Mir yeshiva (Brooklyn)
Encyclopedia
The Mir yeshiva commonly known as the Mirrer Yeshiva or The Mir, is officially registered with the College Board
as the Mirrer Yeshiva Central Institute. It is a prominent, Haredi
yeshiva
located in Brooklyn, New York known for its excellence in talmudic studies.
Its long-time Rosh Yeshiva
was Rabbi Shmuel Berenbaum
, who died on January 6, 2008. Rabbi Berenbaum was a son-in-law of the founder of the Brooklyn branch of the Mir Yeshiva, Rabbi Avraham Kalmanowitz. Mayor Michael Bloomberg issued a statement praising Berenbaum, noting that he built the Jewish academy "into one of the largest centers for Torah study in the world." Steven Bayme, national director of contemporary Jewish life at the American Jewish Congress
said the yeshiva helped preserve "a world that was otherwise lost."
The original Mirrer Yeshiva was founded in 1815, in Mir, Belarus
, and remained in operation there until 1914. With the outbreak of World War I
, the yeshiva moved to Poltava
, Ukraine
, under the leadership of Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Finkel, son of the legendary Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel (the Alter of Slabodka
), and son-in-law of Rabbi Elya Boruch Kamai, his renowned predecessor. In 1921, the yeshiva moved back to its original facilities in Mir, where it remained until Nazi Germany
invaded Poland
in 1939 marking the beginning of the Holocaust. Although many of the foreign-born students left when the Soviet
army invaded from the east, the yeshiva continued to operate, albeit on a reduced scale, until the approaching Nazi
armies caused the leaders of the yeshiva to move the entire yeshiva community to Keidan
, Lithuania
. As the Nazi armies continued to push to the east, the yeshiva as a whole eventually fled across Siberia
by train
to the Far East
, and finally reopened in Kobe
, Japan
in 1941. Several smaller yeshivos managed to escape alongside the Mir, and, despite the difficulties involved, the overseers of the Mirrer yeshiva undertook full responsibility for their support, distributing funds and securing quarters and food for all the students. A short time later, the yeshiva relocated again, to (Japanese-controlled) Shanghai
, China
, where they remained until the end of World War II
. The heroism of the Japanese consul-general in Lithuania, Chiune Sugihara
, who issued several thousand transit visas to Jews, permitting them to travel in order to flee to Japan, has been the subject of several books.
Following the end of the war, the majority of the Jewish refugees
from Shanghai ghetto
left for Mandate Palestine
and the United States
. Among them were the survivors from the Mir Yeshiva, who re-established the yeshiva, this time with two campuses, one in Jerusalem, Israel
and this one in Brooklyn, New York.
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40.60503°N 73.966389°W
College Board
The College Board is a membership association in the United States that was formed in 1900 as the College Entrance Examination Board . It is composed of more than 5,900 schools, colleges, universities and other educational organizations. It sells standardized tests used by academically oriented...
as the Mirrer Yeshiva Central Institute. It is a prominent, Haredi
Haredi Judaism
Haredi or Charedi/Chareidi Judaism is the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism, often referred to as ultra-Orthodox. A follower of Haredi Judaism is called a Haredi ....
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...
located in Brooklyn, New York known for its excellence in talmudic studies.
Its long-time 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...
was Rabbi Shmuel Berenbaum
Shmuel Berenbaum
Rabbi Shmuel Berenbaum was the rosh yeshiva of the Mir yeshiva in Brooklyn, New York City which includes an elementary school and a high school, as well as its post-graduate Talmudical Academy, and a Kollel.-History:...
, who died on January 6, 2008. Rabbi Berenbaum was a son-in-law of the founder of the Brooklyn branch of the Mir Yeshiva, Rabbi Avraham Kalmanowitz. Mayor Michael Bloomberg issued a statement praising Berenbaum, noting that he built the Jewish academy "into one of the largest centers for Torah study in the world." Steven Bayme, national director of contemporary Jewish life at the American Jewish Congress
American Jewish Congress
The American Jewish Congress describes itself as an association of Jewish Americans organized to defend Jewish interests at home and abroad through public policy advocacy, using diplomacy, legislation, and the courts....
said the yeshiva helped preserve "a world that was otherwise lost."
History
- See also Mir Yeshiva (Poland)Mir yeshiva (Poland)The Mir yeshiva , commonly known as the Mirrer Yeshiva or The Mir, was a Haredi yeshiva located in the town of Mir, Russian Empire...
The original Mirrer Yeshiva was founded in 1815, in Mir, Belarus
Mir, Belarus
Mir is an urban settlement in Kareličy raion, Hrodna Voblast, Belarus on the banks of Miranka River, about 85 kilometers southwest of the national capital, Minsk....
, and remained in operation there until 1914. With the outbreak of World War I
World 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 yeshiva moved to Poltava
Poltava
Poltava is a city in located on the Vorskla River in central Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Poltava Oblast , as well as the surrounding Poltava Raion of the oblast. Poltava's estimated population is 298,652 ....
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, under the leadership of Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Finkel, son of the legendary Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel (the Alter of Slabodka
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...
