Gadol

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Gadol

Gadol or godol ???? (plurual: gedolim ??????) (Hebrew

Hebrew language

Hebrew is a Semitic languages of the Afro-Asiatic languages. Modern Hebrew is spoken by more than seven million people in Israel and Classical Hebrew is used for prayer or study in Jews communities around the world....
"big" or "great"), is a Hebrew term used mostly by Haredi

Haredi Judaism

Haredi or Chareidi Judaism is the most theologically conservative form of Orthodox Judaism. A follower of Haredi Judaism is called a Haredi ....
Litvish Jew

Jew

A Jew is a member of the Jewish people, an ethnoreligious group that traces its ancestry to the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East....
s to refer to the most revered rabbi

Rabbi

Rabbi , in Judaism, means a religious ?teacher?, or more literally, ?my great one?, when addressing any master. The word rabbi derives from the Hebrew root word , rav, which in biblical Hebrew means ?great?, used in many senses, including the sense of a ?master? and apprentice, whence someone who is a distinguished ?teacher?....
s of the Generation. These Rabbis are usually held in high esteem by other Haredi or Orthodox Jews, though not necessarily to the same degree as Litvish Jews do. It is almost exclusively used to refer to rabbinic leaders since World War I

World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
. Other variations of the term are Gadol Yisrael or a Gadol BeYisrael (plural Gedolei Yisrael).

The term gadol hador refers to the "great/est (one of) the generation" denoting one rabbi who is presumed to be even greater than the others.

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Encyclopedia

Gadol or godol ???? (plurual: gedolim ??????) (Hebrew

Hebrew language

Haredi Judaism

Haredi or Chareidi Judaism is the most theologically conservative form of Orthodox Judaism. A follower of Haredi Judaism is called a Haredi ....
Litvish Jew

Jew

A Jew is a member of the Jewish people, an ethnoreligious group that traces its ancestry to the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East....
s to refer to the most revered rabbi

Rabbi

World War I

Torah Judaism

Torah Judaism is an English language term, used by a number of Orthodox Judaism groups, to describe Judaism as being based on a strict adherence to the laws of the Torah's 613 mitzvot as expounded in Orthodox Halakha....
accept that a gadol is presumed to have some degree of ruach hakodesh ("divine spirit") and his teachings and statements become the crux of Daas Torah. Most often a gadol functions as a rosh yeshiva

Rosh yeshiva

Rosh yeshiva, , , is the title given to the Dean of a Yeshiva . It is made up of the Hebrew words rosh ? meaning head, and yeshiva ? a school of religious Jewish education....
(the head of a yeshiva

Yeshiva

Yeshiva 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 Torah study, the study of Talmud, Rabbinic literature and History of responsa....
Talmud

Talmud

The Talmud is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Halakha, Jewish ethics, customs, and history. It is a central text of mainstream Judaism....
ical school), and can be a Hasidic

Hasidic Judaism

Hasidic Judaism is a type of Orthodox Judaism or Haredi Judaism Orthodox Judaism religious movement. Some refer to Hasidic Judaism as Hasidism, and the adjective chasidic / hasidic applies....
Rebbe

Rebbe

Rebbe which means master, teacher, or mentor is a Yiddish word derived from the identical Hebrew language word Rabbi. It mostly refers to the leader of a Hasidic Judaism Jewish movement....
. Another way of calling a gadol hador is "Rashkebahag" which is an Acronym of "Rabbon shel kol bnei hagolah" (The Sage and teacher of the entire Jewish diaspora

Jewish diaspora

The Jewish diaspora , the presence of Jews outside of the Land of Israel, is a result of the expulsion or emigration of Jews from Israel and religious conversion to Judaism....
). The title gadol hador is usually only give to one Jewish Sage at a time, while the title "Rashkebahag" can be given to a few.

A gadol is quite often also a posek

Posek

Posek is the term in Halakha for "decider"?a legal scholar who decides the Halakha in cases of law where previous authorities are inconclusive....
(a decisor of Halakha

Halakha

Halakha ? also Hebrew transliteration Halocho and Halacha ? is the collective body of Judaism religious law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions....
- Jewish law) and may be the author of rabbinic literature

Rabbinic literature

Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, can mean the entire spectrum of rabbinic writings throughout Judaism history. But the term often refers specifically to literature from the Talmudic era, as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic writing, and thus corresponds with the Hebrew language term Sifrut Hazal ....
and responsa

Responsa

Responsa comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them....
.

