Shimon Yehuda Shkop (; 1860 – October 22, 1939) 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 ...

(dean) of the Yeshiva of Telshe, and later of

Yeshiva Shaar HaTorah Yeshiva Shaar HaTorah-Grodno is an Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox yeshiva and high school in Kew Gardens, Queens, New York. It was founded in 1974 by Rabbi Kalman Epstein and Rabbi Sholom Spitz. It has programs for high school boys, as well as unde ...

Grodno Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman, Neman River, from Minsk, about from the Belarus–Poland border, border with Poland, and from the Belarus–Lithua ...

. Having innovated a style of

Torah study Torah study is the study of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature, and similar works, all of which are Judaism's Sifrei kodesh, religious texts. According to Rabbinic Judaism, the study is done for the purpose of the ''mi ...

, applying both to

Halacha ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is based on biblical commandments ('' mi ...

and to

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 ...

, he was widely regarded as a major

Talmid Chacham ''Talmid Chakham'' is an honorific title that is given to a man who is well-versed in Jewish law, i.e., a Torah scholar. Originally ''Talmid Chakhamim'', lit., "student of sages", pl. ''talmidei chakhamim'', "students of sages"; inaccurate reco ...

(

ic scholar).

Biography

Early life

Shkop was born in

Torez Chystiakove (, ; ), formerly Torez (Ukrainian and ) until 2016, is a city in Donetsk Oblast, in eastern Ukraine. The city is a center of the regional coal industry and much of its economy relies on mining, despite a recent drop in the number of ...

, today in Ukraine, in 1860. At the age of twelve he went to study in the Mir Yeshiva for two years. He then traveled to the

Volozhin yeshiva Yeshivas Etz Ḥayyim (), commonly called the Volozhin Yeshiva (), was a prestigious LItvak yeshiva located in the town of Volozhin in the Russian Empire (now Valozhyn, Belarus). It was founded around 1803 by Khayim Volozhiner, a student of the ...

where he studied under

Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin (20 November 1816 – 10 August 1893), also known as Reb Hirsch Leib Berlin, and commonly known by the acronym Netziv, was a Russian Orthodox rabbi, rosh yeshiva ( dean) of the Volozhin Yeshiva and author of several work ...

, "Netziv", for six years. His study partners included

Chaim Ozer Grodzinski Chaim Ozer Grodzinski (; August 24, 1863 – August 9, 1940) was a '' Av beis din'' (rabbinical chief justice), ''posek'' (halakhic authority), and Talmudic scholar in Vilnius, Lithuania in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for over 55 years. ...

. Shkop also joined the ''chaburah'' of Rav

Chaim Soloveitchik Chaim (Halevi) Soloveitchik (Yiddish: חיים סאָלאָווייטשיק, ), also known as Chaim Brisker (1853 – 30 July 1918), was a rabbi and Talmudic scholar credited as the founder of the Brisker method of Talmudic study within Judaism ...

, "Chaim Brisker", analyzing the ''

gemara The Gemara (also transliterated Gemarah, or in Yiddish Gemore) is an essential component of the Talmud, comprising a collection of rabbinical analyses and commentaries on the Mishnah and presented in 63 books. The term is derived from the Aram ...

'' using what would come to be called the " Brisker derech"; he was thus among the first students exposed to the new approach.

Telz and Grodno

Shkop married a niece of

Eliezer Gordon Rabbi Eliezer Gordon (; 1841–1910) also known as Reb Laizer Telzer (), served as the rabbi and ''rosh yeshiva'' of Telz, Lithuania. Early years Eliezer Gordon was born in 1841 in the village of Chernyaty (or Chernian in Yiddish), Belarus, ...

, and in 1884 was appointed a rosh mesivta at

Telz Yeshiva Telshe Yeshiva (; ; also spelled ''Telz'') is a yeshiva in Wickliffe, Ohio, formerly located in Telšiai, Lithuania. During World War II the yeshiva relocated to Cleveland, Ohio in the United States and is now known as the Rabbinical College of ...

, where he remained for 18 years. While there, he developed a system of Talmudic study which became known as the "Telz way of learning;" this approach combined the above influences:- the logical analysis and penetrating insights of Rav. Chaim Brisker and the simplicity and clarity of ''Netziv''. See Micha Berger (2019)
"Rav Shimon Shkop on His 80th Yahrzeit"
''

Hamodia ''Hamodia'' ( – "''the Informer''") is a Jewish daily newspaper, published in Hebrew language, Hebrew-language in Jerusalem and English language, English-language in the United States, as well as weekly English-language editions in England and I ...

