Gedalia Schorr
Encyclopedia
Rabbi Gedalyahu Schorr also known as Gedalia Schorr, was a prominent rabbi and rosh yeshiva
. He was regarded as the "first American Gadol
" (Torah giant), an expression coined by Rabbi Aharon Kotler
. Indeed, Rabbi Meir Shapiro
, the famed rosh yeshiva of Chachmei Lublin
, remarked that Rabbi Schorr had the most brilliant mind he ever encountered in America, and one of the most brilliant in the entire world. He said this when Rabbi Schorr was only nineteen years old.
, a shtetl
near Przemyśl
, in 1910, the sixth of Avraham Halevi Schorr's seven children. He was named after his paternal grandfather, Gedalyahu, a highly respected scholar and close Hasid
of the Sadigerer
Rebbe
, a descendant of Rabbi Yisrael of Rizhin
.
The Schorr family came to the United States in 1922, settling first on the Lower East Side
and then moving to Williamsburg, Brooklyn
. Gedalia dedicated himself to learning with a passion that he maintained throughout his life. He soon caught the eye of Rabbi Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz
, principal of Mesivta Torah Vodaas
.
, rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Torah Vodaas
, became ill and was unable to carry on his duties for a year and a half, Rabbi Heiman asked that Rabbi Schorr replace him for the duration of the illness.
After his marriage to Shifra Isbee in 1938, Rabbi Schorr left Torah Vodaas, accompanied by his wife, to study in the Kletzk yeshiva under Rabbi Aharon Kotler. When World War II was dawning, Rabbi Schorr, under pressure from his family, returned to America against the advice of Rabbi Kotler.
After Rabbi Mendlowitz died in 1948, Rabbi Schorr was appointed principal of Torah Vodaas in his stead. He began functioning as rosh yeshivah in 1958 after the death of Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Reuven Grozovsky, delivering weekly classes in Beth Medrash Elyon
.
From 1970 until his death, he served as a member of the presidium of Agudath Israel of America
. A sampling of his shiurim on the Torah can be found in the sefer Ohr Gedalyahu (Light of Gedalyahu), a compendium of novel and lucid discourses on Jewish thought that he delivered in the last three years of his life. He died in Brooklyn
, New York, on July 7, 1979 and was intered on Har HaMenuchot
. He was survived by his wife, who died in 2004, and by four sons and four daughters.
His four sons are Rabbi Yitzchok Meir Schorr - Magid Shiur In Torah V'daas and Rav
of the Alumni Minyan
of Torah V'daas, Rabbi Raphel Schorr - Rosh Yeshiva
in Vishnitz Gibbers and Rav
in Beis Medrash Tifferes Gedalyahu in Monsey (known as one of the most brilliant scholars in America), Rabbi Yisroel Simcha Schorr - Rosh Yeshivah of Ohr Somayach, Monsey
and one of the General Editors of the English and Hebrew translations of Artscroll
's Schottenstein Edition Talmud and Rabbi Avrohm Schorr who serves as Rav of Kahal Tiferes Yaakov in Brooklyn,NY. A sefer by the name of Migdal Ohr on the life of Rabbi Schorr, edited by his son Rabbi Yitzchok Meir Schorr, was published in Brooklyn in 2002.
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...
. He was regarded as the "first American Gadol
Gadol
Gadol or godol גדול , is a Hebrew term used mostly by Haredi Litvish Jews to refer to the most revered rabbis of their generation. These rabbis are usually held in high esteem by other Haredi or Orthodox Jews, though not necessarily to the same degree as by Litvish Jews...
" (Torah giant), an expression coined by Rabbi Aharon Kotler
Aharon Kotler
Aharon Kotler was an Orthodox Jewish rabbi and a prominent leader of Orthodox Judaism in Lithuania, and later the United States, where he built Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood Township, New Jersey.- Early life :...
. Indeed, Rabbi Meir Shapiro
Meir Shapiro
Yehuda Meir Shapiro , , was a prominent Hasidic rabbi and rosh yeshiva, also known as the Lubliner Rav...
, the famed rosh yeshiva of Chachmei Lublin
Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva
Founded by Rabbi Meir Shapiro, the Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva, , was an important centre for Torah study in Poland.-History:On May 22–28, 1924, the cornerstone laying ceremony took place for the construction of the yeshiva building. Approximately 20,000 people participated in the event.The opening...
, remarked that Rabbi Schorr had the most brilliant mind he ever encountered in America, and one of the most brilliant in the entire world. He said this when Rabbi Schorr was only nineteen years old.
Early years
Rabbi Schorr was born in Istrick, PolandPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, a shtetl
Shtetl
A shtetl was typically a small town with a large Jewish population in Central and Eastern Europe until The Holocaust. Shtetls were mainly found in the areas which constituted the 19th century Pale of Settlement in the Russian Empire, the Congress Kingdom of Poland, Galicia and Romania...
near Przemyśl
Przemysl
Przemyśl is a city in south-eastern Poland with 66,756 inhabitants, as of June 2009. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship; it was previously the capital of Przemyśl Voivodeship....
, in 1910, the sixth of Avraham Halevi Schorr's seven children. He was named after his paternal grandfather, Gedalyahu, a highly respected scholar and close Hasid
Hasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...
of the Sadigerer
Sadigura (Hasidic dynasty)
Sadigura is a Hasidic dynasty, one of the branches of the Ruzhiner dynasty.The dynasty began with Rabbi Avrohom Yaakov Friedman of Sadigura now located in Ukraine, who was a son of Rabbi Israel Friedman of Ruzhin, the founder of the Ruzhiner dynasty....
Rebbe
Rebbe
Rebbe , which means master, teacher, or mentor, is a Yiddish word derived from the Hebrew word Rabbi. It often refers to the leader of a Hasidic Jewish movement...