Age of maturity

Gadol is also used as a term for a Jewish boy who turns thirteen and hence is viewed as a full adult with regards to his obligations to practice the mitzvos. This is the age of Bar Mitzvah. When a Jewish girl reaches the age of twelve and a half, according to Jewish law, she is called a gedolah (the feminine usage of gadol).

In Judaism

The Kohen Gadol

Kohen Gadol

Kohen Gadol or Kohen ha-Gadol is the title of wiktionary:High Priest of early Israelite religion and of Classical Age Judaism from the rise of the Israelite nation until the destruction of the Second Temple of Jerusalem....
refers to the high priets in the Jewish Temple

Jewish temple

Jewish temple:*Jewish temple or The Jewish Temple, may refer to the original two ancient Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. The Solomon's Temple was destroyed by the ancient Babylonians in 586 BCE, and the Second Temple was destroyed by Roman Empire in 70 CE....
s that were in Jerusalem. Shabbat Hagadol is the Shabbat

Shabbat

Shabbat or Shabbos , is the weekly day of rest in Judaism, symbolizing the seventh day in Genesis, after the six days of creation. Though it is commonly said to be the Saturday of each week, it is observed from sundown on Friday until the appearance of three stars in the sky on Saturday night....
prior to Passover

Passover

Passover is a Jewish and Samaritan holy day and festival commemorating God sparing the Israelites when He killed the first born of Egypt, and is followed by the seven day Feast of the Unleavened Bread commemorating the Exodus from Ancient Egypt and the liberation of the Israelites from Judaism and slavery....
.

Manhig Yisroel

Manhig Yisroel (plural: Manhigei Yisroel), literally means someone who "leads the children of Israel..

It is a title given to an exceptional rabbi

Rabbi

Rebbe

Rebbe which means master, teacher, or mentor is a Yiddish word derived from the identical Hebrew language word Rabbi. It mostly refers to the leader of a Hasidic Judaism Jewish movement....
who is considered one of the spiritual leaders of his generation.

As a word in general Hebrew usage

Gadol is used in modern Hebrew in a variety of ways. It comes from the root word meaning size thus common usage denotes a large size. Variations of the root word also mean to grow. It also can mean greatness, famous, powerful, influential, and successful. Gadol as slang is used as an interjection to mean something is extremely cool, out of this world, superb, awesome, absurdly funny or hilarious. For example, upon hearing a funny joke one might interject "Gadol!".

Gedolim since World War I
World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....

Past

(In order of their passing)

Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan
Yisrael Meir Kagan

Yisrael Meir Kagan sobriquet as The Chofetz Chaim was an influential Eastern European rabbi, Halakha, and ethics whose works continue to be widely influential in Jewish life....
(the Chofetz Chaim
Chofetz Chaim

"The Chofetz Chaim" is a book on the Jewish laws of speech written by Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan.The book is about the mitzvah relating to correct speech and the Lashon hara....
)
Rabbi Avrohom Yitzchok Bloch
Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzensky
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 Yisrael Meir Kagan's closest disciples and a Torah scholar of note, and well known for being a strong opponent of secular Zionism....
Rabbi Avraham Mordechai Alter
Avraham Mordechai Alter

Avraham Mordechai Alter, , also known as the Imrei Emes after the works he authored, was the third Rebbe of the Hasidic Judaism dynasty of Ger , a position he held from 1905 until his death in 1948....
(Rebbe
Rebbe

Rebbe which means master, teacher, or mentor is a Yiddish word derived from the identical Hebrew language word Rabbi. It mostly refers to the leader of a Hasidic Judaism Jewish movement....
of Ger
Ger (Hasidic dynasty)

Ger, or Gur is a Hasidic Judaism dynasty originating from Ger, the Yiddish language name of G?ra Kalwaria, a small town in Poland.Prior to the Holocaust, Ger was the largest and most important Hasidic group in Poland....
)
Rabbi Avraham Yeshayahu Karelitz
Avraham Yeshayahu Karelitz

Rabbi Avrohom Yeshaya Karelitz, , popularly known by the name of his magnum opus Chazon Ish, was a Belarusian born Orthodox Judaism rabbi who became leader of Haredi Judaism in Israel, where his final 20 years, from 1933 to 1953, were spent....
(Chazon Ish)
Rabbi Yitzchok Zev Soleveitchik
Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum (Satmar Rav)
Rabbi Aharon Kotler
Aharon Kotler

Rabbi Aharon Kotler was a prominent leader of Orthodox Judaism in Lithuanian Jews, and later the United States, where he built one of the first yeshivas in the US....
Rabbi Yisrael Alter
Yisrael Alter

