Yechezkel Sarna
Encyclopedia
Rabbi Yechezkel Sarna (1890–1969) was the successor to Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel, the Alter of Slabodka
, as the spiritual mentor of that Yeshiva. He moved it from Europe to Hebron
in 1925 and following the Hebron Massacre of 1929 to Jerusalem. In 1934 he assumed the position of Rosh Yeshiva
. Over the years, he produced thousands of students, many of whom became prominent roshei yeshiva and Rabbis in Israel
and abroad.
, Russia
, on the 28th Shevat
in 1890. His father, Rabbi Yaakov Chaim, was the city's shochet and melamed
, and later its maggid
. Rabbi Sarna's mother, Aidel, was the daughter of Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Buxenbaum, a chassid of the Chiddushei Harim, and author of Rechovos Ir, a commentary on Midrash Rabba. Rabbi Sarna received his primary education from his father, as well as at the cheder
in Horodok.
When he was 11, he was sent to the Ohr Hachaim Yeshiva
in Slabodka, headed by Rabbi Tzvi Levitan, a student of the Alter of Kelm
. During the year that he studied there, he was exposed to the musar teachings of the mashgiach
, Rabbi Eliyahu Laicrovits.
In 1902, he journeyed to Maltsch
to study under Rabbi Zalman Sender Kahana-Shapiro, who also presided as the Chief Rabbi of the city. Due to an internal conflict in the yeshiva, Sender left Maltsch, and transferred to Kriniki, barely a year after Sarna had arrived. Without a mentor, Sarna left Maltsch and returned around 1903 to Slabodka, to study in Knesses Beis Yitzchok, headed by Rabbi Chaim Rabinowitz
.
In 1904 Rabinowitz invited Sarna to join a group of select students he took along with him while being transferred to the Telz Yeshiva. When the yeshiva temporarily closed in 1906, Sarna returned to Moltsh, studying under Rabbi Shimon Shkop
. One year later, he returned to Knesses Yisroel Yeshiva in Slabodka, where he became one of the yeshiva's best students. He drew attention of Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel, the "Alter (elder) of Slabodka", who played a major role in his spiritual growth. Describing their special relationship, Sarna wrote, "Without the Alter, I would have been like a blind and a deaf person. He opened my eyes and my ears, and I acquired my entire approach to Torah study from him."
, the entire Slabodka Yeshiva fled to Minsk
. Like all of the yeshiva's students, Sarna secured forged affidavits in order to avoid the draft
. However, he was caught and imprisoned. He managed to escape from prison and flee to the home of a relative, Rabbi Yehoshua Zimbalist. Soon after, he escaped to Smilowitz where the Chofetz Chaim and his students had taken refuge.
Shortly after the Slabodka Yeshiva had arrived in Minsk, which was near the battlefront, it was forced to flee to a safer city, Kremenchuk
. However, Sarna chose not to join the yeshiva, but remained in Smilowitz, studying for a year and a half in an inn with the students of the Radin Yeshiva. During this period, he developed close relationships with the Chofetz Chaim and Radin's rosh yeshiva
, Rabbi Naftoli Trop
, and later referenced this brief period as one of the most beautiful in his life.
After the revolution
, Rabbi Sarna returned to the Knesses Yisroel Yeshiva in Kremenchug. Two years later, he married Pesha Miriam Epstein, the daughter of Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Epstein
, one of the Yeshiva heads.
Shortly after World War I, the yeshiva managed to leave Russia and to return to Slabodka, which, after the war, was re-annexed to Lithuania
. At one point, the Alter asked Rabbi Sarna to deliver shiurim (lectures) in the yeshiva, but he declined the offer, explaining that he preferred to devote the early years of his life to Torah study. Although Rabbi Sarna held no official position in the yeshiva, his influence there was keenly felt.
In 1924, following the edict requiring enlistment in the military or supplementary secular studies in the yeshiva, the decision was made to transfer the yeshiva to Eretz Yisroel. Sarna was sent to Eretz Yisroel to choose a site for the yeshiva and to coordinate its establishment there. After evaluating various options he chose the city of Hebron
. Consequently, Knesses Yisroel became the first Lithuanian yeshiva to transfer to Eretz Yisroel. At that period, Sarna assumed a significant role in the yeshiva's leadership, delivering shiurim (lectures) and coordinating study schedules. In the beginning of 1927, the Alter fell seriously ill, and Sarna began to deliver musar discourses in the yeshiva.
