Michael Rosensweig (born December 22, 1956) is a

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 ...

at the

Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS ) is the rabbinical seminary of Yeshiva University (YU). It is located along Amsterdam Avenue in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Named after Yitzchak Elchanan S ...

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a Private university, private Modern Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City.

and the Rosh Kollel of the Beren Kollel Elyon.

Biography

In 1973, at the young age of 16, Rabbi Rosensweig traveled to

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

to study under Rabbi

Aharon Lichtenstein Aharon Lichtenstein (; May 23, 1933 – April 20, 2015) was an Orthodox rabbi, Israel Prize laureate and rosh yeshiva who was an authority in Jewish law (''Halakha''). Biography Aharon Lichtenstein was born to Yechiel Lichtenstein and Bluma née ...

Yeshivat Har Etzion Yeshivat Har Etzion (YHE; ), commonly known in English as "Gush" and in Hebrew as "Yeshivat HaGush", is a Hesder yeshiva located in Alon Shvut, an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. It is considered one of the leading institutions of advanced T ...

for a year and a half. He then studied under Rabbi

Joseph B. Soloveitchik Joseph Ber Soloveitchik ( ''Yosef Dov ha-Levi Soloveychik''; February 27, 1903 – April 9, 1993) was a major American Orthodox rabbi, Talmudist, and modern Jewish philosopher. He was a scion of the Lithuanian Jewish Soloveitchik rabbinic ...

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a Private university, private Modern Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City.

for six years. He received his ''Semicha'' from the

and was a distinguished fellow at RIETS's post-semicha Gruss Kollel Elyon. He also studied with Rabbi Yerucham Bobrofksy, a disciple of Rabbi

Baruch Ber Leibowitz 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 ...

, at Yeshiva High School of Queens. Rosensweig graduated summa cum laude from Yeshiva College in 1980. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. in Medieval Jewish History from the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies, where he was mentored by

Haym Soloveitchik Haym Soloveitchik (; born September 19, 1937) is an American Modern Orthodox rabbi and historian. He is the only son of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik. He graduated from the Maimonides School which his father founded in Brookline, Massachusetts ...

, for whom he wrote both his M.A. thesis and doctoral dissertation. His dissertation is titled ''Debt Collection in Absentia: Halakhah in a Mobile and Commercial Age''. Rosensweig is one of the only doctoral students mentored by Soloveitchik.YU Torah Online Bio
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Talmudic Methodology

Inspired by his teachers Rabbi Soloveitchik and Rabbi Lichtenstein, Rabbi Rosensweig employs a unique expanded form of the conceptual

Brisker method The Brisker method, or Brisker ''derech'', is a reductionistic approach to Talmud study innovated by Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik of Brisk (Brest, Belarus), as opposed to the traditional approach which was rather holistic. It has since become popula ...

ology in explaining Talmudic topics, with intense focus on the opinions of

Rambam Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (, ) and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam (), was a Sephardic rabbi and philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah scholars of the Middle Ag ...

. To develop a broader and more nuanced perspective on issues and the topic as a whole, Rabbi Rosensweig meticulously presents the varying approaches of the Rishonim and Acharonim on the sugya, highlighting their underlying conceptual assumptions as well as pointing to consistencies in their views in other areas. He also seeks to accentuate the broader Torah values expressed by Halachic institutions.

Appointment as Rosh Yeshiva and Rosh Kollel

In 1985, Rosensweig was appointed Rosh Yeshiva at RIETS, where he currently holds the ''Nathan and Perel Schupf Chair of

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 ...

''. In 1997, he was appointed Rosh Kollel of the prestigious Beren Institute for Advanced Talmudic Studies (Beren Kollel Elyon) at RIETS. In 2013, Rosensweig was invited to become the Rosh HaYeshiva at

Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh (, lit. ''Vineyard in Yavne Yeshiva'') is a youth village and major yeshiva in southern Israel. Located near the city of Ashdod and adjacent to Kvutzat Yavne, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Yavne Regional Council ...

in Israel.

