Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz (1886 – 7 September 1948) was a leader of American

Orthodox Judaism Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Torah, Written and Oral Torah, Oral, as literally revelation, revealed by God in Ju ...

and founder of institutions including

Torah U'Mesorah The Torah ( , "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. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () or ...

, an outreach and educational organization. In 1921 he became principal of

Yeshiva Torah Vodaath Yeshiva Torah Vodaas (or Yeshiva and Mesivta Torah Vodaath or Yeshiva Torah Vodaath or Torah Vodaath Rabbinical Seminary) is a ''yeshiva'' in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. History The yeshiva was conceived in 1917 and formal ...

, an early

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 ...

-based

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 ...

founded in 1918. He subsequently added a high school and postgraduate program to the yeshiva. His policies were often informed by the Orthodox philosophical movement

Torah im Derech Eretz ''Torah im Derech Eretz'' ( – Torah with "the way of the land"Rabbi Y. Goldson, Aish HaTorah"The Way of the World", Ethics of the Fathers, 3:21/ref>) is a phrase common in Rabbinic literature referring to various aspects of one's interaction w ...

Biography

Mendlowitz was born in Világ (today Svetlice, Slovakia), in the Austria-Hungarian Empire, a small town near the border of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, to a

Hasidic Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most of those aff ...

family: Moshe and Bas-Sheva Mendlowitz. Shraga Feivel pronounced his family name ''Mendelovich''. His mother died when he was ten. He was twelve when the family relocated to Mezőlaborc (now ), where he studied "with Reb Aaron, ''dayyan'' of Mezo-Laboretz, who considered him his top pupil." Having received ''

semicha ''Semikhah'' () is the traditional term for rabbiinic ordination in Judaism. The original ''semikhah'' was the formal "transmission of authority" from Moses through the generations. This form of ''semikhah'' ceased between 360 and 425 CE. Si ...

'' at age 17, he continued his studies under Rabbi Simcha Bunim Schreiber (the ''Shevet Sofer'', grandson of the Chatam Sofer). Throughout his life, however, he refused to use the title of Rabbi and insisted on being referred to as "Mr. Mendlowitz." At age 22, he "married his step-mother's younger sister, Bluma Rachel" in the town of

Humenné Humenné (; ; ) is a town in the Prešov Region ("kraj") in eastern Slovakia and the second largest town of the historic Zemplín region. It lies at the volcanic Vihorlat mountains and at the confluence of the Laborec and Cirocha Rivers. Na ...

, Slovakia, and began to study several not well known Jewish writings, including the works of Rabbi

Samson Raphael Hirsch Samson Raphael Hirsch (; June 20, 1808 – December 31, 1888) was a German Orthodox rabbi best known as the intellectual founder of the '' Torah im Derech Eretz'' school of contemporary Orthodox Judaism. Occasionally termed ''neo-Orthodoxy'', hi ...

. This briefly led to controversy until he could prove the relevance of Hirsch's work in defending the Orthodox viewpoint against attempts at reforming Jewish practice.

Activities

Mendlowitz actively sought positions in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and the United States, with the intention of disseminating knowledge of Judaism to Jews previously unexposed to their heritage, and in September 1913, he arrived alone in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. He lived in

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...

, for seven years, teaching in the local ''Talmud Torah'' (afternoon program in Jewish studies). In 1920 he was able to bring his family from Hungary, and settled in

Williamsburg, Brooklyn Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant to the south; Bushwick and East Williamsburg to the east; and the East River to the west. It was an independe ...

. Mendlowitz joined forces with

Chazan A ''hazzan'' (; , lit. Hazan) or ''chazzan'' (, plural ; ; ) is a Jewish musician or precentor trained in the vocal arts who leads the congregation in songful prayer. In English, this prayer leader is often referred to as a cantor, a term also ...

Yossele Rosenblatt Josef "Yossele" Rosenblatt (; May 9, 1882 – June 19, 1933) was an Ashkenazi chazzan and composer. Biography Rosenblatt was born on May 9, 1882, in Bila Tserkva, Russian Empire. The scion of a long line of cantors, Rosenblatt's devoutly relig ...

in 1923, to produce '' Dos Yiddishe Licht'', a short-lived

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

and

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

language weekly that included articles of comment and inspiration. It eventually became a daily but was forced to discontinue publication in 1927, because of financial difficulties. In fact, Rosenblatt went on a year-long concert tour to pay back the monies owed to creditors. The founding members of

soon offered him the principalship of the institution. Originally starting off as an elementary school, Mendlowitz soon added the second Yeshiva high school in America. (The first being the Talmudical Academy, associated with Yeshiva College, founded in 1916.) The yeshiva opened its ''mesivta'' in 1926 and then under Mendlowitz's direction, another early development in America (but also in competition with Yeshiva College), a post-graduate program. Mendlowitz first appointed Rabbi Gedalia Schorr to the faculty of the Yeshiva, later to become its principal and Rosh Yeshiva. Despite his devotion to Torah Vodaath he assisted in the founding (both personally and financially) of several similar institutions, such as Mesivta Chaim Berlin (to which he relinquished a number of his top pupils), Telshe Cleveland and Beis Medrash Gevoha. All grew to occupy important places in 20th century American Orthodoxy. His work in Jewish education extended to several other organisations he founded. Aish Dos was a specialized institution that focused on teaching outreach skills, Torah U'mesora was a nationwide umbrella organization for Jewish day schools, and

Beis Medrash Elyon Beth Medrash Elyon is a four-year, not-for-profit ''yeshiva'' in Monsey, New York. History In 1943, Rabbi Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz purchased a property in Monsey with the intention to raise the education level of Torah teachers. Named Aish Dos ...

was one of America's first post-graduate yeshivas (which also included a

kollel A kollel (also kolel) (, , , , a "gathering" or "collection" f scholars is an institute for full-time, advanced Torah study, study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features Shiur (Torah), shiurim (lectures) and ...

). In 1931 he founded Camp Mesivta, the first yeshiva day camp. Mendlowitz renounced eating meat after the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

, saying: "There has been enough killing in the world."

References

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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 ...

article: {{DEFAULTSORT:Mendlowitz, Shraga Feivel 20th-century American rabbis Mashgiach ruchani American Haredi rabbis Hungarian Orthodox rabbis Haredi rabbis in Europe American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to the United States People from Williamsburg, Brooklyn Religious leaders from Brooklyn People from Scranton, Pennsylvania 1886 births 1948 deaths Torah Vodaath rosh yeshivas