In the course of 1929 Palestine riots
24 of the yeshiva's students had been killed and many were injured. Sarna succeeded in reestablishing the yeshiva in Jerusalem. He renamed it "Hebron", in memory of those who were massacred in that city. While Rabbi Leib Chasman, the yeshiva's mashgiach, dedicated himself to encouraging the students, Sarna took the task of fund raising for the yeshiva, he traveled extensively, even making several trips trip to the United States.
In a letter to Rabbi Isaac Sher of Slabodka, he wrote, "The first weeks were very difficult, since the students were both destitute and despondent. But by the 15th of Elul
, they returned to themselves, and by Rosh Hashana, the yeshiva began to function in full force."
When his father-in-law, Rabbi Moshe Mordechai, died in 1934, five years after the Hebron Massacre, Rav Yechezkel was officially appointed Rosh Yeshiva of Hebron.
. After the founding of the State of Israel, Rav Yechezkel served as one of the leaders of the Chinuch Atzmai
Torah School Network. Although he shunned direct political involvement, Rabbi Sarna had a strong affinity for Agudas Yisroel
, and he was an active member of its Council of Torah Sages.
Despite the involvement in community and Jewish projects, Hebron Yeshiva and its students remained his lifework. He delivered shiurim in halacha and musar every week at the yeshiva and in his own home. For seven years, he also delivered discourses on the laws and meaning of Shabbat
. In 1936, with the passing of the yeshiva's mashgiach, Rav Yehuda Leib Chasman, Sarna assumed that role himself.
As rosh yeshiva and mashgiach, he acted warmly toward his students. This attitude is apparent in one of his letters, in which he wrote, "Yesterday, I entered the yeshiva close to midnight, and found thirty students studying with exceptional fervor. At that time, I thought, 'Fortunate is the generation which has merited such young people. May Hashem protect them and bless them.'"
Over time, his brothers-in-law, Rav Aaron Cohen and Rav Moshe Chevroni, were appointed roshei yeshiva of Chevron, while Rav Meir Chadash was appointed mashgiach. Later, Rav Hillel Paley, Rav Simcha Zissel Broide and Rav Avrohom Farbstein were also invited to become Roshei Yeshiva there.
for intensive treatment. Two days before his death, he was reported to have said, "It is Elul
and the students are surely studying with added hasmada. My illness won't disturb their Elul mood." He died on 6 Elul and was buried beside his father-in-law R. Moshe Mordechai Epstein, on the Mount of Olives
.
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...
, as the spiritual mentor of that Yeshiva. He moved it from Europe to Hebron
Hebron
Hebron , is located in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judean Mountains, it lies 930 meters above sea level. It is the largest city in the West Bank and home to around 165,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Jewish settlers concentrated in and around the old quarter...
in 1925 and following the Hebron Massacre of 1929 to Jerusalem. In 1934 he assumed the position of 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...
. Over the years, he produced thousands of students, many of whom became prominent roshei yeshiva and Rabbis in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and abroad.
Early years
Sarna was born in HorodokHorodok
Horodok may refer to:*Horodok, Khmelnytskyi Oblast, Ukraine*Horodok, Lviv Oblast, Ukraine*Horodok -See also:*Gorodok, name of several rural localities in Russia*Haradok, a town in Vitebsk Region, Belarus...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, on the 28th Shevat
Shevat
Shevat is the fifth month of the civil year and the eleventh month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. It is a winter month of 30 days...
in 1890. His father, Rabbi Yaakov Chaim, was the city's shochet and melamed
Melamed
See also:Melamed Melamed, Melammed is a term which in Biblical times denoted a religious teacher or instructor in general , but which in the Talmudic period was applied especially to a teacher of children, and was almost invariably followed by the word "tinokot"...
, and later its maggid
Maggid
Maggid , sometimes spelled as magid, is a traditional Eastern European Jewish religious itinerant preacher, skilled as a narrator of Torah and religious stories. A preacher of the more scholarly sort was called a "darshan", and usually occupied the official position of rabbi...
. Rabbi Sarna's mother, Aidel, was the daughter of Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Buxenbaum, a chassid of the Chiddushei Harim, and author of Rechovos Ir, a commentary on Midrash Rabba. Rabbi Sarna received his primary education from his father, as well as at the cheder
Cheder
A Cheder is a traditional elementary school teaching the basics of Judaism and the Hebrew language.-History:...
in Horodok.
When he was 11, he was sent to the Ohr Hachaim 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...
in Slabodka, headed by Rabbi Tzvi Levitan, a student of the Alter of Kelm
Simcha Zissel Ziv
Rabbi Simcha Zissel Ziv Broida , also known as the Alter of Kelm , was one of the foremost students of Rabbi Yisrael Salanter and one of the early leaders of the Musar movement...
