All Topics  
Moshe Feinstein

 
Moshe Feinstein

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Moshe Feinstein
 
 
  Topics Moshe Feinstein Topic Home

Moshe Feinstein (March 3, 1895–March 23, 1986) was a Lithuanian
Lithuanian Jews

Lithuanian Jews are Ashkenazi Jews with roots in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania .Lithuania was historically home to a large and influential Jewish community that was almost entirely eliminated during the Holocaust: see Holocaust in Lithuania....
 Orthodox
Orthodox Judaism

Orthodox Judaism is a Jewish denominations of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict constructionist and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmudic texts and as subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and Acharonim....
 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?....
, scholar and 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....
 (an authoritative adjudicator of questions related to Jewish law
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....
), who was world-renowned for his expertise in 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....
 and was regarded by many as the de facto
De facto

De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning the fact" or in practice but not necessarily ordained by law. It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or technique that are found in the common experience as created or developed without or contrary to a regulation....
 supreme rabbinic authority for Orthodox Jewry of North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
. In the Orthodox world, it is universal to refer to him simply as "Rav Moshe" or "Reb
Reb

Reb is a title of respect often used in Orthodox Judaism, especially by Hasidic Judaism and Litvish Jews. It does not necessarily refer to a rabbi....
 Moshe."

Biography
Rav Moshe was born, according to the Hebrew calendar
Hebrew calendar

The Hebrew calendar or Jewish calendar is a lunisolar calendar used by Jews, now predominantly for religious purposes. It is used to reckon the Jewish New Year and dates for Jewish holidays, and also to determine appropriate Torah reading of Torah portions, Yahrzeits , and daily Psalm reading, among many ceremonial uses....
, on the 7th day of Adar
Adar

Adar is the sixth month of the civil year and the twelfth month of the religious year on the Hebrew calendar. It is a winter month of 29 days. In leap years, it is preceded by a 30-day intercalary month named Adar Aleph , Adar Rishon or Adar I and it is then itself called Adar Bet , Adar Sheni or Adar II....
, 5655 (traditionally the date of birth of the Biblical Moshe
Moses

Moses is a Hebrew Bible Hebrews religious leader, lawgiver, prophet, to whom the Mosaic authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed. Also called Moshe Rabbeinu in Hebrew , he is the most important prophet in Judaism, and also an important prophet of Christianity, Islam, the Bah?'? Faith, Rastafari movement, Chrislam and many ot...
) in Uzda, near Minsk
Minsk

Minsk is the Capital and largest city in Belarus, situated on the Svislach River and Nemiga rivers. Minsk is also a headquarters of the Commonwealth of Independent States ....
, Belarus
Belarus

Belarus is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the north....
, then part of the Russian empire
Russian Empire

File:Russian Emperor Flag.jpgFile:Romanov Flag.svgThe Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917....
 to his father Rabbi David Feinstein, rabbi of Uzdan.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Moshe Feinstein'
Start a new discussion about 'Moshe Feinstein'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Moshe Feinstein (March 3, 1895–March 23, 1986) was a Lithuanian
Lithuanian Jews

Lithuanian Jews are Ashkenazi Jews with roots in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania .Lithuania was historically home to a large and influential Jewish community that was almost entirely eliminated during the Holocaust: see Holocaust in Lithuania....
 Orthodox
Orthodox Judaism

Orthodox Judaism is a Jewish denominations of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict constructionist and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmudic texts and as subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and Acharonim....
 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?....
, scholar and 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....
 (an authoritative adjudicator of questions related to Jewish law
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....
), who was world-renowned for his expertise in 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....
 and was regarded by many as the de facto
De facto

De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning the fact" or in practice but not necessarily ordained by law. It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or technique that are found in the common experience as created or developed without or contrary to a regulation....
 supreme rabbinic authority for Orthodox Jewry of North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
. In the Orthodox world, it is universal to refer to him simply as "Rav Moshe" or "Reb
Reb

Reb is a title of respect often used in Orthodox Judaism, especially by Hasidic Judaism and Litvish Jews. It does not necessarily refer to a rabbi....
 Moshe."

