Aharon Kotler
Encyclopedia
Aharon Kotler was an Orthodox Jewish rabbi and a prominent leader of Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...

 in Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

, and later the United States, where he built Beth Medrash Govoha
Beth Medrash Govoha
Beth Medrash Govoha is a Haredi yeshiva located in Lakewood Township, New Jersey. It is commonly known as BMG, or Lakewood Yeshiva....

 in Lakewood Township, New Jersey
Lakewood Township, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 60,352 people, 19,876 households, and 13,356 families residing in the township. The population density was 2,431.8 people per square mile . There were 21,214 housing units at an average density of 854.8 per square mile...

.

Early life

Rav Kotler was born in Śvisłač, Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...

 (now Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...

) in 1891. He studied in the Slabodka yeshiva
Slabodka yeshiva
Hebron Yeshiva, also known as Yeshivas Hevron, or Knesses Yisroel, and originally as Slabodka Yeshiva, is known colloquially as the "mother of yeshivas" and was devoted to high=level study of the Talmud. The yeshiva was located in the Lithuanian town of Slabodka, adjacent to Kovno , now...

 in Lithuania under the "Alter (elder) of Slabodka", Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel, and Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Epstein
Moshe Mordechai Epstein
Moshe Mordechai Epstein 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.-Childhood:...

. After learning there, he joined his father-in-law, Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer
Isser Zalman Meltzer
Isser Zalman Meltzer, , was a famous Lithuanian Orthodox rabbi, rosh yeshiva and posek. He is also known as the "Even HaEzel" - the title of his commentary on Rambam's Mishne Torah....

, to run the yeshiva
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...

 of Slutsk
Slutsk
Slutsk is a town in Belarus, located on the Sluch River south of Minsk. As of 2010 its population is of 61,400).-Geography:The town is situated in the south-west of its Voblast, not too far from from the city of Soligorsk.-History:...

.

World War II and move to the United States

When the communists came to power, the yeshivah moved from Slutsk
Slutsk
Slutsk is a town in Belarus, located on the Sluch River south of Minsk. As of 2010 its population is of 61,400).-Geography:The town is situated in the south-west of its Voblast, not too far from from the city of Soligorsk.-History:...

 to Kletsk
Kletsk
Kletsk is a city in the Minsk voblast of Belarus, located on the Lan river. , it had ca. 10,000 inhabitants.- History :The town was founded in 11th century by the Dregovichs, who erected a large fort and a tribal centre there...

 in Poland. With the outbreak of World War II, Rav Kotler and the yeshivah relocated to Vilna
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...

, then the major refuge of most yeshivoth from the occupied areas. Reportedly Rav Kotler encouraged the yeshiva to stay in Vilna despite the approaching Nazis. Most of his students were murdered by the Nazis. Some did not listen to him and escaped to China. He was brought to America in 1941 by the Vaad Hatzalah
Vaad Hatzalah
Vaad Hatzalah was an organization to rescue Jews in Europe from the Holocaust.It was founded in November 1939 by the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada...

 rescue organization and guided it during the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...

.

In 1943, Rav Kotler founded Beth Medrash Govoha
Beth Medrash Govoha
Beth Medrash Govoha is a Haredi yeshiva located in Lakewood Township, New Jersey. It is commonly known as BMG, or Lakewood Yeshiva....

 in Lakewood Township, New Jersey, with 15 students. When he arrived in America he was told that he is wasting his time trying to rebuild what was destroyed in Europe because Jewish students of college age were interested only in earning a degree that will enable them to make money and have no interest in learning and mastering the ability to understand the Talmud just for its own sake. Rabbi Kotler responded that he will "plant" Torah in America and declared this to be his life's mission. Through his yeshiva he rebuilt Torah throughout America. He would send the best of his senior students to open other yeshivahs throughout North America.

By the time of Rav Kotler's death in 1962, the yeshiva had grown to 250 students. He was succeeded by his son, Rabbi Shneur Kotler
Shneur Kotler
Yosef Chaim Shneur Kotler was an Orthodox rabbi and rosh yeshiva of Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, New Jersey from 1962 to 1982. During his tenure, he developed the Lithuanian-style, Haredi but non-Hasidic yeshiva into the largest post-graduate Torah institution in the world...

, as rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva, , , is the title given to the dean of a Talmudical academy . It is made up of the Hebrew words rosh — meaning head, and yeshiva — a school of religious Jewish education...