. During the year that he studied there, he was exposed to the musar teachings of the mashgiach
Mashgiach
In Judaism, a Mashgiach is a person who supervises the kashrut status of a kosher establishment.A mashgiah may supervise any type of food service establishment, including slaughterhouses, food manufacturers, hotels, caterers, nursing homes, restaurants, butchers, groceries, or cooperatives...
, Rabbi Eliyahu Laicrovits.
In 1902, he journeyed to Maltsch
Malczyce
Malczyce is a village in Środa Śląska County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland, lying on the river Oder . It is the seat of township Gmina Malczyce. Prior to 1945 it was part of Germany....
to study under Rabbi Zalman Sender Kahana-Shapiro, who also presided as the Chief Rabbi of the city. Due to an internal conflict in the yeshiva, Sender left Maltsch, and transferred to Kriniki, barely a year after Sarna had arrived. Without a mentor, Sarna left Maltsch and returned around 1903 to Slabodka, to study in Knesses Beis Yitzchok, headed by Rabbi Chaim Rabinowitz
Chaim Rabinowitz
Chaim Shalom Tuvia Rabinowitz was an Orthodox Lithuanian rabbi and rosh yeshiva of the Telshe yeshiva...
.
In 1904 Rabinowitz invited Sarna to join a group of select students he took along with him while being transferred to the Telz Yeshiva. When the yeshiva temporarily closed in 1906, Sarna returned to Moltsh, studying under Rabbi Shimon Shkop
Shimon Shkop
Shimon Yehuda Hakohen Shkop was a rosh yeshiva in the Yeshiva Shaar Hatorah and in the Telshe yeshiva and a renowned Talmudic scholar. He was born in Torez in 1860. At the age of twelve he went to study in the Mir yeshiva, and at fifteen he went to Volozhin yeshiva where he studied six years...
. One year later, he returned to Knesses Yisroel Yeshiva in Slabodka, where he became one of the yeshiva's best students. He drew attention of Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel, the "Alter (elder) of Slabodka", who played a major role in his spiritual growth. Describing their special relationship, Sarna wrote, "Without the Alter, I would have been like a blind and a deaf person. He opened my eyes and my ears, and I acquired my entire approach to Torah study from him."
World War I
With the outbreak of World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the entire Slabodka Yeshiva fled to Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
. Like all of the yeshiva's students, Sarna secured forged affidavits in order to avoid the draft
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
. However, he was caught and imprisoned. He managed to escape from prison and flee to the home of a relative, Rabbi Yehoshua Zimbalist. Soon after, he escaped to Smilowitz where the Chofetz Chaim and his students had taken refuge.
Shortly after the Slabodka Yeshiva had arrived in Minsk, which was near the battlefront, it was forced to flee to a safer city, Kremenchuk
Kremenchuk
Kremenchuk is an important industrial city in the Poltava Oblast of central Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Kremenchutskyi Raion , the city itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast, and is located on the banks of Dnieper River.-History:Kremenchuk was...
. However, Sarna chose not to join the yeshiva, but remained in Smilowitz, studying for a year and a half in an inn with the students of the Radin Yeshiva. During this period, he developed close relationships with the Chofetz Chaim and Radin's 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...
, Rabbi Naftoli Trop
Naftoli Trop
Rabbi Naftoli Trop was the Rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim in Raduń, Poland. He was a renowned Talmudist and Talmid Chacham.-Early years:...
, and later referenced this brief period as one of the most beautiful in his life.
After the revolution
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
, Rabbi Sarna returned to the Knesses Yisroel Yeshiva in Kremenchug. Two years later, he married Pesha Miriam Epstein, the daughter of 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:...
, one of the Yeshiva heads.
Shortly after World War I, the yeshiva managed to leave Russia and to return to Slabodka, which, after the war, was re-annexed to 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...
. At one point, the Alter asked Rabbi Sarna to deliver shiurim (lectures) in the yeshiva, but he declined the offer, explaining that he preferred to devote the early years of his life to Torah study. Although Rabbi Sarna held no official position in the yeshiva, his influence there was keenly felt.
Palestine
Hebron
Hebron , is located in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judean Mountains, it lies 930 meters above sea level. It is the largest city in the West Bank and home to around 165,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Jewish settlers concentrated in and around the old quarter...
. Consequently, Knesses Yisroel became the first Lithuanian yeshiva to transfer to Eretz Yisroel. At that period, Sarna assumed a significant role in the yeshiva's leadership, delivering shiurim (lectures) and coordinating study schedules. In the beginning of 1927, the Alter fell seriously ill, and Sarna began to deliver musar discourses in the yeshiva.