Biography


Rav Moshe was born, according to the Hebrew calendar
Hebrew calendar

The Hebrew calendar or Jewish calendar is a lunisolar calendar used by Jews, now predominantly for religious purposes. It is used to reckon the Jewish New Year and dates for Jewish holidays, and also to determine appropriate Torah reading of Torah portions, Yahrzeits , and daily Psalm reading, among many ceremonial uses....
, on the 7th day of Adar
Adar

Adar is the sixth month of the civil year and the twelfth month of the religious year on the Hebrew calendar. It is a winter month of 29 days. In leap years, it is preceded by a 30-day intercalary month named Adar Aleph , Adar Rishon or Adar I and it is then itself called Adar Bet , Adar Sheni or Adar II....
, 5655 (traditionally the date of birth of the Biblical Moshe
Moses

Moses is a Hebrew Bible Hebrews religious leader, lawgiver, prophet, to whom the Mosaic authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed. Also called Moshe Rabbeinu in Hebrew , he is the most important prophet in Judaism, and also an important prophet of Christianity, Islam, the Bah?'? Faith, Rastafari movement, Chrislam and many ot...
) in Uzda, near Minsk
Minsk

Minsk is the Capital and largest city in Belarus, situated on the Svislach River and Nemiga rivers. Minsk is also a headquarters of the Commonwealth of Independent States ....
, Belarus
Belarus

Belarus is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the north....
, then part of the Russian empire
Russian Empire

File:Russian Emperor Flag.jpgFile:Romanov Flag.svgThe Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917....
 to his father Rabbi David Feinstein, rabbi of Uzdan. His father was a descendant of Rabbi Yom Tov Lipman, Rabbi of Kapolye, whose glosses on the Talmud have been published in the back of the Gemarah; and also the author of other Talmudic works.

He studied with his father and also in 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....
s located in Slutsk
Slutsk

Slutsk is a town in Belarus, located on the Sluch River 105 km south of Minsk. In 1995 it had a population of 62,800.Slutsk was first mentioned in writing in 1116....
, Shklov and Amstislav, before being appointed rabbi of Luban where he served for sixteen years. Under increasing pressure from the Soviet regime
Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a Constitution of the Soviet Union socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991.The name is a translation of the , romanization of Russian Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated ????, SSSR....
, he moved with his family to New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
 in 1936 where he lived for the rest of his life.

Settling on the Lower East Side
Lower East Side, Manhattan

The Lower East Side is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen St., E....
, he became the 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....
 of Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem
Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem

Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem, is one of the oldest existent yeshivot in New York City, and is renowned for being the institution led by Rabbi Moshe Feinstein....
. He later established a branch of the yeshiva in Staten Island, New York, now headed by his son 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....
. His son 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....
 heads the Manhattan
Manhattan

Manhattan is one of the five borough of New York City, located primarily on Manhattan Island at the mouth of the Hudson River.With a United States Census of 1,620,867 living in a land area of 22.96 square miles , Manhattan, coextensive with New York County, is the most population density county in the United States, w...
 branch.

He was president of the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada and chaired the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah
Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah

The Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah ????? ????? ????? is the name for the councils that are the supreme rabbinical policy-making bodies of the two Ashkenazi Jews Haredi Judaism political groups in Israel, Degel HaTorah and Agudat Israel, and for the social and political group in the United States that serves as the highest ranking rabbinic policy b...
 of Agudath Israel of America
Agudath Israel of America

Agudath Israel of America , is a Haredi Judaism Jewish communal organization in the United States loosely affiliated with the international World Agudath Israel....
 from the 1960s until his death. Rabbi Feinstein also took an active leadership role in Israel’s 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....
.

Rabbi Feinstein was revered by many as the Gadol Hador
Gadol

Gadol or godol ???? , is a Hebrew term used mostly by Haredi Judaism Litvish Jews to refer to the most revered rabbis 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....
 (greatest Torah sage of the generation), including by Rabbi Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky
Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky

Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky, known as The Steipler or The Steipler Gaon , was a rabbi, Talmudic scholar, and posek .He was born in the Ukraine town of Horensteipl, from which his appellation, "the Steipler", was later derived....
, Rabbi Yonasan Steif
Yonasan Steif

Rabbi Yonasan Steif was a senior dayan of Budapest, Hungary, before the Second World War, a man whom Rabbi Moshe Feinstein referred to as the gadol hador ....
, Rabbi Elyah Lopian
Elyah Lopian

Eliyohu Lopian , known as Reb Elyah, was among the most prominent rabbis of the Mussar movement. As a disciple of the Kelm Talmud Torah method, he was known for his strict keeping of order and strong self-control....
, 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 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....
 and Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, even though several of them were far older than he. He was universally recognized as the preeminent Torah sage and 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....
 of his generation, and people from around the world called upon him to answer their most complicated Halachic questions.

