Shlomo Heiman, (1892–1945) known informally as "Reb Shlomo", was a

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 ...

Talmudist The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the center ...

, and

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 ...

. He led some of the most prominent yeshivas in Europe and the United States.

Early life

Shlomo Heiman was born in Paritsh,

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative stat ...

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

to Michel Heiman, a rabbi. When he was 12, he went to the yeshiva in Kaminetz to study under

Baruch Ber Lebowitz Boruch Ber Leibowitz ( yi, ברוך בער לייבאוויץ he, רב ברוך דוב ליבוביץ, Boruch Dov Libovitz; 1862 – November 17, 1939, known as Reb Boruch Ber, was a rabbi famed for his Talmudic lectures, particularly in that ...

, with whom he was very close. In 1918, he married the daughter of Yochanon Rudensky of Volozhin, the brother-in-law of

Simcha Zelig Riger Rabbi Simcha Zelig Reguer (1864-1942), שמחה זעליג ריגר Dayan of Brisk, was the chief Rabbinical judge of Brest-Litovsk and surrounding Lithuania. Biography Rabbi Reguer and his family lived in the same house (but on separate floors ...

of Brisk, the dayan for the

Brisker Rav The Soloveitchik dynasty of rabbinic scholars and their students originated the Brisker method of Talmudic study, which is embraced by their followers in the Brisk yeshivas. It is so called because of the Soloveitchiks' origin in the town of Br ...

. After his marriage, Lebowitz asked Heiman to be a lecturer at the yeshiva in Kaminetz, which by this time had been wandering from Slobodka to Krementchug. It was at this time that Heiman developed a reputation for being one of Lithuania's most outstanding

s. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, he was briefly drafted into the Russian army. However, he still managed to review the entire tractate of

Ketubot A ketubah (; he, כְּתוּבָּה) is a Jewish marriage contract. It is considered an integral part of a Jewish views of marriage, traditional Jewish marriage, and outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom, in relation to the b ...

while serving on the front lines in the trenches. After the war, Heiman began to deliver his Talmudic lectures in Ohel Torah of Baranowitz, under the leadership of Elchanan Wasserman. In 1927, at the request of Chaim Ozer Grodzensky of

Vilna Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional ur ...

, Heiman became the

of the Ramailles Yeshiva, a position he held until 1935.

In the United States

In 1935, Heiman was invited to New York by Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz, in order for him to come and lead Mesivta Torah Vodaath. With Grodzensky's approval, Heiman accepted this position, thereby being spared the horrors of

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

. During Heiman's tenure at Torah Vodaath, the yeshiva experienced a period of significant growth. Confronted with what he considered to be the ardent

secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on secular, naturalistic considerations. Secularism is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state, and may be broadened to a si ...

of America, which threatened to smother any vestige of the

Haredi Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to '' halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in opp ...

way of life, Heiman once remarked that one whose own children do not pursue the path of Torah can compensate by teaching Torah to the children of others.Parshat Bamidbar 5763 - OU Torah Insights Project
at www.ou.org

Death

Heiman died in 1945, at the age of 52. He was succeeded in the Ramailles yeshiva by Yisroel Zev Gustman, and in Torah Vodaath by Reuven Grozovsky.

Works

A two-volume compendium of Heiman's Talmudic novellae, ''Chiddushei Rabbi Shlomo'', was printed after his death (in 1966), based on his own writings, and incorporating notes of his students. It was released by Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz, one of Heiman's greatest students. It is widely used in many yeshivos, and is considered a basic text among late

acharonim In Jewish law and history, ''Acharonim'' (; he, אחרונים ''Aḥaronim''; sing. , ''Aḥaron''; lit. "last ones") are the leading rabbis and poskim (Jewish legal decisors) living from roughly the 16th century to the present, and more speci ...

. A later book, ''Shiurei Rabbi Shlomo'' ('The Lectures of Rabbi Shlomo), printed from the notes of Heiman's students, contains many lectures and novellae not published in ''Chidushei Rabbi Shlomo''. A collection of some of Heiman's original thoughts on the Bible, as well as a few of his ethical discourses has also been published.

Notable students

Shlomo Carlebach Shlomo Carlebach ( he, שלמה קרליבך; 14 January 1925 – 20 October 1994), known as Reb Shlomo to his followers, was a rabbi, religious teacher, spiritual leader, composer, and singer dubbed "the singing rabbi" during his lifetime. ...

* Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz

References

Sources

In Reb Maille's Courtyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heiman, Shlomo 1892 births 1945 deaths 20th-century American rabbis Haredi rabbis in Europe American Haredi rabbis Torah Vodaath rosh yeshivas