Rabbi
Yaakov Kamenetsky (February 28, 1891-March 10, 1986), was a prominent
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...
,
posekPosek is the term in Jewish law for "decider"—a legal scholar who decides the Halakha in cases of law where previous authorities are inconclusive....
and Talmudist in the post-
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
American Jewish community.
He was born in the hamlet of Kalushkove,
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...
, in 1891. Shortly afterwards his family moved to the village of
DolhinovDaŭhinava is a village in the Vileyka district of the Minsk Province of Belarus. It is located 51 miles north of Minsk, 25 miles ENE of Vilejka...
where he grew up. He studied in
MinskMinsk is the capital and largest city in Belarus, situated on the Svislach and Niamiha rivers. Minsk is also a headquarters of the Commonwealth of Independent States . As the national capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is also the administrative centre of Minsk...
and then for 21 years in
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...
under Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel. It was there that he met his lifelong friend Rabbi
Aharon KotlerRabbi Aharon Kotler was a prominent leader of Orthodox Judaism in Lithuania, and later the United States of America, where he built one of the first yeshivas in the US.-Early life:...
, who would go on to found the Lakewood yeshiva.
Rabbi
Yaakov Kamenetsky (February 28, 1891-March 10, 1986), was a prominent
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...
,
posekPosek is the term in Jewish law for "decider"—a legal scholar who decides the Halakha in cases of law where previous authorities are inconclusive....
and Talmudist in the post-
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
American Jewish community.
He was born in the hamlet of Kalushkove,
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...
, in 1891. Shortly afterwards his family moved to the village of
DolhinovDaŭhinava is a village in the Vileyka district of the Minsk Province of Belarus. It is located 51 miles north of Minsk, 25 miles ENE of Vilejka...
where he grew up. He studied in
MinskMinsk is the capital and largest city in Belarus, situated on the Svislach and Niamiha rivers. Minsk is also a headquarters of the Commonwealth of Independent States . As the national capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is also the administrative centre of Minsk...
and then for 21 years in
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...
under Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel. It was there that he met his lifelong friend Rabbi
Aharon KotlerRabbi Aharon Kotler was a prominent leader of Orthodox Judaism in Lithuania, and later the United States of America, where he built one of the first yeshivas in the US.-Early life:...
, who would go on to found the Lakewood yeshiva. His younger cousin, Rabbi
Yaakov Yitzchak RudermanRabbi Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman was a prominent Talmudic scholar and Rabbi who founded and served as Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Ner Yisroel in Baltimore....
, also grew up in Dolhinov.
While studying in Slabodka, Rabbi Kaminetsky decided he wanted to spend a period in the Kelm Talmud Torah, famous for its focus on task and ability to avoid distraction. However, he knew that if he asked Rabbi Finkel directly he would be refused. Therefore, one day he took a round-about path to the outhouse instead of the direct one he always used. Rabbi Finkel called him over and sent him to Kelm to learn discipline.
Rabbi Kamenetsky was appointed rabbi of
TzitavyanTytuvėnai is a city in the Kelmė district municipality, Lithuania. It is located east of Kelmė. It is known for its Bernardine monastery....
in 1926 and moved to North America in 1937, where he initially took rabbinical positions in
SeattleSeattle is located in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Situated in the western part of Washington State on an isthmus between Puget Sound and Lake Washington, about south of the Canada – United States border, it is named after Chief Sealth, of the Duwamish and Suquamish tribes...
and then
TorontoToronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. With over 2.5 million residents, it is the fifth most populous municipality in North America...
. From 1948 to 1968 he headed Mesivta Torah Vodaath 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 the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
. Along with Rabbi
Moshe FeinsteinMoshe 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 rabbinic authority for Orthodox Jewry of North America...
, he led American Jewry in issues of halachic and spiritual guidance until 1986, when both men died.
Rabbi Kamenetsky was renowned as "
Chakima D'Yehudai", the wise man of the Jews. Aside from his extensive
TorahThe term "Torah" , refers either to the Five Books of Moses or to the entirety of Judaism's founding legal and ethical religious texts...
scholarship, he was known for his ever-present warm smile and his expertise in Hebrew grammar. Today, his son Rabbi
Shmuel KamenetskyRabbi 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...
is considered by many to be among the Gedolei HaDor, the greatest rabbis in America. His other sons are: Rabbis Binyamin (1923-), Avraham, and
Nosson (Nathan) KamenetskyMaking of a Gadol is a two-volume book written and published by Rabbi Nathan Kamenetsky , son of Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky, about the lives of his father and of various other Jewish sages of the 19th...
. His oldest daughter, Malka (1921-), was married to the late Rabbi Yisrael Shurin (d. 2007). A second daughter, Rivka, is married to Rabbi Hirsch Diskind, the Dean Emeritus of Bais Yaakov of Baltimore. Dozens of his descendants serve in key leadership positions across North America and in Israel.
Works
- Emes leYaakov ("Truth to Jacob") - a multi-volume work with insightful commentary on the Torah and Talmud, including grammatical observations on the Hebrew of the Bible (dikduk).
- Iyunim BaMikra - a commentary on Chumash
Chumash is one of the Hebrew names for the Five Books of Moses, also known as the Pentateuch or Torah. The word comes from the Hebrew word for five, chamesh...
External links