''. In 1903, he became

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 ...

of Moltsh, and in 1907 of Bransk. Among his students in Moltsh was Yechezkel Sarna, who studied under Shkop for a year in 1906, before leaving to the Slabodka yeshiva when Shkop himself left. From 1920 to 1939 he was Rosh Yeshiva of the Yeshiva Sha'ar HaTorah in

Yeshiva University

In 1928, Shkop traveled to the United States in order to raise funds for the Yeshiva. After delivering a lecture at

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

, he became Rosh Yeshiva of

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 ...

in New York. In 1929, Shkop returned to Europe.

Death

As the Russian army was about to enter Grodno during World War II, Shkop ordered his students to flee to

Vilna Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

. He himself died two days later, on the 9th of

Cheshvan Marcheshvan (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Hebrew language#Modern Hebrew, Standard , Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian ; from Akkadian language, Akkadian , literally, 'eighth month'), generally shortened to Cheshvan (, Hebrew language#Modern Hebrew, S ...

5700 (1939) in Grodno. Shkop is buried in the Jewish cemetery in the Zaniemanski Forshtat section of Grodno.

Works

His ''Sha'arei Yosher'' (1925), his most important work, is largely concerned with the intellectual principles by which the law is established, rather than with concrete laws, and is stylistically similar to the Shev Shema'tata of Aryeh Leib HaCohen Heller, on which it was partly based. Other major works include: *''Ma'arekhet ha-Kinyanim'' (1936) *

Novellae In Roman law, a novel (, "new decree"; ) is a new decree or edict, in other words a new law. The term was used from the fourth century AD onwards and was specifically used for laws issued after the publishing of the ''Codex Theodosianus'' in 438 and ...

on tractates

Bava Kamma Bava Kamma () is the first of a series of three Talmudic tractates in the order Nezikin ("Damages") that deal with civil matters such as damages and torts. The other two of these tractates are Bava Metzia ('The Middle Gate') and Bava Batra ('Th ...

Bava Metzia Bava Metzia (, "The Middle Gate") is the second of the first three Talmudic tractates in the order of Nezikin ("Damages"), the other two being Bava Kamma and Bava Batra. Originally all three formed a single tractate called ''Nezikin'' (torts or ...

, and Bava Basra (1947) *Novellae on

Nedarim In Judaism, a neder (, plural ''nedarim'') is a kind of vow or oath. The neder may consist of performing some act in the future (either once or regularly) or abstaining from a particular type of activity of the person's choice. The concept of the ...

Gittin Gittin (Hebrew: ) is a tractate of the Mishnah and the Talmud, and is part of the order of Nashim. The content of the tractate primarily deals with the legal provisions related to halakhic divorce, in particular, the laws relating to the ''Get ...

, and Kiddushin (1952) *Novellae on Yevamos and Ketuvot (1957)

Students

* Yitzchok Dov Koppelman * Michoel Fisher * Yisrael Zev Gustman *

Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman (; ; , known also as the Ponevezher Rav), was an Orthodox rabbi and rosh yeshiva (dean) of the Ponevezh Yeshiva. He was also a member of the Council of Torah Sages of Agudath Israel. Biography Kahaneman was born 13 ...

* Shmuel Rozovsky * Yechezkel Sarna *

Isser Yehuda Unterman Isser Yehuda Unterman (; 19 April 1886 – 26 January 1976) was the third chief rabbi of Tel Aviv, and later the third Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel from 1964 until 1972. He was a leader of the Mizrachi movement and was awarded ...

Elchonon Wasserman Elchonon Bunim Wasserman (; ; 18746 July 1941) was a prominent rabbi and rosh yeshiva (dean) in prewar Europe. He was one of the closest students of Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan (the Chofetz Chaim) and a noted Talmid Chacham. In the interwar perio ...

References

External links

Shaarei Yosher Vol 1 with commentaries, Jerusalem, 5770, Harav Daniel Meir Assayag

Shaarei Yosher Vol 2 with commentaries, Jerusalem, 5772, Harav Daniel Meir Assayag

Introduction to Sha'arei Yosher with English translation, Beit Shemesh, 2019, Rabbi Micha Berger
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shkop, Shimon 1860 births 1939 deaths Kohanim writers of Rabbinic literature Haredi rabbis in Europe Lithuanian Haredi rabbis Rosh yeshivas Yeshiva University rosh yeshivas Belarusian Jews Rabbis from Grodno Mir Yeshiva alumni Volozhin Yeshiva alumni