Yisroel Zev Gustman (1908 - June 10, 1991) 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 t ...

, and the last Dayan (rabbinic judge) in

Vilna Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

.2014 28 Sivan=June 26; 23rd Yartzeit of 1991 28 Sivan=June 10 After the war he moved to the United States, and was appointed

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 Tomchei Temimim Lubavitch in

Brooklyn, NY 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 ...

. In 1971, he immigrated to Israel, where he established the ''Netzach Yisroel - Vilna Ramiles'' Yeshiva in the Rechavia neighborhood of Jerusalem. On Thursday afternoons, he gave an open, high-level shiur in the yeshiva, attended by "Rabbis, intellectuals, religious court judges, a Supreme Court justice and various professors."

Biography

Yisroel Zev Gustman was born in Lithuania (then in the

Pale of Settlement The Pale of Settlement was a western region of the Russian Empire with varying borders that existed from 1791 to 1917 (''de facto'' until 1915) in which permanent settlement by Jews was allowed and beyond which the creation of new Jewish settlem ...

of the Russian Empire) in 1908. In his youth he was known as an ''

illui ''Illui'' ( or עלוי also ilui; pronounced plural: ''illuim'') is a young Talmudic prodigy. The Hebrew term is applied to exceptional Talmudic scholars among Jews. Etymology ''Illui'' literally means "upraising" and was used in the sense of ...

'' and learned in

Chavrusa ''Chavrusa'', also spelled ''chavruta'' or ''ḥavruta'' (, lit. "fellowship"; : , ''ḥāḇrāwāṯā''), is a traditional rabbinic approach to Talmudic study in which a small group of students (usually 2–5) analyze, discuss, and debate a ...

together with Chaim Shmuelevitz in Grodno, and learned from

Shimon Shkop Shimon Yehuda Shkop (; 1860 – October 22, 1939) was Rosh Yeshiva (dean) of the Yeshiva of Telshe, and later of Yeshiva Shaar HaTorah of Grodno. Having innovated a style of Torah study, applying both to Halacha and to Talmud, he was widely r ...

at the

Grodno Yeshiva Yeshiva Shaar HaTorah – Grodna, often referred to as the Grodna Yeshiva or simply as Grodna, was an Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish yeshiva in the Belarusian city of Grodno, then under Russian Empire, Russian rule. Founded during World W ...

. At age 20, he married Sarah, a daughter of Rabbi Meir Bassin who had died shortly before the wedding; despite his age, Gustman inherited Bassin's positions of both dayan in the Bais Din of Rabbi

Chaim Ozer Grodzinski Chaim Ozer Grodzinski (; August 24, 1863 – August 9, 1940) was a '' Av beis din'' (rabbinical chief justice), ''posek'' (halakhic authority), and Talmudic scholar in Vilnius, Lithuania in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for over 55 years. ...

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 Ramailes Yeshiva in Vilna. Gustman's son Meir was murdered by the Nazis. Gustman, his wife Sarah and a daughter survived.

Life in Israel

The yeshiva he opened in Israel was named after the yeshiva in Vilna he had headed, beginning in 1935 until World War II. Interestingly, as a form of payback that his life was saved by "the shelter of the bushes and the fruit of the trees" in a forest during the war, he personally acted as gardener in his own yeshiva in Israel. The Gustmans were alive to see grandchildren. Gustman's wife passed away before he did.

Written works

Gustman's main writings, entitled Kuntresei Shiurim, some published posthumously by his son-in-law, were volumes on the following Talmudic tractates: * Yevamos * Gittin * Kiddushin * Bava Kama * Bava Metzia * Bava Batra * Nedarim * Ketubot

References

External links

Artscroll book ''Rav Gustman''

OU web site story about Rav Gustman
* Photo on Hebrew Wikipedia of Rav Gustman
Jewish History Soundbites: From Vilna to Rechavia: The Life of Rav Yisroel Zev Gustman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gustman, Yisroel Zev 1908 births 1991 deaths Rabbis from Vilnius Orthodox rabbis from New York City Rabbis in Jerusalem 20th-century American rabbis Rabbinic judges