Personal life

His father was Rabbi Dr. Bernard (Berel) Rosensweig (1926-2021), a professor of

Jewish History Jewish history is the history of the Jews, their Jewish peoplehood, nation, Judaism, religion, and Jewish culture, culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions and cultures. Jews originated from the Israelites and H ...

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a Private university, private Modern Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City.

. He was a student of Rabbi

and Rabbi Avraham Aharon Price. He is the great-grandson of Rabbi Yehudah Yudel Rosenberg (1860-1935) on his mother’s side. In 1983, Rabbi Rosensweig married

Smadar Rosensweig Smadar Rosensweig (Smadar ''Eliach'') is an adjunct assistant professor of Bible at Yeshiva University's Stern College for Women. Prior to that she served as lecturer of Judaic studies and history at Touro College. Smadar Rosensweig received her B. ...

, a current professor at Yeshiva University's

Stern College The Stern College for Women (SCW) is the undergraduate Women's colleges in the United States, women's college of Liberal arts, arts and sciences of Yeshiva University. It is located at the university's Israel Henry Beren Campus in the Murray Hill, ...

. She is a daughter of David and

Yaffa Eliach Yaffa Eliach (May 31, 1935 – November 8, 2016) was an American historian, author, and scholar of Judaic studies and the Holocaust. In 1974, she founded the Center for Holocaust Studies, Documentation and Research in Brooklyn, New York, which ...

. Rav Rosensweig resides in

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1759, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

with his wife, Smadar. They have seven children. His son, Rabbi

Itamar Rosensweig Itamar Rosensweig is a rabbi and maggid shiur at Yeshiva University in New York City and a dayan (rabbinic judge) at the Beth Din of America, where he also serves as the editor of ''Jewishprudence: Thoughts on Jewish Law and Beth Din Jurisprud ...

, is a maggid shiur at

RIETS Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS ) is the rabbinical seminary of Yeshiva University (YU). It is located along Amsterdam Avenue in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Named after Yitzchak Elchanan ...

and a dayan on the Beth Din of America.

Works

Books

* ''Mimini Mikhael - Essays on Yom Kippur and Teshuvah''

English Articles

*
Personal Initiative and Creativity in Avodat Hashem
' (1989) *
Elu Va-Elu Divre Elokim Hayyim: Halakhic Pluralism and Theories of Controversy
' (1992) *
Reflections on the Conceptual Approach to Talmud Torah
' (2006)
''Family Structure: Halakhic and Anthropological Perspectives''
(2010)

Hebrew Articles

שיטת הרמב"ם בעניין ברכת חתנים
(2003)
שיטת הרמב"ם בעניין מנחת חביתין
(2008)
בעניין טיבו של איסור ריבית דאורייתא: הקדמה לפרק איזהו נשך
(2016)

Notable Students

* Assaf Bednarsh *

Ari Berman Ari Berman (; born February 18, 1970) is an American Modern Orthodox/Religious Zionist rabbi and academic administrator serving as the fifth president of Yeshiva University. Early life and education Berman was raised in Queens in New York City, ...

Daniel Fridman Daniel Fridman (; born February 15, 1976) is a Latvian-German chess player. Awarded the title Grandmaster by FIDE in 2001, he was Latvian champion in 1996 and German champion in 2008, 2012 and 2014. Early chess career Fridman was born in ...

* Yosef Nusbacher *

* Elliot Schrier

References

External links

articles, audio, and video on TorahWeb.org
* Avraham Wein
From the Micro to the Meta: Rabbi Michael Rosensweig's Unique Contribution to Torat Brisk
Yeshiva University 2018. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosensweig, Michael 1956 births Living people 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American rabbis 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American rabbis American male non-fiction writers American Orthodox rabbis Jewish American non-fiction writers Modern Orthodox rabbis Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary semikhah recipients Yeshiva University rosh yeshivas Yeshivat Har Etzion alumni