Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac Sher (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

: יצחק אייזיק שר) was the ''

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

Slabodka Yeshiva Slabodka yeshiva may refer to: * Hebron Yeshiva, a branch of the Slabodka Yeshiva in Hebron, relocated afterward to Jerusalem * Slabodka yeshiva (Bnei Brak), a branch of the Slabodka yeshiva in Bnei Brak * Yeshivas Knesses Yisrael (Slabodka) Ye ...

in Lithuania and

Bnei Brak Bnei Brak ( ) or Bene Beraq, is a city located on the central Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean Israeli coastal plain, coastal plain in Israel, just east of Tel Aviv. A center of Haredi Judaism, Bnei Brak covers an area of 709 hectares (1,752 acre ...

. He was the son-in-law of Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel, the Alter of Slabodka.

Early life

Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac Sher was born in Halusk, Belarus c. 1875. After completing ''

cheder A ''cheder'' (, lit. 'room'; Yiddish pronunciation: ''khéyder'') is a traditional primary school teaching the basics of Judaism and the Hebrew language. History ''Cheders'' were widely found in Europe before the end of the 18th century. L ...

'', he and other students began attending a class given by Rabbi

Baruch Ber Leibowitz Boruch Ber Leibowitz ( ; 1862 – November 17, 1939, known as Reb Boruch Ber, was a rabbi famed for his Talmudic lectures, particularly in that they were rooted styled in the method of his teacher Chaim Soloveitchik. He is known for leading Ye ...

, who served as the city's rabbi at that time. He then went to study in the

Volozhin Yeshiva Yeshivas Etz Ḥayyim (), commonly called the Volozhin Yeshiva (), was a prestigious LItvak yeshiva located in the town of Volozhin in the Russian Empire (now Valozhyn, Belarus). It was founded around 1803 by Khayim Volozhiner, a student of the ...

under Rabbi

Refael Shapiro Rabbi Refael Shapiro (1837–1921) was the famed Rosh Yeshiva of the Volozhin yeshiva located in the town of Volozhin, Russia, (now Valozhyn, Belarus), and a son-in-law of Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin (the ''Netziv'').Yeshiva Eitz Chaim Vol ...

. After hearing a lecture from the Alter of Slabodka in Halusk, Yitzchak Isaac was inspired and joined his yeshiva in Slabodka, Yeshiva Knesses Yisrael, where he studied with

Avraham Grodzinski Avraham Grodzinski (c. 1884 - July 13, 1944) was a rabbi who served as the mashgiach ruchani (spiritual supervisor) of the Slabodka yeshiva in Lithuania. He is best known for being the primary disciple of Nosson Tzvi Finkel, the Alter of Slabodka ...

(later a ''

mashgiach ruchani A mashgiach ruchani (; pl., ''mashgichim ruchani'im''), sometimes mashgiach for short, is a spiritual supervisor or guide. They are usually a rabbi who has an official position within a yeshiva and is responsible for the non-academic areas of yesh ...

'' in the yeshiva). In 1903, Rabbi Sher married Maryasha Gittel Finkel, a daughter of the Alter of Slabodka. The couple moved to

Kelmė Kelmė (; ; Yiddish: קעלם) is a city in northwestern Lithuania, a historical region of Samogitia. It has a population of 8,206 and is the administrative center of the Kelmė District Municipality. Name Kelmė's name is likely derived from t ...

where he developed a close relationship with Rabbi

Simcha Zissel Ziv Simcha Zissel Ziv Broida (; 1824–1898), also known as Simhah Zissel Ziv or the ''Alter of Kelm'' (the Elder of Kelm), was one of the foremost students of Yisrael Salanter and one of the early leaders of the Musar movement. He is best known as ...

(the ''Alter of Kelm''). He studied for a short time in the Mir Yeshiva, which was led by his wife's brother, Rabbi Eliezer Yehudah Finkel.

Early teaching career

Rabbi Sher soon returned to Slabodka, and in 1911, he was given a teaching position in his father-in-law's yeshiva. Aside from only giving his students a class on ''

Gemara The Gemara (also transliterated Gemarah, or in Yiddish Gemore) is an essential component of the Talmud, comprising a collection of rabbinical analyses and commentaries on the Mishnah and presented in 63 books. The term is derived from the Aram ...

'', he also gave them ''mussar'' (rebuke to improve their character). This was the first time that a teacher in the Slabodka Yeshiva fulfilled these two roles. The Alter appointed him to this position to show the students that studying

Torah 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 () ...

as well as ''mussar'' do not conflict with each other. (Both in 1897 and in 1904, there were uprisings of students against the study of mussar in the yeshiva). He stayed with the yeshiva throughout their travels during World War I, to

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

and

Kremenchug Kremenchuk (; , , also spelt Kremenchug, ) is an industrial city in central Ukraine which stands on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. The city serves as the administrative center of Kremenchuk Raion and Kremenchuk urban hromada within ...

Slabodka Kollel

In 1921, the Alter founded the Beis Yisrael

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 ...

(commonly referred to as the "Slabodka Kollel"), and Rabbi Sher became the ''rosh kollel'' (head of the ''

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 ...

''). The top students from the Slabodka Yeshiva were chosen to join the ''kollel'', including Rabbi

Dovid Leibowitz Dovid Leibowitz (May 15, 1887 – December 4, 1941) was a Russian-born American rabbi. A disciple of Slabodka yeshiva in Lithuania, he went on to found Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim in the United States, where he served as rosh yeshiva (dean). Early l ...

; his brother Rabbi Moshe Leibowitz; Rabbi

Yaakov Kamenetsky Yaakov Kamenetsky (February 28, 1891 – March 10, 1986), was a prominent rabbi, rosh yeshiva, ''posek'' and Talmudist in the post-World War II American Jewish community. Biography Yaakov Kamenetsky was born at a folwark called Kalyskovka owned ...