Rabbi Feinstein participated in the Rabbis' march on Washington on October 6, 1943.

Notable decisions


Owing to his prominence as an adjudicator of Jewish law
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....
, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein was asked the most difficult questions, in which he issued a number of innovative or controversial decisions. Soon after arriving in the United States, he established a reputation for handling business and labor disputes. For instance, he wrote about strikes, seniority, and fair competition. Later, he served as the chief Halakhic authority for the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists
Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists

The Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists is an organization of scientists that focuses on the interrelationships between science and Orthodox Judaism Halakha ....
, which suited his growing involvement with Jewish medical ethics
Jewish medical ethics

Jewish medical ethics is a modern scholarly and clinical approach to medical ethics that draws upon Jewish thought and teachings. Pioneered by Rabbi Immanuel Jakobovits in the 1950s, Jewish medical ethics centers mainly around an applied ethics drawing upon traditional halakhah....
 cases. In the medical arena, he fiercely opposed the early, unsuccessful heart transplants and, over time, it is unclear if he shifted toward acceptance of brain death
Brain death

Brain death isa legal definition of death that emerged in the 1960s as a response to the ability to resuscitate individuals and mechanically keep the heart and lungs working....
 criteria. The last 'responsa', printed after he had passed away, suggested it. On such matters, he consulted with various scientific experts, including his son-in-law Rabbi Dr. Moshe Dovid Tendler who is a professor of biology
Biology

Biology is a branch of the natural sciences concerned with the study of living organisms and their interaction with each other and their environment ....
 and serves as a rosh yeshiva at Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University

Yeshiva University is a private university in New York City, with six campuses in New York and one in Israel. Founded in 1886, it is a leading research institution, ranked 50th in the United States among national universities in 2008.....
.

As a leader of American Orthodoxy, moreover, Feinstein issued opinions that clearly distanced his community from Conservative
Conservative Judaism

Conservative Judaism is a modern Jewish denominations of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s....
 and Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism

Reform Judaism refers to the spectrum of beliefs, practices and organizational infrastructure associated with Reform Judaism in Reform Judaism and in Reform Judaism ....
. Nevertheless, he faced intense opposition within Orthodoxy on several controversial decisions, such as rulings on artificial insemination
Artificial insemination

Artificial insemination is the process by which spermatozoon is placed into the reproductive tract of a female for the purpose of impregnating the female by using means other than sexual intercourse....
 and eruv
Eruv

A community Eruv refers to the legal aggregation or "mixture" under Halakha of separate parcels of property meeting certain requirements into a single parcel held in common by all the holders of the original parcels, which enables Jews who Shomer Shabbat to carry children and belongings anywhere within the jointly held property without trans...
. Indeed, on the former, Rabbi Feinstein may be read as having reversed or seriously qualified his position. In the case of his position not to prohibit cigarette smoking
Jewish law and history on smoking

This article addresses the history of, and Halakha that applies to, tobacco and cigarette tobacco smoking by Jews from the early modern period to the present day....
, Orthodox rabbinic authorities overruled, in effect, his decision after his death. He made noteworthy decisions on the following topics:

  • Artificial insemination
    Artificial insemination

    Artificial insemination is the process by which spermatozoon is placed into the reproductive tract of a female for the purpose of impregnating the female by using means other than sexual intercourse....
     from a non-Jewish donor (EH I:10,71, II:11, IV:32.5)
  • Cosmetic surgery (HM II:66)
  • Bat Mitzvah for girls (OH I:104 (1956), OH II:97 (1959), OH IV:36)
  • Brain death
    Brain death

    Brain death isa legal definition of death that emerged in the 1960s as a response to the ability to resuscitate individuals and mechanically keep the heart and lungs working....
     as an indication of death under Jewish law (YD IV:54)
  • Cheating
    Cheating

    'Cheating' is an act of lying, deception, fraud, trickery, imposture, or imposition. Cheating characteristically is employed to create an unfair advantage, usually in one's own interest, and often at the expense of others....
     for the N.Y. Regents exams
    Regents Examinations

    Regents High School examinations, or simply The Regents, are exams given to students seeking high school Regents credit through the New York State Education Department, designed and administered under the authority of the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York....
     (HM II:30)
  • Classical music
    Classical music

    Classical music is a broad term that usually refers to mainstream music produced in, or rooted in the traditions of Western art history Religious music and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 9th century to present times....
     in religious settings (YD II:111)
  • Commemorating the Holocaust, Yom ha-Shoah (YD IV:57.11)
  • Conservative Judaism
    Conservative Judaism

    Conservative Judaism is a modern Jewish denominations of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s....
    , including its clergy and schools (e.g., YD II:106-107)
  • Donating blood for pay (HM I:103)
  • Education
    Education

    File:Inukshuk Monterrey 1.jpgEducation can be seen as a product or a process and considered in a broad sense or a technical sense. According to philosophy of education George F....
     of girls (e.g., YD II:109, YD II:113 YD III:87.2)
  • End-of-life
    Euthanasia

    Euthanasia refers to the practice of ending a life in a painless manner. Many different forms of euthanasia can be distinguished, including euthanasia and human euthanasia, and within the latter, voluntary and involuntary euthanasia....
     medical care
  • Eruv
    Eruv

    A community Eruv refers to the legal aggregation or "mixture" under Halakha of separate parcels of property meeting certain requirements into a single parcel held in common by all the holders of the original parcels, which enables Jews who Shomer Shabbat to carry children and belongings anywhere within the jointly held property without trans...
     projects in New York City
  • Financial ethics (HM II:29))
  • Hazardous medical operations
  • Heart transplantation
    Heart transplantation

    HistoryThe first heart transplant involving a human was carried out by a team led by Dr James D Hardy on the of 23 of January 1964 at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, when the heart of a chimpanzee was transplanted into the chest of a dying man....
     (YD 2:174.3)
  • Labor union and related employment privileges (e.g., HM I:59)
  • Mehitza (esp. OH I:39)
  • Psychiatric care
    Psychiatry

    Psychiatry is a Medicine Specialty devoted to the Treatment of mental disorders, Biomedical research and Prevention of mental disorder. The term was first coined by the German physician Johann Christian Reil in 1808....
     (YD II:57)
  • Separation of Siamese twins
  • Shaking hands
    Handshake

    A handshake is a short ritual in which two people grasp each other's right or left hand often accompanied by a brief up and down movement of the grasped hands....
     between men and women (OH I:113; EH I:56; EH IV:32)
  • Smoking marijuana (YD III:35)
  • Tay-Sachs fetus abortion
    Abortion

    An abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by the removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus from the uterus, resulting in or caused by its death....
    , esp. in debate with Rabbi Eliezer Waldenberg
    Eliezer Waldenberg

    Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Waldenberg was known as the Tzitz Eliezer after his monumental Halakha treatise Tzitz Eliezer that covers a wide breadth of halacha, including Jewish medical ethics, as well as ritual halachic issues from Shabbat to kashrut....
     
  • Smoking cigarettes
    Tobacco smoking

    Tobacco smoking is the inhalation of smoke from burned dried or cured leaves of the tobacco plant, most often in the form of a cigarette. People may smoke casually for pleasure, habitually to satisfy an addiction to the nicotine present in tobacco and to the act of smoking, or in response to social pressure....
     
  • Veal
    Veal

    Veal is the meat of calves . Though veal can be produced from any calf, most veal comes from male calves of dairy cattle breeds. Compared to other meats, veal has a delicate taste and tender texture....
     raised in factory conditions (HM I:103)
Note: Responsa in Igrot Moshe are cited in parentheses

Death

Rabbi Moshe Feinstein died on the 23 March 1986 (13th of Adar II, 5746 on the Hebrew calendar). It has been pointed out that the 5746th verse in the Torah reads, "And it came to pass after Moshe had finished writing down the words of this Torah in a book to the very end." (Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible and of the Old Testament. In form it is a set of three sermons delivered by Moses reviewing the previous forty years of wandering in the wilderness; its central element is a detailed law-code by which the Children of Israel are to live in the Promised Land....
 31:24). This is taken by some as a fitting epitaph for him.

At the time he was regarded as Orthodoxy's foremost rabbinic scholar and 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....
. His funeral in Israel
Israel

Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....
 was delayed by a day due to mechanical problems to the plane carrying his coffin, which had to return to New York. His funeral in Israel
Israel

Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....
 was said to be the largest among Jews since the Mishnaic era, with an estimated attendance of 300,000 people. Among the eulogizers in America were Rabbis Yaakov Yitzchak Ruderman
Yaakov Yitzchak Ruderman

Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman was a prominent Talmudic scholar and Rabbi who founded and served as Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Ner Israel in Baltimore, Maryland....
, David Lipschutz, Shraga Moshe Kalmanowitz, Nissan Alpert, Moshe David Tendler
Moshe David Tendler

Moshe David Tendler is the rabbi of The Community Synagogue of Monsey, New York. He is a senior Rosh Yeshiva at Yeshiva University's RIETS and the Rabbi Isaac and Bella Tendler Professor of Jewish Medical Ethics and Professor of Biology at Yeshiva College ....
, Michel Barenbaum and Mordechai Tendler. The Satmar Rebbe
Moshe Teitelbaum (Satmar)

Rabbi Moshe Teitelbaum was a Hasidic Judaism rebbe and the world leader of the Satmar , which is believed to be the largest Hasidic community in the world, with some 100,000 followers....
 and his son Reuven also spoke.

In Israel, Rabbis Elazar Menachem Shach, Dovid Povarsky, Yitzchak Yaakov Weiss, Yehuda Tzadkah, Rabbi Feinstein's son Reuven
Reuven Feinstein

Rabbi Reuven Feinstein is the Rosh Yeshiva of the residence hall of Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem, located in Staten Island, New York....
 and Rabbi Feinsteins's nephew Rabbi Michel Feinstein, all tearfully expressed grief over what they termed a massive loss to the generation.

Rabbi Feinstein was held in such great esteem that 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....
, who was himself regarded as a Torah giant, Talmid Chacham
Talmid Chacham

Talmid Chacham is an honorific title given to one well versed in Jewish law, in effect, a Torah scholar.Prizing Torah knowledge above all worldly goods, Talmidei Chachamim in Judaism society were afforded many privileges and prerogatives as well as duties....
 and 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....
, refused to eulogize him, saying "Who am I to eulogize him? I studied his sefarim; I was his talmid (student)."

Rabbi Feinstein was buried on Har HaMenuchot
Har HaMenuchot

Har HaMenuchot is a cemetery in Jerusalem, Israel. The cemetery, located in Givat Shaul, opened in 1951. Many important rabbis and Jewish leaders are buried there....
 in proximity to his teacher, Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer
Isser Zalman Meltzer

Isser Zalman Meltzer, , was a famous Lithuanian Orthodox Judaism rabbi, rosh yeshiva and posek. He is also known as the "Even HaEzel", after the title of his commentary on Rambam's Mishne Torah....
; his friend, 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....
; his son-in-law Rabbi Moshe Shisgal and next to the Belzer
Belz (Hasidic dynasty)

Belz is a Hasidic Judaism named for the town of Belz, a small town in Western Ukraine. The town has existed since at least the 10th century with the Jewish community being established during the 14th century....
 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....
.

Prominent students

Rabbi Moshe invested much time molding some of his select students to become leaders in Rabbinics and Halacha. Those students, over the years, spent countless hours a day serving as apprentices to their great Rabbi. Most are considered authorities in many areas of practical Halacha and Rabbinic
Rabbinic

Rabbinic may refer to:* Rabbinic literature, Rabbinic texts, writings, and works* Rabbinics or rabbinic traditions - see Oral Torah* Rabbinic Judaism, Rabbinics , Rabbinic Jews, or Rabbinic beliefs...
 and Talmudic academics. Some of those students are:

  • 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....
    , (New York), his son
  • 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....
    , (New York), his son
  • Rabbi Nissan Alpert, (New York, NY)
  • Rabbi Moshe David Tendler, (New York, NY), his son-in-law
  • Rabbi J. David Bleich
    J. David Bleich

    J. David Bleich is an authority on Halakha and ethics, including and Jewish medical ethics. He is rabbi of Cong. B'nei Jehuda. He is a professor of Talmud at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, an affiliate of Yeshiva University, as well as head of its postgraduate institute for the study of Talmudic jurisprudence and family law...
    , (New York, NY)
  • Rabbi Avrohom Blumenkrantz
    Avrohom Blumenkrantz

