Shlomo Polachek (; 1877 – July 9, 1928) known as "the Meitscheter Illui" was born in Sinichinitz, near Meitchet, Grodna. He was an important

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 ...

ic scholar and one of the earliest

roshei yeshiva Rosh yeshiva or Rosh Hayeshiva (, 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 the Torah ...

in America.

Biography

He entered 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 ...

when he was only twelve years old, and remained there until its close in the winter of 1892. He then went to learn with his mentor, Rabbi

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 ...

, in Brisk for the next four years. Rabbi

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 ...

attested that he personally heard from Rabbi

, regarding Polachek in 1896, “''Aza meshunediger illui vi der Meitsheter hob ich in leben nit gezen'' — I’ve never met a genius like the Meitscheter in my entire life.” Polachek went on to become the ''

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 ...

'' in ''yeshivos'' in

Lida Lida is a city in Grodno Region, western Belarus, located west of Minsk. It serves as the administrative center of Lida District. As of 2025, it has a population of 103,262. Etymology The name ''Lida'' arises from its Lithuanian name ''Ly ...

and

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the List of cities and towns in Poland, tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Biał ...

. At the invitation of Rabbi Dr. Dov Revel, Polachek arrived in America in 1922 to become a ''rosh yeshiva'' 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 ...

(RIETS) the rabbinical school of

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

and its Yeshiva College, America's first

yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...

. He taught at RIETS for six years until his sudden passing in 1928.

Views

Polachek held some broad-minded views relative to some of his contemporaries. For example,

Jeffrey S. Gurock Jeffrey S. Gurock is Libby M. Klaperman Professor of Jewish History at Yeshiva University in New York City. Biography Gurock earned a bachelor's degree from the City College of New York and a master's degree from Columbia University. He served as ...

writes in ''Judaism's Encounter with American Sports'' (

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

Press): Following the sudden passing of Polachek in 1928, more than 15,000 people at gathered at his funeral outside the Yeshiva on the Lower East Side. Among those who eulogized him were Rabbi Boruch Ber Lebowitz. Rabbi Shimon Shkop was persuaded to replace him for a short period of time.

Family

His children were notable in their own right, including daughter

Rebbetzin Rebbetzin () or Rabbanit () is the title used for the wife of a rabbi—typically among Orthodox, Haredi, and Hasidic Jews—or for a female Torah scholar or teacher. Etymology The Yiddish word has a trilingual etymology: Hebrew, רבי ' ...

Libby Mowshowitz (married to Rabbi Dr. Israel Mowshowitz), a son who received a PhD, and another son who became a doctor .

Prominent Students

Some of Polachek's prominent students included: * Rabbi Menachem Perr * Rabbi Nosson Meir Wachtfogel * Rabbi Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg * Rabbi Isaac Tendler * Rabbi Zalman Levine * Rabbi Mordechai Stern * Rabbi Nisan Waxman

Observance of his Yahrtzeit

Each year on the 21st of Tammuz, there is a pilgrimage to his grave at the Mount Judah Cemetery in Ridgewood, Queens.

References