( be, Ляхавічы, , russian: Ляховичи, pl, Lachowicze, yi, לעכאוויטש ''Lekhavitsh'', lt, Liachivičai) is a city in the southwestern Belarusian Brest Region. History Known since the 15th century in the Grand D ...

, Belarus. His father died when he was 8; in 1882, Tucazinsky immigrated to Jerusalem, where he lived with his grandfather. There he studied in and later headed the Etz Chaim Yeshiva in

. The yeshiva was subsequently run for over fifty years by his son Rabbi Nissan Aharon Tucazinsky. His wife was a great-granddaughter of Rabbi

Shmuel Salant Shmuel Salant ( he, שמואל סלנט; January 2, 1816 – August 16, 1909) served as the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem for almost 70 years. He was a renowned Talmudist and Torah scholar. Early life Shmuel Salant was born in Białystok, ...

. Tucazinsky was active in the foundation of new suburbs in Jerusalem, and favored the unification of all sections of the Jewish population. He died on 31 March 1955 and is buried in the

Sanhedria Cemetery Sanhedria Cemetery ( he, בית עלמין סנהדריה) is a 27- dunam (6.67-acre) Jewish burial ground in the Sanhedria neighborhood of Jerusalem, adjacent to the intersection of Levi Eshkol Boulevard, Shmuel HaNavi Street, and Bar-Ilan Str ...

of Jerusalem. The Jerusalem municipality honored his memory by naming the street ''Gesher HaChaim'' in the

Mekor Baruch Mekor Baruch ( he, מקור ברוך, lit., "blessed source" or "fountain of blessing") also spelled Makor Baruch, is a neighborhood in Jerusalem. The neighborhood is bordered by Malkhei Yisrael Street to the north, Sarei Yisrael Street to the west ...

neighborhood after the title of his book. In 1952, Tucazinsky was awarded the Rav Kook Prize from the Tel Aviv–Jaffa Municipality for Torah Literature.

Other works

Although best known for his work ''Gesher HaChaim'' and described as "one of the premier authorities on the Laws of Mourning", another cited work is his ''Hayomam BeKadur Ha'aretz'', regarding The International Dateline in Jewish Law. In 1904, Rabbi Tucazinsky initiated the annual ''Luach Eretz Yisrael'' calendar. He also authored: * ''Ir HaKodesh V'Hamikdash''"Authored the Gesher Hachaim, Eretz Yisrael, Ir Hakodesh V'hamikdash, and the Luach Eretz Yisrael." - on Halachic issues related to Jerusalem and the

Temple in Jerusalem The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two now-destroyed religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jeru ...

* ''Toharat Yisrael'' (c. 1910) * ''Hilkhot Shevi'it'' (1910) on the laws of the

Sabbatical Year A sabbatical (from the Hebrew: (i.e., Sabbath); in Latin ; Greek: ) is a rest or break from work. The concept of the sabbatical is based on the Biblical practice of ''shmita'' (sabbatical year), which is related to agriculture. According to ...

* ''Tekufat ha-Chamah u-Virkatah'' (1924) – on the solar cycle and the

Birkat Hachama ''Birkat Hachama'' (ברכת החמה, "Blessing of the Sun") refers to a rare Jewish blessing that is recited to the Creator, thanking Him for creating the sun. The blessing is recited when the sun completes its cycle every 28 years on a Tuesda ...

blessing * ''Sefer Eretz Yisrael'' (1955) on laws and customs appertaining to

Eretz Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Israel ...

References

Israeli rabbis 1872 births 1955 deaths {{rabbi-stub