Shmuel Berenbaum (March 13, 1920 – January 6, 2008) was an Orthodox

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 ...

and

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 ...

of the Mir yeshiva in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York.

Biography

He was born in Knyszyn, Poland and studied at '' Ohel Torah Yeshiva'' in

Baranowicze Baranavichy or Baranovichi is a city in the Brest Region of western Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Baranavichy District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it has a population of 170,817. ...

, led by Rabbi Elchonon Wasserman. He later studied in the Mir Yeshiva located in the town of

Mir ''Mir'' (, ; ) was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, first by the Soviet Union and later by the Russia, Russian Federation. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to ...

, now in Belarus. At the onset of World War II, he traveled with the rest of the Mir Yeshiva to Vilna, where they remained for three weeks awaiting visas to travel abroad. After receiving destination visas to

Curaçao Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela. Curaçao includ ...

, a Dutch

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in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

, they were given travel visas by the Japanese Consul in Kovno, Chiune Sugihara. The yeshiva traveled across the Trans-Siberian Railway to

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( ; , ) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai and the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. It is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, covering an area o ...

in a trip that took over two months. From there they traveled to

Kobe, Japan Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...

, where they remained for 7 months before being settled by the Japanese Government in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, China. Following the war, Berenbaum traveled with the remnants of the Mir Yeshiva to the United States and settled in Brooklyn, New York. He married the eldest daughter of the Mir rosh yeshiva, Rabbi Avraham Kalmanowitz. In 1964, after the passing of his father-in-law, he became the rosh yeshiva of the Mirrer Yeshiva together with his brother-in-law Rabbi Shraga Moshe Kalmanowitz. His diligence in Torah study was legendary and he was known to spend the entire day in the yeshiva's study hall discussing Torah topics with the students. As a policy, he would not attend any functions or weddings until after the afternoon seder in the yeshiva was over. This caused many weddings to take place late in the evening so as to allow him to officiate. He opposed his yeshiva students going to college, and later banned it outright. Some believe that he allowed the students to study for rabbinic ordination in order to satisfy their parents, who would otherwise want their children to attend college. After Berenbaum's first heart attack, the name Refoel was added to his name.

Death

Berenbaum died on January 6, 2008 (28 Tevet 5768) at his home in Brooklyn from medical complications due to stomach cancer, aged 87. His funeral, held on January 7 at the Mir yeshiva, was attended by tens of thousands of mourners. His body was flown 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 ...

for burial in the Sanhedria Cemetery 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 ...

Kids

Gittel Schepansky married to reb reuven shepanskya rebbi in Mir yeshiva, Hany Kaminsky, Goldie Sorotzkin married to reb elya meir sorotzkin Zatzal rosh yeshiva in springfield, Reb Asher Berenbaum Rosh Yeshiva in Mir yeshiva, Reb Yisroel Berenbaum, Reb Avrohom Berenbaum - who is a son in of Reb Dovid Schustal law of Rosh Chabura in yeshivas Beth Medrash Govoha, Reb Chuny Berenbaum, Reb Meir Shimon Berenbaum who is a son in law of Reb Dovid Barkin Zatzal, Reb Chaim Shlomo Berenbaum, Reb Leibel Berenbaum

References

External links

Pictures and Audio from HaRav Shmuel Berenbaum

Picture of HaRav Shmuel Berenbaum

Speech of HaRav Shmuel Berenbaum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berenbaum, Shmuel 1920 births 2008 deaths 20th-century Polish rabbis American Haredi rabbis Burials at Sanhedria Cemetery Deaths from stomach cancer in New York (state) Orthodox rabbis from New York City People from Knyszyn People from Midwood, Brooklyn Polish emigrants to the United States Mir rosh yeshivas Mir Yeshiva alumni