In the course of 1929 Palestine riots
1929 Palestine riots
The 1929 Palestine riots, also known as the Western Wall Uprising, the 1929 Massacres, , or the Buraq Uprising , refers to a series of demonstrations and riots in late August 1929 when a long-running dispute between Muslims and Jews over access to the Western Wall in Jerusalem escalated into violence...
24 of the yeshiva's students had been killed and many were injured. Sarna succeeded in reestablishing the yeshiva in Jerusalem. He renamed it "Hebron", in memory of those who were massacred in that city. While Rabbi Leib Chasman, the yeshiva's mashgiach, dedicated himself to encouraging the students, Sarna took the task of fund raising for the yeshiva, he traveled extensively, even making several trips trip to the United States.
In a letter to Rabbi Isaac Sher of Slabodka, he wrote, "The first weeks were very difficult, since the students were both destitute and despondent. But by the 15th of Elul
Elul
Elul is the twelfth month of the Jewish civil year and the sixth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. It is a summer month of 29 days...
, they returned to themselves, and by Rosh Hashana, the yeshiva began to function in full force."
When his father-in-law, Rabbi Moshe Mordechai, died in 1934, five years after the Hebron Massacre, Rav Yechezkel was officially appointed Rosh Yeshiva of Hebron.
Community involvement and leadership
With the start of World War II and the Holocaust, Sarna expanded the scope of his activities: he was among the founders of the Vaad Yeshivos, and was also active in the Vaad HatzalahVaad 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...
. After the founding of the State of Israel, Rav Yechezkel served as one of the leaders of the 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....
Torah School Network. Although he shunned direct political involvement, Rabbi Sarna had a strong affinity for Agudas Yisroel
Agudas Yisroel
Agudas Yisroel may refer to:* World Agudath Israel, the political arm of Ashkenazi Torah Judaism* Agudat Israel, the original political party representing the ultra-Orthodox population of Israel...
, and he was an active member of its Council of Torah Sages.
Despite the involvement in community and Jewish projects, Hebron Yeshiva and its students remained his lifework. He delivered shiurim in halacha and musar every week at the yeshiva and in his own home. For seven years, he also delivered discourses on the laws and meaning of Shabbat
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
. In 1936, with the passing of the yeshiva's mashgiach, Rav Yehuda Leib Chasman, Sarna assumed that role himself.
As rosh yeshiva and mashgiach, he acted warmly toward his students. This attitude is apparent in one of his letters, in which he wrote, "Yesterday, I entered the yeshiva close to midnight, and found thirty students studying with exceptional fervor. At that time, I thought, 'Fortunate is the generation which has merited such young people. May Hashem protect them and bless them.'"
Over time, his brothers-in-law, Rav Aaron Cohen and Rav Moshe Chevroni, were appointed roshei yeshiva of Chevron, while Rav Meir Chadash was appointed mashgiach. Later, Rav Hillel Paley, Rav Simcha Zissel Broide and Rav Avrohom Farbstein were also invited to become Roshei Yeshiva there.
Final Days
In his last months Sarna kept davening in the yeshiva and delivering shiurim. In 1969 Rav Yechezkel was taken to Hadassah Ein Kerem HospitalHadassah Medical Center
Hadassah Medical Center is a medical organization that operates two University hospitals at Ein Kerem and Mount Scopus in Jerusalem, Israel, as well as schools of medicine, dentistry, nursing, and pharmacology affiliated with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.The hospital was founded by Hadassah,...
for intensive treatment. Two days before his death, he was reported to have said, "It is Elul
Elul
Elul is the twelfth month of the Jewish civil year and the sixth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. It is a summer month of 29 days...
and the students are surely studying with added hasmada. My illness won't disturb their Elul mood." He died on 6 Elul and was buried beside his father-in-law R. Moshe Mordechai Epstein, on the Mount of Olives
Mount of Olives
The Mount of Olives is a mountain ridge in East Jerusalem with three peaks running from north to south. The highest, at-Tur, rises to 818 meters . It is named for the olive groves that once covered its slopes...
.
External links and references
- Rabbi Yechezkel Sarna (tzemachdovid.org)
- Rearrangement of the KuzariKuzariThe Kitab al Khazari, commonly called the Kuzari, is one of most famous works of the medieval Spanish Jewish philosopher and poet Rabbi Yehuda Halevi, completed around 1140. Its title is an Arabic phrase meaning Book of the Khazars...
by Rav. Sarna, Transl. Rabbi Avraham Davis; Metsudah 1986