Chazon Ish Examines Students with Rabbi Shmuel Rozovsky

Shmuel Rozovsky (1913–1979) 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 ...

, best known as a

Talmud 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 cen ...

ic lecturer at the

Ponevezh Yeshiva Ponevezh Yeshiva, often pronounced as Ponevitch Yeshiva ( he, ישיבת פוניבז׳), is a yeshiva founded in 1908, and located in Bnei Brak, Israel since 1944. The yeshiva has over three thousand students, including those of affiliated insti ...

located in

Bnei Brak Bnei Brak or Bene Beraq ( he, בְּנֵי בְּרַק ) is a city located on the central Mediterranean coastal plain in Israel, just east of Tel Aviv. A center of Haredi Judaism, Bnei Brak covers an area of 709 hectares (1752 acres, or 2.74 s ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, and was counted amongst the

great Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

rabbis of his generation. He was known worldwide for his clarity in explaining complex Talmud topics.

Early life

Rav Shmuel was born in Grodno, where his father Rav Michel Dovid Rozovsky served as the chief rabbi. His mother Sara Pearl was the daughter of

Avraham Gelburd Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jews ...

(the previous rabbi of Grodno. He studied at the local Sha’ar Hatorah Yeshivah and became a prized student of Rav Shimon Shkop. Rav Shmuel also studied with several older students in Grodno, and one of the earliest and most influential was Rav

Yisroel Zev Gustman Yisroel Zev Gustman (1908 - June 10, 1991)2014 28 Sivan=June 26; 23rd Yartzeit of 1991 28 Sivan=June 10 was a rabbi, and the last Dayan (rabbinic judge) in Vilna during World War II. After the war he moved to the United States, headed a Yeshiva o ...

. Rav Gustman recalled how Rav Michel Dovid Rozovsky begged him to learn with his prodigious young son. He soon realized that this boy was special way beyond his years. “By the time he reached bar mitzvah, there was no one like him in the yeshivah. We would learn 17–18 hours a day. He knew every single one of Rav Shimon’s shiurim — literally all of his shiurim.” In 1935, after the death of his father, Rozovsky had to flee to

Eretz Yisrael The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isr ...

to escape being drafted into the

Russian army The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска �ВSukhoputnyye voyska V}), also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces ...

. There he studied in the

Lomzha Yeshivah The Lomza Yeshiva ( he, ישיבת לומזה) was an Orthodox Jewish yeshiva in Łomża, Poland, founded by Rabbi Eliezer Bentzion Shulevitz in 1883. Rabbi Yechiel Mordechai Gordon served as the yeshiva's rosh yeshiva for many years, and Rabb ...

Petach Tikvah Petah Tikva ( he, פֶּתַח תִּקְוָה, , ), also known as ''Em HaMoshavot'' (), is a city in the Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Jews of the Old Yishuv, and became a permanent set ...

. In Eretz Yisrael, Rozovsky married the daughter of Tzvi Pesach Frank, Chief Rabbi of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. Rozovsky eventually began to lecture in the Lomzha Yeshiva in Petach Tivkva alongside Moshe Shmuel Shapiro and Elazar Menachem Shach.

Ponevezh Yeshiva

In 1944, he was asked by Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman to head the newly opened Ponovezh Yeshivah in Bnei Barak. Though he was later joined by Rav Dovid Povarsky and Rav Elazar Menachem Man Shach, Rav Shmuel was to be the yeshivah’s primary rosh yeshiva, and his lectures and study methods were to be a central influence in the postwar yeshiva world. Despite his strong emphasis on Talmudic skills, Rozovsky also stressed personal perfection and Mussar as well as the need to study other facets of

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

including

Chumash Chumash may refer to: *Chumash (Judaism), a Hebrew word for the Pentateuch, used in Judaism *Chumash people, a Native American people of southern California *Chumashan languages, indigenous languages of California See also * Chumash traditional ...

with the commentaries of

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compr ...

and

Nachmanides Moses ben Nachman ( he, מֹשֶׁה בֶּן־נָחְמָן ''Mōše ben-Nāḥmān'', "Moses son of Nachman"; 1194–1270), commonly known as Nachmanides (; el, Ναχμανίδης ''Nakhmanídēs''), and also referred to by the acronym Ra ...

Students

Gershon Edelstein Gershon Edelstein (born 18 April 1923) is ''rosh yeshiva'' of the Ponevezh Yeshiva, president of the Vaad Hayeshivos, and the spiritual leader of the Degel HaTorah party in Israel. He is widely considered to be the Gadol Hador by the Litvish co ...

of Ponevezh yeshiva (Bnei Brak) * Asher Arieli of Yeshivas Mir * Binyomin Moskovits, who started Midrash Shmuel Yeshiva in

Sha'arei Hesed Sha'arei Hesed (also Sha'arei Chessed) ( he, שערי חסד, lit. ''Gates of Loving-kindness'') is a neighborhood in central Jerusalem, bordering Rehavia, Nahlaot and Kiryat Wolfson. History One of the founders of the neighborhood was Yoel Mosh ...

, named after Rozovsky. * Ephraim Kirshenbaum, Rav of

Beis Medrash A ''beth midrash'' ( he, בית מדרש, or ''beis medrash'', ''beit midrash'', pl. ''batei midrash'' "House of Learning") is a hall dedicated for Torah study, often translated as a "study hall." It is distinct from a synagogue (''beth knes ...

Pnei Shmuel, Ramat Beit Shemesh *

Rabbi Yaakov Edelstein 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 ...

*Rav Chaim Shaul Taub of Modzitz *Rabbi

Aharon Pfeuffer Aharon Pfeuffer (אהרן פפויפר, also "Pfoifer"; 1949–1993) was a Rabbi and Posek, and a recognized authority on Kashrut. Pfeuffer studied in various Yeshivot, primarily Hebron and HaNegev in Israel, as well as Lakewood in the US; ...

, Rosh Yeshiva in London and Johannesburg, and authority on kashrut

Works

* ''Chiddushei Rabbi Shmuel'' * ''Shiurei Rabbi Shmuel'' * ''Zichron Shmuel''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rozovsky, Shmuel 1913 births 1979 deaths Haredi rabbis in Israel Haredi rosh yeshivas People from Grodno Haredi rabbis in Mandatory Palestine Ponevezh Yeshiva Rabbis in Bnei Brak Rabbis from Grodno