    Rabbi Avrohom Blumenkrantz was a prominent United States Orthodox Judaism rabbi. He was a widely consulted authority on the laws of Passover kashrut and published an annual Passover guide for many years....
    , (Far Rockaway, NY)
  • Rabbi Elimelech Bluth, (Brooklyn, NY)
  • HaRav Chaim Ozer Chait, (Far Rockaway, NY)


Works


Rabbi Feinstein's greatest renown stemmed from a lifetime of responding to halachic queries posed by Jews in America and worldwide. He wrote about two thousand responsa
History of Responsa

History of responsa in Judaism spans a period of 1,700 years. Responsa#In Judaism constitute a special class of rabbinic literature, differing in form, but not necessarily in content, from Rabbinic commentaries devoted to the exegesis of the Tanakh, the Mishnah, the Talmud, and halakha ....
 on a huge range of issues that affect Jewish practice in the modern era. Some responsa may be found in his Talmudic commentary (Dibros Moshe), some circulate informally, and 1,883 responsa were published in Igrot Moshe. Among Rabbi Feinstein's works:

  • Igros Moshe; (Epistles of Moshe), a classic eight-volume work of Halachic responsa.
  • Dibros Moshe (Moshe's Words), an eleven-volume work of 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....
    ic novellae.
  • Darash Moshe (Moshe Expounds, a reference to Leviticus
    Leviticus

    Leviticus is third book of the Torah , the name given in Judaism to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible .Leviticus contains laws and priestly rituals, but in a wider sense is about the working out of Covenant set out in Genesis and Exodus - what is seen in the Torah as the consequences of entering into a special relationship with God...
     10:16), novellae on the Torah
    Torah

    The term "Torah" , or Five Books of Moses or Pentateuch, refers to the entirety of Judaism's founding Halakha and ethical religious texts....
     (published posthumously).


Some of Rabbi Feinstein's early works, including a commentary on the Talmud Yerushalmi
Jerusalem Talmud

The Jerusalem Talmud or Talmud Yerushalmi , often the Yerushalmi for short, is a collection of rabbi notes about the Jewish Oral law as detailed in the 2nd-century Mishnah....
, were destroyed by the Soviet authorities.

Bibliography

  • Ellenson, David. "Two Responsa of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein." Chronicle of Hebrew Union College, Volume LII, Nos. 1 and 2, Fall 2000-2001.* Rabbi Shimon Finkelman, Rabbi Nosson Scherman. Reb Moshe: The Life and Ideals of HaGaon Rabbi Moshe Feinstein. Brooklyn, NY: ArtScroll Mesorah, 1986. ISBN 0-89906-480-9.


| chapter = The Theological and Halakhic Legitimacy of Medical Therapy and Enhancement }}*
  • _________. "Jewish education for women: Rabbi Moshe Feinstein's map of America." American Jewish history, 1995
  • Rackman, Emanuel. "Halachic progress: Rabbi Moshe Feinstein's Igrot Moshe on Even ha-Ezer" in Judaism 12 (1964), 365-373
  • Robinson, Ira. "Because of our many sins: The contemporary Jewish world as reflected in the responsa of Moses Feinstein" 2001
  • Rosner, Fred. "Rabbi Moshe Feinstein's Influence on Medical Halacha" Journal of Halacha and Contemporary Society
    Journal of Halacha and Contemporary Society

    The Journal of Halacha and Contemporary Society is a semiannual, Orthodox Jewish, academic journal published by Rabbi Jacob Joseph School twice annually and edited by Rabbi Alfred Cohen....
    . No. XX, 1990
  • __________. Rabbi Moshe Feinstein on the treatment of the terminally ill." Judaism. Spring 37(2):188-98. 1988
  • Warshofsky, Mark E. "Responsa and the Art of Writing: Three Examples from the Teshuvot of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein," in An American Rabbinate: A Festschrift for Walter Jacob Pittsburgh, Rodef Shalom Press, 2001 ()


External links

  • – A retrospective of Rav Moshe Feinstein’s life, with recollections on his character as a person.
  • Igros Moshe is available for free online at . Type into the sefer box for pdf
    Portable Document Format

    Portable Document Format is a file format created by Adobe Systems in 1993 for document exchange. PDF is used for representing two-dimensional documents in a manner independent of the application software, hardware, and operating system....
    s of all eight volumes.