Yisrael Alter, , also known as the Beis Yisroel after the works he authored, was the fourth Rebbe of the Hasidic Judaism dynasty of Ger , a position he held from 1948 until 1977....
(Rebbe
Rebbe

Rebbe which means master, teacher, or mentor is a Yiddish word derived from the identical Hebrew language word Rabbi. It mostly refers to the leader of a Hasidic Judaism Jewish movement....
of Ger
Ger (Hasidic dynasty)

Ger, or Gur is a Hasidic Judaism dynasty originating from Ger, the Yiddish language name of G?ra Kalwaria, a small town in Poland.Prior to the Holocaust, Ger was the largest and most important Hasidic group in Poland....
)
Rabbi Aryeh Leib Malin
Aryeh Leib Malin

Rabbi Aryeh Leib Malin was a Rabbi, Talmud, and Mussar in both Europe and USA....
Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Finkel
Rabbi Moshe Feinstein
Moshe Feinstein

Moshe Feinstein was a Lithuanian Jews Orthodox Judaism rabbi, scholar and posek , who was world-renowned for his expertise in Halakha and was regarded by many as the de facto supreme rabbinic authority for Orthodox Jewry of North America....
Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky
Yaakov Kamenetsky

Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky , was a prominent rosh yeshiva, posek and Talmudist in the post-World War II American Jewish community.He was born in the hamlet of Kalushkove, Lithuania, in 1891....
Rabbi Yitzchok Hutner
Yitzchok Hutner

Yitzchok Hutner was an Orthodox Judaism rabbi and American rosh yeshiva born in Warsaw, Poland, to a family with both Ger Hasidic Judaism and non-Hasidic Lithuanian Jews roots....
Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz
Chaim Shmuelevitz

Rabbi Chaim Leib Shmuelevitz, , was a member of the faculty of the Mir Yeshiva for more than 40 years, in Poland, Shanghai and Jerusalem, serving as Rosh yeshiva during its sojourn in Shanghai from 1941 to 1947, and again in the Mir yeshiva in Jerusalem from 1965 to 1979....
Rabbi Shneur Kotler
Shneur Kotler

Rabbi Shneur Kotler was the son of the famed Talmudic scholar Rabbi Aharon Kotler. Upon the death of his father in 1962, he became the rosh yeshiva of Lakewood yeshiva, a Lithuanian Jews-style Talmudic Haredi Judaism but non-Hasidic Judaism yeshiva in Lakewood Township, New Jersey, New Jersey....
Rabbi Elazar Shach
Elazar Shach

Rabbi Elazar Menachem Man Shach , was a leading Eastern European-born and educated Haredi Judaism rabbi who settled and lived in modern Israel....
Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach
Shlomo Zalman Auerbach

Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach , was a renowned Rabbi, Posek and Rosh Yeshiva of the Kol Torah yeshiva in Israel....
Rabbi Binyomin Paler
Binyomin Paler

Rabbi Binyomin Paler was a Haredi Judaism rosh yeshiva and Talmudist who is regarded as one of those who brought the Brisk yeshivas and methods from Europe to the United States....
Rabbi Gedalia Schorr
Gedalia Schorr

Rabbi Gedalyahu Schorr was a prominent rabbi and rosh yeshiva. He was regarded as the "first American Gadol" , an expression coined by Rabbi Aharon Kotler....
Rabbi Boruch Sorotzkin
Rabbi Elya Meir Bloch
Rabbi Reuvein Grozovsky
Rabbi Joseph Ber Soloveitchik
Rabbi Eliezer Zusia Portugal
Eliezer Zusia Portugal

Grand Rabbi Eliezer Zusia Portugal , the first Skulen Rebbe, was revered by his followers in Russia, Romania and the United States for his personal warmth and his care for hundreds of Jewish youth and war orphans....
(Skulener Rebbe)
Rabbi Shlomo Halberstam of Bobov
Shlomo Halberstam (The Second)

Shlomo Halberstam , was the Grand Rabbi of Bobov who re-established the Bobov er hasidic dynasty in United States after World War II. He was the son of Rabbi Ben Zion Halberstam of Bobov, who died in the Holocaust....
Rabbi Naftuli Zvi Halberstam of Bobov
Naftali Halberstam

Grand Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Halberstam , was the Grand Rebbe of Bobov from August 2000 until March 2005. He succeeded his father, Rabbi Solomon Halberstam , as Grand Rebbe of Bobov....

(in the "Modern" community. Though members of this group generally dont call ther leaders a "Gadol")

Present

Rabbi Yissachar Dov Rokeach (II)
Yissachar Dov Rokeach (II)

Yissachar Dov Rokeach is the fifth and present Rebbe of the Hasidic Judaism dynasty of Belz . He is the son of Rabbi Mordechai of Bilgorai and the nephew of the fourth Belzer Rebbe, Rabbi Aharon Rokeach, who raised him....
(Belzer Rebbe, Jerusalem)
Rabbi Eliezer "Lezer" Loewy
Rabbi Elya Svei
Elya Svei

Rabbi Elya Svei is the Rosh Yeshiva of the Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia, and was internationally known for his incisive, brilliant and clear shiurim, and his ability to offer sage advice to thousands of Jews worldwide....
(No longer active)
Rabbi Yosef Sholom Eliashiv
Yosef Sholom Eliashiv

Rabbi Yosef Sholom Elyashiv is a Haredi Judaism rabbi and posek who lives in Jerusalem, Israel.Presently well into his nineties, he is active and remains the paramount leader of Israel's Lithuanian Jews non-Hasidic Judaism Haredi Ashkenazi Jews who regard him as the posek ha-dor , the contemporary leading authority on halakha, o...
(generally considered the current Gadol Hador ["greatest of the generation"] amongst Ashkenazic Haredi Jews)
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef
Ovadia Yosef

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef is a Sephardi Jews Haredi Judaism rabbi, Talmudic scholar, and recognized halakha authority. He is the former Sephardi Jews Chief Rabbinate of Israel and the current spiritual leader of the Shas political party in the Israeli Knesset....
(generally considered the current Gadol Hador ["greatest of the generation"] amongst Spharadic Haredi Jews)
Rabbi Shmuel Wosner
Shmuel Wosner

Rabbi Shmuel Wosner is a prominent Haredi Judaism rabbi and posek living in Bnei Brak, Israel.Rabbi Wosner was born in 1913 in Vienna, Austria and he learned at the famous Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva led by Rabbi Meir Shapiro and he was also a student of Rabbi Shimon of Zelicov who was the official supervisor and caretaker at the Yeshiva....
(also considered the current Gadol Hador ["greatest of the generation"]
Rabbi Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz
Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz

File:Rabbi Lefkowitz.jpgRabbi Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz is a Haredi Judaism leader living in Bnei Brak, Israel. He is one of the heads of the Ponevezh yeshiva and is a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Degel HaTorah....
Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman
Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky
Chaim Kanievsky

Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky is a world-renowned Haredi Judaism rabbi and posek living in Bnei Brak, Israel.He is the author of several works of halakha, such as Derech Emunoh , on agricultural laws, Derech Chochmoh , on the laws of the Jewish temple rites, and Shoneh Halachos ....
Rabbi Fishel Herskowitz
Fishel Herskowitz

Rabbi Fishel Herskowitz, the Holeiner Rav, is a leading posek in the Hasidic community. He is the Klausenburg Dayan in Williamsburg, Brooklyn....
Rabbi Yisroel Avrohom Portugal
Yisroel Avrohom Portugal

Yisroel Avrohom Portugal son of Rabbi Eliezer Zusia Portugal is the Rebbe of Skulen in Brooklyn, New York.He lives primarily in the Boro Park section of Brooklyn but spends some time including about half of the Jewish holidays in Williamsburg, Brooklyn where his father lived....
(Skulener Rebbe)
Rabbi Yaakov Aryeh Alter
Yaakov Aryeh Alter

Yaakov Aryeh Alter, , is the seventh and current Rebbe of the Hasidic Judaism dynasty of Ger , a position he has held since 1996. He lives in Israel and has followers in Europe and the United States....
(Rebbe
Rebbe

Rebbe which means master, teacher, or mentor is a Yiddish word derived from the identical Hebrew language word Rabbi. It mostly refers to the leader of a Hasidic Judaism Jewish movement....
of Ger
Ger (Hasidic dynasty)

Ger, or Gur is a Hasidic Judaism dynasty originating from Ger, the Yiddish language name of G?ra Kalwaria, a small town in Poland.Prior to the Holocaust, Ger was the largest and most important Hasidic group in Poland....
)
Rabbi Mordechai Dovid Unger of Bobov
Rabbi Nissim Karelitz
Nissim Karelitz

Rabbi Nissim Karelitz is the chairman of the beis din tzedek of Bnei Brak.He is one of the most highly respected Orthodox rabbis in the world and one of the most important leaders of the Haredi world, together with Rabbi Yosef Sholom Eliashiv and Rabbi Shmuel Halevi Wosner....
Rabbi Dovid Solovaitchik
Meshulam Dovid Soloveitchik

Rabbi Meshulam Dovid Soloveitchik heads one of the branches of the Brisk yeshivas in Jerusalem, Israel attended by select young Talmudists, mainly from the United States....
Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky
Shmuel Kamenetsky

Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky has been co-rosh yeshiva of the Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia for the past 50 years with Rabbi Elya Svei and is probably the current best-known Gadol outside the land of Israel....
Rabbi Matisyahu Salomon
Matisyahu Salomon

Rabbi Matisyohu Salomon serves as the mashgiach ruchani of the Beth Medrash Govoha Yeshiva in Lakewood, New Jersey. Born in Gateshead,England, he learned in London, and later became mashgiach ruchani of Gateshead Talmudical College, a position he held for more than thirty years....
Rabbi Malkiel Kotler
Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel
Nosson Tzvi Finkel

Nosson Tzvi Finkel may refer to one of the following roshei yeshiva in Orthodox Judaism:*Nosson Tzvi Finkel , of the Slabodka yeshiva in Kaunas, Lithuania, or his descendant,...
Rabbi Chaim Dov Keller
Chaim Dov Keller

Chaim Dov Keller is a Haredi Judaism rabbi,Talmudic scholar, co-founder and co-rosh yeshiva of the Telshe yeshiva in Chicago. He is a posek and writer in Haredi newspapers such as the Yated Ne'eman in the United States....
Rabbi Avrohom Chaim Levin
Rabbi Chaim Stein
Rabbi Avrohom Gurwitcz
Rabbi Yitzchok Sorotzkin
Rabbi Elya Ber Wachtfogel
Rabbi Shlomo Miller
Shlomo Miller

Rabbi Shlomo Eliyahu Miller is a Rosh Kollel of the Kollel Avreichim Institute for Advanced Talmud Study, the leading haredi post-yeshiva educational institution in Toronto and head of its Beis Din ....
Rabbi Yehoshua Neuwirth
Yehoshua Neuwirth

Rabbi Yehoshua Yeshaya Neuwirth is an Orthodox Judaism rabbi in Jerusalem. He is one of the top students of Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach....
Rabbi Aharon Feldman
Aharon Feldman

Aharon Feldman is a rabbi and rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Ner Yisroel , an Orthodox Judaism yeshiva located in Baltimore, Maryland. He has held this position since 2001....
Rabbi Yaakov Perlow
Yaakov Perlow

Rabbi Yaakov Perlow is a Hasidic Judaism rebbe and rosh yeshiva living in Boro Park, Brooklyn. He is the current Novominsk Rebbe and serves as rosh of the American Agudath Israel of America, a Haredi Judaism communal organization....
Rabbi Naftali Jaeger
Rabbi Reuven Feinstein
Reuven Feinstein

Rabbi Reuven Feinstein is the Rosh Yeshiva of the residence hall of Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem, located in Staten Island, New York....
Rabbi Dovid Feinstein
Dovid Feinstein

Rabbi David Feinstein, son of the late Moshe Feinstein, is an acknowledged Torah scholar and halachic authority. He resides on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and serves as the rosh yeshiva of the Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem yeshiva elementary and high school and kollel, inheriting the position after the passing of his father in 1986....
Rabbi Aharon Schechter
Rabbi Yisroel Belsky
Yisroel Belsky

Yisroel Belsky is a rabbi in the United States who has served with the Orthodox Union since 1987. He resides in Brooklyn, New York. He is one of several rosh yeshivas in Yeshiva Torah Vodaas....
Rabbi Moshe Heinemann
Moshe Heinemann

Rabbi Moshe Heinemann is an Orthodox Judaism rabbi and Posek who heads the Agudath Israel of Baltimore synagogue and is the rabbinical supervisor of the Star K kashrus certification agency....
Rabbi Hershel Schachter
Hershel Schachter

Hershel Schachter is a rabbi and rosh yeshiva at Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary , Yeshiva University, in New York City, and the son of the late Rabbi Melech Schachter, who was also a rosh yeshiva at Yeshiva....
Rabbi Mordechai Willig
Mordechai Willig

'Mordechai Willig' is an Orthodox Judaism Jewish rabbi and rosh yeshiva at Yeshiva University in Washington Heights, Manhattan. His formal title is the Rabbi Dr....

Gadol

Age of maturity

In Judaism

Manhig Yisroel

As a word in general Hebrew usage

Gedolim since World War IWorld War IWorld War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....

Past

Present

See also

Gedolim since World War I
World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....