. As of 2011, Beth Medrash Govoha is run by his grandson, Rabbi Malkiel Kotler, and three of his grandsons-in-law, Rabbis Yerucham Olshin
Yerucham Olshin
Yerucham Olshin is an Orthodox Jewish rabbi and one of the rosh yeshivas of Beth Medrash Govoha, an Orthodox yeshiva located in Lakewood, New Jersey...

, Yisroel Neuman
Yisroel Neuman
Yisroel Tzvi Neuman is an Orthodox rabbi and one of the four roshei yeshiva of Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, New Jersey. He shares this post with Rabbi Malkiel Kotler, Rabbi Yerucham Olshin, and Rabbi Dovid Schustal...

, and Dovid Schustal
Dovid Schustal
Dovid Tzvi Schustal is an Orthodox rabbi and one of the four roshei yeshiva of Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, New Jersey...

. By 2007 the yeshiva had grown into the largest institution of its kind in America with 5,000 college and advanced-level students, while the surrounding Lakewood community supports a network of 50 other yeshivas and over 100 synagogues for an Orthodox population estimated at 40,000.

Rav Kotler also helped establish Chinuch Atzmai
Chinuch Atzmai
Chinuch Atzmai was founded in 1953 by the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah to serve as an alternate school system for Orthodox children in Israel. It was initially led by Rabbi Zalman Sorotzkin....

, the independent religious school system in Israel and was the chairman of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah
Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah
Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah refers to the supreme rabbinical policy-making council of any of several related Haredi Jewish organizations....

 of Agudath Israel
World Agudath Israel
World Agudath Israel , usually known as the Aguda, was established in the early twentieth century as the political arm of Ashkenazi Torah Judaism, in succession to Agudas Shlumei Emunei Yisroel...

. He chaired the Rabbinical administration board of Torah Umesorah and was on the presidium of the Agudas HaRabbonim of the U.S. and Canada.

Upon the death of his father-in-law, Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer, he inherited his father-in-law's position of rosh yeshiva of Etz Chaim Yeshiva
Etz Chaim Yeshiva
Etz Chaim Yeshiva is an orthodox yeshiva located on Jaffa Road close to the Mahane Yehuda Market in downtown Jerusalem.-History:Etz Chaim Yeshiva was originally a Talmud Torah which was established in 1841 by the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, Shmuel Salant. For the first two years classes were held in...

 of Jerusalem. In an unusual arrangement, he held this position while continuing to live in America, and visiting Jerusalem occasionally. Today, his grandson, Rabbi Zevulun Schwartzman, heads a kollel
Kollel
A kollel is an institute for full-time, advanced study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features shiurim and learning sedarim ; unlike a yeshiva, the student body of a kollel are all married men...

 located at Etz Chaim Yeshiva.

Death

Rav Kotler died at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center
NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital
NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital is a prominent university hospital in New York City affiliated with two Ivy League medical schools: Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons and Cornell University's Weill Medical College. It is composed of two distinct medical centers, Columbia...

 in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 on November 29, 1962. A funeral service for Rav Kotler at the Congregation Sons of Israel Kalwarier on Manhattan's Lower East Side
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....

 drew 25,000 mourners, with 200 officers from the New York City Police Department
New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department , established in 1845, is currently the largest municipal police force in the United States, with primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City...

 assigned to the event, which was described by the congregation's president as the largest gathering of mourners in his experience. The 700 seats in the sanctuary were reserved for notables, which included Rabbi Shlomo Goren
Shlomo Goren
Shlomo Goren , was an Orthodox Religious Zionist rabbi in Israel who founded and served as the first head of the Military Rabbinate of the Israel Defense Forces and subsequently as the third Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1973 to 1983.He served in the Israel Defense Forces during three wars,...

, chief chaplain
Military Rabbinate
The Military Rabbinate is a corps in the Israel Defense Forces that provides religious services to soldiers, primarily to Jews but also including non-Jews, and makes decisions on issues of religion and military affairs. The Military Rabbinate is headed by the Chief Military Rabbi, who is ranked a...

 of the Israel Defense Forces
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...

. In an atmosphere described as being reminiscent of Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur , also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest and most solemn day of the year for the Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue...

, eulogies for Rav Kotler were delivered by Rabbi Moshe Feinstein
Moshe Feinstein
Moshe Feinstein was a Lithuanian Orthodox rabbi, scholar and posek , who was world-renowned for his expertise in Halakha and was regarded by many as the de facto supreme halakhic authority for Orthodox Jewry of North America during his lifetime...

 and by Satmar Hasidic leader
Satmar (Hasidic dynasty)
Satmar is a Hasidic movement comprising mostly Hungarian and Romanian Hasidic Jewish Holocaust survivors and their descendants. It was founded and led by the late Hungarian-born Grand Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum , who was the rabbi of Szatmárnémeti, Hungary...

 Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum
Joel Teitelbaum
Joel Teitelbaum, known as Reb Yoelish or the Satmar Rav , was a prominent Hungarian Hasidic rebbe and Talmudic scholar. He was probably the best known Haredi opponent of all forms of modern political Zionism...

, among others. Following the funeral, Rav Kotler's body was transported to Idlewild Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport is an international airport located in the borough of Queens in New York City, about southeast of Lower Manhattan. It is the busiest international air passenger gateway to the United States, handling more international traffic than any other airport in North...

 to be flown to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

 accompanied by two dozen of his students. After arriving in Israel, the plane carrying Rav Kotler's coffin was greeted by a crowd of 5,000 at the airport. Jerusalem traffic was brought to a standstill by crowds of 30,000 people who lined the path of the procession transporting Rav Kotler's body from the airport to Etz Chaim Yeshiva
Etz Chaim Yeshiva
Etz Chaim Yeshiva is an orthodox yeshiva located on Jaffa Road close to the Mahane Yehuda Market in downtown Jerusalem.-History:Etz Chaim Yeshiva was originally a Talmud Torah which was established in 1841 by the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, Shmuel Salant. For the first two years classes were held in...

, where thousands of mourners from throughout Israel came to offer their final respects before his burial on Har HaMenuchot
Har HaMenuchot
Har HaMenuchot is the largest cemetery in Jerusalem, Israel. It is located at the western edge of the city adjacent to the neighborhood of Givat Shaul, with commanding views of Mevaseret Zion to the north, Motza to the west, and Har Nof to the south.-History:...

.

The 2002 book, Making of a Godol
Making of a Godol
Making of a Godol: A Study of Episodes in the Lives of Great Torah Personalities is a two-volume book written and published in 2002, with an improved edition published in 2005, by Rabbi Nathan Kamenetsky , son of Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky, about the lives of his father and of various other Jewish...

, contains many biographical stories and information related to Rav Kotler, including details of Rav Kotler's pursuit of his future bride, which included sending letters to her that concerned Rav Meltzer about the character of his future son-in-law when he caught a glimpse of Rav Kotler's letters. After raising the issue with the matchmaker who had arranged the marriage, she replied that Rav Kotler was a genius, not a saint. Author Rabbi Nathan Kamenetsky wrote in his unpublished work Anatomy of a Ban and in a footnote in a second edition of Making of a Godol, that it was Rav Kotler's loyalists who launched the ban on the book, out of fear that the book paints Rav Kotler differently than they wish.

Recently a biographical study of Rav Kotler's life and teachings was written by his student Rabbi Yitzchok Dershowitz. The book is titled The Legacy of Maran Rav Aharon Kotler.

Influence

Rav Kotler was a proponent of full-time commitment to Torah study
Torah study
Torah study is the study by Jewish people of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature and similar works, all of which are Judaism's religious texts...

. In his view, Torah study and the culture built around it had suffered from the persecutions of World War II and the decline of character of the generations. This led him to encourage young men to devote themselves to full-time Torah study with financial support from the community. After marriage, yeshiva students could move on to a post-graduate kollel program.

Rav Kotler was considered one of the primary leaders of the Orthodox community in the U.S. during the post-war years.

In the summer of 1937, at the third convention of the rabbinical leaders of Agudath Israel held in Marienbad, Rav Kotler (together with Rabbi Elchonon Wasserman
Elchonon Wasserman
Elchonon Wasserman was a prominent rabbi and rosh yeshiva in pre-World War II Europe. He was one of the Chofetz Chaim's closest disciples and a noted Torah scholar.-Biography:...

, Rabbi Rottenberg from Antwerp, and rabbis from Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

 and Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

) was adamant in rejecting any proposal for a "Jewish State
Jewish state
A homeland for the Jewish people was an idea that rose to the fore in the 19th century in the wake of growing anti-Semitism and Jewish assimilation. Jewish emancipation in Europe paved the way for two ideological solutions to the Jewish Question: cultural assimilation, as envisaged by Moses...

" on either side of the Jordan River, even if it were established as a religious state. Nevertheless, on a vote, the majority decided in favor of a Jewish state.

Works

Shu"t Mishnas R' Aharon:

Mishnas R' Aharon on Shas:

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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