, future ''

'' in Torah Vodaath; the three teachers of Yeshiva Ohr Yisrael (the Slabodka Yeshiva's preparatory school) Rabbi Yechezkel Burstein, Rabbi Yosef Farber, and Rabbi Yitzchak Baruchson; and others. Rabbi

David Rappoport Rabbi David HaKohen Rappoport () (1890 – September 23, 1941) was an Orthodox Jewish rabbi in Baranovich, Belarus (then part of Poland). He is known for leading Yeshiva Ohel Torah in Baranovich alongside Rabbi Elchonon Wasserman. Early ...

, Rabbi

Yaakov Yitzchak Ruderman Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman (1900 – July 11, 1987) was a Russian-born American Talmudic scholar and rabbi who founded and served as ''rosh yeshiva'' (yeshiva head) of Yeshivas Ner Yisroel in Baltimore. Early life Ruderman was born to a Hasidic ...

, and Rabbi Shabsi Vernokovsky (son-in-law of Rabbi Ber Hersh Heller) were among the members who joined the ''kollel'' later. It was during Rabbi Sher's time as ''rosh kollel'' that he began writing his ''

sefer Sefer may refer to: * Sefer (Hebrew), a term for a book People with the surname * Franjo Šefer (born 1905), Yugoslav tennis player * Bela Šefer, Yugoslav footballer playing in 1924 People with the forename * Sefer Reis, Turkish privateer and O ...

'', Beis Yisrael. The ''kollel'' would later merge with the

Kovno Kollel Kovno Kollel also known as Kollel Perushim of Kovno or Kollel Knesses Beis Yitzchok, was a ''kollel'' located in Kaunas, Lithuania. It was founded in 1877 by Rabbi Yisrael Lipkin Salanter when he was 67. Kovno Kollel's purpose was the furtheranc ...

Rosh Yeshiva

Between 1925 and 1928, much of the Slabodka Yeshiva

relocated Relocated may refer to: * ''Relocated'' (album), 2006 album by Camouflage *'' Red vs. Blue: Relocated'', 2009 television miniseries *"The Relocated", Inuit of the High Arctic relocation The High Arctic relocation took place during the Cold War ...

Hebron Hebron (; , or ; , ) is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Hebron is capital of the Hebron Governorate, the largest Governorates of Palestine, governorate in the West Bank. With a population of 201,063 in ...

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

, including the ''rosh yeshiva'' Rabbi

Moshe Mordechai Epstein Moshe Mordechai Epstein (7 March 1866–28 November 1933) was rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Knesseth Yisrael in Slabodka, Lithuania and is recognized as having been one of the leading Talmudists of the twentieth century. He is also one of the founder ...

. Rabbi Sher was then appointed ''rosh yeshiva'' while Rabbi Ber Hersh Heller continued to serve as ''

'', alongside his son-in-law Rabbi

. As ''rosh yeshiva'', the financial burden of the institution fell on him, and Rabbi Sher therefore traveled to America several times to raise funds for the yeshiva.

World War II

Shortly before the outbreak of World War II, Rabbi Sher, who was in poor health, had gone to a spa in Switzerland, and was therefore spared from the Nazi killings that left thousands murdered in

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

and Slabodka, including Rabbi Grodzinski and the students of the yeshiva. During the war, he moved to

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 ...

, where the Chevron Yeshiva had since moved to.

Bnei Brak

In 1947, at the advice of the

Chazon Ish Avraham Yeshayahu Karelitz (; 7 November 1878 – 24 October 1953), also known as the Chazon Ish () after his magnum opus, was a Belarusian-born Orthodox rabbi who later became one of the leaders of Haredi Judaism in Israel, where he spent ...

, Rabbi Sher reestablished the European branch of Slabodka in

, together with his son-in-law Rabbi Mordechai Shulman. He was also part of the

Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah (, "Council of great Torah ages) is the supreme rabbinical policy-making council of the Agudat Yisrael and Degel HaTorah movements in Israel; and of Agudath Israel of America in the United States. Members are usually ...

in Israel and authored the ''

'' ''Avraham Avinu''. On February 6, 1952, Rabbi Sher died, after suffering a heart attack. At his funeral, which was attended by thousands of people, eulogies were given by Rabbi

Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman (; ; , known also as the Ponevezher Rav), was an Orthodox rabbi and rosh yeshiva (dean) of the Ponevezh Yeshiva. He was also a member of the Council of Torah Sages of Agudath Israel. Biography Kahaneman was born 13 ...

and Rabbi

Elya Lopian Rabbi Eliyahu Lopian (; 1876 – 21 September 1970), known as Reb Elyah, was a rabbi of the Mussar Movement. Biography Lopian was born in Grajewo, Poland in 1876 and studied at the yeshiva in Łomża and at the Kelm Talmud Torah of Rabbi Simc ...

. His grandson-in-law is Rabbi

Moshe Hillel Hirsch Moshe Hillel Hirsch (; born Milton Hirsch October 26, 1936) is the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas Slabodka in Bnei Brak, Israel. He is a native of the United States who studied at Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood under the Talmudic tutelage of Rabbi Ah ...

, current Slabodka ''rosh yeshiva'' in Bnei Brak.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sher, Yitzchak Isaac Lithuanian Orthodox rabbis Rabbis in Bnei Brak Rosh yeshivas Academic staff of Slabodka yeshiva Slabodka yeshiva alumni 1870s births 1952 deaths Year of birth uncertain Writers of Musar literature Orthodox rabbis in Mandatory Palestine People from Hlusk district Israeli Orthodox rabbis 20th-century Lithuanian rabbis Israeli people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent