Nisson Alpert (1927 – May 25, 1986) was an 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 ...

who was

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 ...

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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 ...

Biography

Nisson Lipa Alpert was born in 1927 in Polanka, a small

shtetl or ( ; , ; Grammatical number#Overview, pl. ''shtetelekh'') is a Yiddish term for small towns with predominantly Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi Jewish populations which Eastern European Jewry, existed in Eastern Europe before the Holocaust. The t ...

in Poland. He was named after his maternal grandfather Nisson Lipa Joselowitz, rosh yeshiva in Lazday, Poland, and later the rabbi of Polanka. His father Rabbi Shabsai Alpert was a student of the Mir Yeshiva and cousin of the Rabbi

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 ...

, the Chofetz Chaim. His mother was Guta Yachne Joselowitz. He had three sisters: Rita, Sarah, and Freida. Alpert's father decided to move his family to the United States, and traveled there ahead of his family. However, World War II broke out before everyone could come. In December 1939, his mother and family crossed the border to Lithuania. Rebbetzin Alpert obtained one of the first transit visas from

Chiune Sugihara was a Japanese diplomat who served as vice-consul for the Japanese Empire in Kaunas, Lithuania. During the Second World War, Sugihara helped thousands of Jews flee Europe by issuing transit visas to them so that they could travel through Japan ...

, and crossed Russia with the family to Japan. From there they traveled to San Francisco, and finally to the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it w ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Although Alpert arrived in America at the age of 12 with no knowledge of English, he graduated Washington Irving High School as valedictorian of his class. He learned at

Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem (MTJ) (, ) is a yeshiva on the Lower East Side of New York City. One of the oldest yeshivas in the city, MTJ was once led by Moshe Feinstein. A second campus, known as Yeshiva of Staten Island, is located in Staten Is ...

, where he became a very close disciple of Rabbi

Moshe Feinstein Moshe Feinstein (; Lithuanian pronunciation: ''Moishe Fainshtein''; ; March 3, 1895 – March 23, 1986) was a Russian-born American Orthodox Jewish rabbi, scholar, and ''posek'' (authority on ''halakha''—Jewish law). He has been called ...

. Alpert was one of the founders of Peylim. He first was rabbi of the East Third Street Shul on the Lower East Side, and later became the rav of Agudath Israel of Long Island. In 1967, he was appointed as a

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, before becoming the first Rosh

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 ...

of its Kollel L’Horaah— Yadin-Yadin. He was a great Torah scholar. In 1983, the Alperts suffered the sudden loss of their 19-year-old son Yishaya Mendel. A resident of

Far Rockaway, Queens Far Rockaway is a neighborhood on the eastern part of the Rockaway peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens. It is the easternmost section of the Rockaways. The neighborhood extends from Beach 32nd Street east to the Nassau County li ...

, Alpert died at the age of 58 on May 25, 1986. about two months after the passing of his mentor, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein. He is buried on Har Hazeisim in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

Writings

Beit Habechirah of the Meiri on Bava Metzia
* Commentary of the Raavad on Bava Metzia. * Limmudei Nissan on the Torah and on Tractate Beitzah.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alpert, Nisson 1920s births 1986 deaths Yeshiva University rosh yeshivas 20th-century American rabbis Jews who emigrated to escape Nazism Burials at the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives People from Far Rockaway, Queens People from the Lower East Side Sugihara's Jews