Rabbi is the term in Judaism for a religious teacher. The word rabbi derives from the Hebrew root word , rav, which in biblical Hebrew means ‘great’ in many senses, including "revered." The word comes from the Semitic root R-B-B, and is cognate to Arabic ربّ rabb, meaning "lord" Rabbi ' onMouseout='HidePop("805")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Disciple">disciple
A disciple is a follower and student of a mentor, teacher, or other wise figure. It can refer to:-Religion:*Disciple , a follower of Jesus Christ**The Twelve Apostles, often referred to as "The Disciples"...
of prewar
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
's
Slabodka YeshivaSlabodka yeshiva, also known as Knesses Yisroel, and later as Hebron Yeshiva or Yeshivas Hevron, was 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 Vilijampolė, a...
in
LithuaniaLithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the southernmost of the three Baltic states. Situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, it shares borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the southeast, Poland, and the Russian exclave of...
who went on to found the Rabbinical Seminary of America as its first
Rosh yeshivaRosh 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...
(dean) in
BrooklynBrooklyn is one of the five boroughs of New York City, located southwest of Queens on the western tip of Long Island. An independent city until its consolidation with New York in 1898, Brooklyn is New York City's most populous borough, with 2.5 million residents, and second largest in area...
,
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. His son, Rabbi
Henoch LeibowitzAlter Chanoch Henoch Leibowitz was an Orthodox rabbi who was rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Rabbeinu Yisrael Meir HaKohen, which was founded by his father Rabbi Dovid Leibowitz in 1933.- Life :...
, led the
yeshivaYeshiva or yeshivah , or metivta or mesivta ) also frequently referred to as a Beth midrash, Talmudical Academy, Rabbinical Academy or Rabbinical School is an institution unique to classical Judaism for study of its traditional, central texts...
until his death in 2008.
In his youth he was known as "Reb Dovid Warshawer." As a teenager, he studied in the
Raduń YeshivaRaduń Yeshiva, originally located in Raduń, Poland , was established by the Chofetz Chaim in 1869.-Origins:In 1869 when the Chofetz Chaim returned from Vashilyshok to Raduń his first action was to establish a group to whom he could spread the knowledge of Torah...
, where he held private study sessions with his great-uncle, the
Chofetz ChaimYisrael Meir Kagan known popularly as The Chofetz Chaim was an influential Eastern European rabbi, Halakhist, posek, and ethicist whose works continue to be widely influential in Jewish life.-Biography:...
for 12 hours a day and helped write the last volume of the
Mishnah BerurahMishnah Berurah is a work of halakha by Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan, better known as The Chofetz Chaim...
; he also learned there under Rabbi
Naftoli TropRabbi Naftoli Trop was the Rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim in Raduń, Poland. He was a renowned Talmudist and Talmid Chacham.-Early years:...
.
In 1908, Rabbi Leibowitz transferred to the Slabodka yeshiva, where he learned under the
Alter, Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel. In 1915, Rabbi Leibowitz succeeded his father-in-law as Rabbi of
ŠalčininkaiŠalčininkai is a city in Vilnius County, Lithuania, situated south-east of Vilnius, near the border with Belarus.Šalčininkai received its city rights in 1956 and is now a capital of the Šalčininkai district municipality. Šalčininkai features a multi-ethnic population of Poles , Lithuanians ,...
. After six years, however, he returned to Slobodka as a founding member of the Slabodka Kollel.
In 1926, Rabbi Leibowitz came to the United States as a fund-raiser for the kollel and was invited to become the first rosh yeshiva of Mesivta Torah Vodaath. Among his students were Rabbi
Gedalia SchorrRabbi Gedalyahu Schorr was a prominent rabbi and rosh yeshiva. He was regarded as the "first American Gadol" , an expression coined by Rabbi Aharon Kotler...
and
Rabbi Avrohom PamRabbi Avraham Yaakov Pam was the rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Torah Vodaas in Brooklyn, New York.-Biography:Rav Pam began his career at Yeshiva Torah Vodaas in 1938, when was appointed maggid shiur there, at a time when secularism was on the rise in the United States, even amongst Orthodox Jews...
. In 1933, Rabbi Leibowitz founded Yeshivas Rabbenu Yisrael Meir Hacohen, named after his great uncle. (The Yeshiva is better known today as the
Chofetz Chaim Yeshiva or the
Rabbinical Seminary of America now located in
Kew Gardens HillsKew Gardens Hills, also sometimes incorrectly referred to as Kew Garden Hills, is a one-square mile neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens...
, New York.) There he transplanted to the United States his unique style of Talmud study as well as the Slabodka school of Mussar.
He died on December 5, 1941 which was a Friday, and to provide proper respect for the deceased, the funeral was held on Sunday, December 7, 1941,
Pearl HarborPearl Harbor is a harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
day. The yeshiva was headed for the following sixty-seven years by his only son, Rabbi
Henoch LeibowitzAlter Chanoch Henoch Leibowitz was an Orthodox rabbi who was rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Rabbeinu Yisrael Meir HaKohen, which was founded by his father Rabbi Dovid Leibowitz in 1933.- Life :...
.
See also
- Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim: Rabbinical Seminary of America