Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Kulefsky (December 14, 1925 - November 30, 2000)
was an American-born
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 teacher.
He served as both dean 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 ...
at
Yeshivas Ner Yisroel
Ner Israel Rabbinical College (ישיבת נר ישראל), also known as NIRC and Ner Yisroel, is a Haredi yeshiva (Jewish educational institution) in Pikesville, Maryland. It was founded in 1933 by Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman, a discipl ...
for decades, until the last year of his life.
[
]
Early life
His parents, Raphael Nisan Shlomo (Nathan) and Rachel (Rose), had a business in Chicago, where he was born. The family moved to St. Louis for a better opportunity.[ This "opportunity" did not include a better Jewish education, and at age 15 he was sent to study in Chicago's ''Beis Medrash L'Torah'', specifically to learn from Dovid Lifshitz. Three years later he transferred to Mesivta Torah V'Daas. Despite his ]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 ...
rabbinical student status, he was drafted into the United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
August 1944.[
While on leave during his training period mid-week, he spent time in a Jewish book store frequented by his future father-in-law. He was discharged in early 1946. He married Sarah Gartenhouse on June 18, 1947. Through 1954, he studied at Bais Medrash Elyon, in Monsey, at which time, with the help of a cousin already at Yeshiva Ner Yisroel, he accepted a teaching position.][
]
Teacher
A student, asking his teacher, Kulefsky, how he remembered so many details connected with so many topics he taught, was told: "Do you remember how many children you have? Do you remember their names?"Yeshiva Torah Vodaas
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 ...
and lecture.
Dean, Ner Yisroel
He also was involved with the testing process for rabbinical ordination at ''Ner Yisroel''.[
When the school was able to accept students permitted to leave ]Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
,[ he "became almost like a surrogate parent to them." Kulefsky served as the ''rosh yeshiva'' from Rabbi Weinberg's death in 1999 until his own death on November 30, 2000.
]Yissocher Frand
Rabbi Yissocher Frand is an American Orthodox rabbi and author. He is a senior lecturer at Yeshivas Ner Yisroel in Baltimore, MD. Raised in Seattle, Washington, he attended Ner Yisrael as a student and progressed to become a '' maggid shiur'' (l ...
compared how his personality was able to "transmit to literally thousands of talmidim" because his method was like giving "a baby its first lollypop" leading to many a life-long connection.
An example of his being gentle was when a student asked for permission to skip part of a day in yeshiva to attend an out-of-town wedding. When Rabbi Kulefsky delayed a direct yes or no, the student asked, "So is it OK?" and was told, "I can't tell you whether it's OK for you to go. I have
enough problems worrying about my Bitul Torah; I can't speak for yours."[
Some of his teachings were encapsulated in "Chidushei Rav Kulefsky."]
Personal
Rabbi Kulefsky was a first born only son; he had 3 sisters.[ He and his wife of 53 years had two sons and three daughters.][
]
References
External links
Purim Grammen by Harav Yaakov Moshe Kulefsky, zt"l
Jacob Morris Kulefsky in the 1940 Census
{{authority control
1925 births
2000 deaths
American Orthodox rabbis
20th-century American rabbis