, a descendant of Rabbi Yisrael of Rizhin
Israel Friedmann
Israel Ruzhin, also called Israel Friedmann, Yisroel Friedman of Ruzhyn was a Hasidic rebbe . Known as der heyliker rizhiner , "the holy one from Ruzhin", he was the progenitor of several Hasidic dynasties known collectively by the name Ruzhin.As the son of Rebbe Sholom Shachne of Prhobisht, who...
.
The Schorr family came to the United States in 1922, settling first on the Lower East Side
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
and then moving to Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordering Greenpoint to the north, Bedford-Stuyvesant to the south, Bushwick to the east and the East River to the west. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 1. The neighborhood is served by the NYPD's 90th ...
. Gedalia dedicated himself to learning with a passion that he maintained throughout his life. He soon caught the eye of Rabbi Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz
Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz
Rabbi Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz was an early leader of American Orthodoxy and founder of key institutions such as Torah Vodaath, a Yeshiva in Brooklyn, and Torah U'Mesorah, an outreach and educational organization. He is credited by many to have pioneered authentic Jewish education in the United...
, principal of Mesivta Torah Vodaas
Yeshiva Torah Vodaas
Yeshiva Torah Vodaas is a yeshiva located in the Kensington neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York.- History :...
.
Torah Vodaas and Kletzk
When Rabbi Schorr was only twenty-one years old, Rabbi Mendlowitz appointed him to conduct the highest class in Mesivta Torah Vodaas. In later years, when Rabbi Shlomo HeimanShlomo Heiman
Shlomo Heiman was a Rabbi, Talmudist, and Rosh Yeshiva of the most prominent yeshivas in Europe and America.-In Europe:In 1892, Reb Shlomo was born in Paritsh, Minsk in Belarus. His father was Rabbi Michel Heiman. When he was 12 years old, he went to Kaminetz yeshiva to study under R' Baruch Ber...
, rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Torah Vodaas
Yeshiva Torah Vodaas
Yeshiva Torah Vodaas is a yeshiva located in the Kensington neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York.- History :...
, became ill and was unable to carry on his duties for a year and a half, Rabbi Heiman asked that Rabbi Schorr replace him for the duration of the illness.
After his marriage to Shifra Isbee in 1938, Rabbi Schorr left Torah Vodaas, accompanied by his wife, to study in the Kletzk yeshiva under Rabbi Aharon Kotler. When World War II was dawning, Rabbi Schorr, under pressure from his family, returned to America against the advice of Rabbi Kotler.
After Rabbi Mendlowitz died in 1948, Rabbi Schorr was appointed principal of Torah Vodaas in his stead. He began functioning as rosh yeshivah in 1958 after the death of Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Reuven Grozovsky, delivering weekly classes in Beth Medrash Elyon
Beth Medrash Elyon
Beth Medrash Elyon is a yeshiva in Spring Valley, New York. It was considered one of the elite yeshivas during the 1950s and 1960s. It closed in the 1960s due to disagreements among the leaders of the yeshiva. Its Roshei Yeshiva have included Rabbis Reuven Grozovsky, Gedalia Schorr, and Yaacov...
.
From 1970 until his death, he served as a member of the presidium of Agudath Israel of America
Agudath Israel of America
Agudath Israel of America , is a Haredi Jewish communal organization in the United States loosely affiliated with the international World Agudath Israel.-Functions:...
. A sampling of his shiurim on the Torah can be found in the sefer Ohr Gedalyahu (Light of Gedalyahu), a compendium of novel and lucid discourses on Jewish thought that he delivered in the last three years of his life. He died in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York, on July 7, 1979 and was intered on Har HaMenuchot
Har HaMenuchot
Har HaMenuchot is the largest cemetery in Jerusalem, Israel. It is located at the western edge of the city adjacent to the neighborhood of Givat Shaul, with commanding views of Mevaseret Zion to the north, Motza to the west, and Har Nof to the south.-History:...
. He was survived by his wife, who died in 2004, and by four sons and four daughters.
His four sons are Rabbi Yitzchok Meir Schorr - Magid Shiur In Torah V'daas and Rav
Rav
Rav is the Hebrew word for rabbi. For a more nuanced discussion see semicha. The term is also frequently used by Orthodox Jews to refer to one's own rabbi....
of the Alumni Minyan
Minyan
A minyan in Judaism refers to the quorum of ten Jewish adults required for certain religious obligations. According to many non-Orthodox streams of Judaism adult females count in the minyan....
of Torah V'daas, Rabbi Raphel Schorr - 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...
in Vishnitz Gibbers and Rav
Rav
Rav is the Hebrew word for rabbi. For a more nuanced discussion see semicha. The term is also frequently used by Orthodox Jews to refer to one's own rabbi....
in Beis Medrash Tifferes Gedalyahu in Monsey (known as one of the most brilliant scholars in America), Rabbi Yisroel Simcha Schorr - Rosh Yeshivah of Ohr Somayach, Monsey
Ohr Somayach, Monsey
Ohr Somayach, Monsey, , is an accredited men's college of Judaic studies offering both full and part time programs....
and one of the General Editors of the English and Hebrew translations of Artscroll
ArtScroll
ArtScroll is an imprint of translations, books and commentaries from an Orthodox Jewish perspective published by Mesorah Publications, Ltd., a publishing company based in Brooklyn, New York...
's Schottenstein Edition Talmud and Rabbi Avrohm Schorr who serves as Rav of Kahal Tiferes Yaakov in Brooklyn,NY. A sefer by the name of Migdal Ohr on the life of Rabbi Schorr, edited by his son Rabbi Yitzchok Meir Schorr, was published in Brooklyn in 2002.