), and son-in-law of Rabbi Elya Boruch Kamai, his renowned predecessor. In 1921, the yeshiva moved back to its original facilities in Mir, where it remained until Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
invaded Poland
Invasion of Poland (1939)
The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...
in 1939 marking the beginning of the Holocaust. Although many of the foreign-born students left when the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
army invaded from the east, the yeshiva continued to operate, albeit on a reduced scale, until the approaching Nazi
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
armies caused the leaders of the yeshiva to move the entire yeshiva community to Keidan
Kedainiai
Kėdainiai is one of the oldest cities in Lithuania. It is located on the Nevėžis River. First mentioned in the 1372 Livonian Chronicle of Hermann de Wartberge, its population as of 2008 was 30,214. Its old town dates to the 17th century....
, 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...
. As the Nazi armies continued to push to the east, the yeshiva as a whole eventually fled across Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
by train
Train
A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
to the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
, and finally reopened in Kobe
Kobe
, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in 1941. Several smaller yeshivos managed to escape alongside the Mir, and, despite the difficulties involved, the overseers of the Mirrer yeshiva undertook full responsibility for their support, distributing funds and securing quarters and food for all the students. A short time later, the yeshiva relocated again, to (Japanese-controlled) Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, where they remained until the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The heroism of the Japanese consul-general in Lithuania, Chiune Sugihara
Chiune Sugihara
was a Japanese diplomat who served as Vice-Consul for the Japanese Empire in Lithuania. During World War II, he helped several thousand Jews leave the country by issuing transit visas to Jewish refugees so that they could travel to Japan. Most of the Jews who escaped were refugees from...
, who issued several thousand transit visas to Jews, permitting them to travel in order to flee to Japan, has been the subject of several books.
Following the end of the war, the majority of the Jewish refugees
Jewish refugees
In the course of history, Jewish populations have been expelled or ostracised by various local authorities and have sought asylum from antisemitism numerous times...
from Shanghai ghetto
Shanghai ghetto
The Shanghai ghetto, formally known as the , was an area of approximately one square mile in the Hongkou District of Japanese-occupied Shanghai, to which about 20,000 Jewish refugees were relocated by the Japanese-issued Proclamation Concerning Restriction of Residence and Business of Stateless...
left for Mandate Palestine
Mandate Palestine
Mandate Palestine existed while the British Mandate for Palestine, which formally began in September 1923 and terminated in May 1948, was in effect...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Among them were the survivors from the Mir Yeshiva, who re-established the yeshiva, this time with two campuses, one in Jerusalem, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and this one in Brooklyn, New York.
Faculty
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- Rabbi Osher Dov Berenbaum (son of Rav Shmuel Berenbaum zt"l)
- Rabbi Elya Brudny (son of Rav Shmuel Brudny zt"l)
- Rabbi Ezriel Erlanger (mashgiachMashgiachIn 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...
, son-in-law of Rav Shlomo WolbeShlomo WolbeRabbi Shlomo Wolbe was a Haredi rabbi born in Berlin and died in Jerusalem. He is best known as the author of Alei Shur , a work of musar literature discussing personal growth as it pertains to students of the Talmud.-Life and teaching positions:Shlomo Wolbe was raised in an irreligious Jewish...
zt"l of Jerusalem) - Rabbi Eliezer Ginsburg, Rosh KollelKollelA kollel is an institute for full-time, advanced study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features shiurim and learning sedarim ; unlike a yeshiva, the student body of a kollel are all married men...
(who is also the RavRavRav 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 Agudas YisroelAgudas YisroelAgudas 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...
shul, snif Zichron Shmuel) - (grandson of Rav Yechezkel LevensteinYechezkel LevensteinYechezkel Levenstein, known as Reb Chatzkel, , was the mashgiach ruchani of the Mir yeshiva, in Mir, Belarus and during the yeshiva's flight to Lithuania and on to Shanghai due to the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany in World War II...
zt"l) - Rabbi Osher Eliyahu Kalmanowitz (son of Rav Shraga Moshe Kalmanowitz zt"l)
- Rabbi Herschel Kaminsky (son-in-law of Rav Shmuel Berenbaum zt"l)
- Rabbi Dovid KviatDovid KviatRabbi Dovid Kviat was a Rosh Yeshiva in the Mirrer Yeshiva in Brooklyn and the Rabbi of the Agudas Yisroel Synagogue of 18th Avenue....
zt"l - author of the Sukkas Dovid series on the Talmud. - Rabbi Avrohom Nelkenbaum - (brother-in-law of Rav Shraga Moshe Kalmanowitz zt"l). Also the posek for the yeshiva
- Rabbi Reuven Schepansky (son-in-law of Rav Shmuel Berenbaum zt"l)
- Rabbi Herschel Zolty (son-in-law of Rav Shraga Moshe Kalmanowitz zt"l)
Prominent alumni
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- Rabbi Samuel BelkinSamuel BelkinRabbi Samuel Belkin is best known as the second University President of Yeshiva University. A distinguished Torah scholar, he is credited with leading Yeshiva University through a period of substantial expansion .-Biography:...
- Rabbi Abba BermanAbba BermanRabbi Abba Mordechai Berman was a renowned Talmudist and Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas Iyun HaTalmud.Reb Abba was born on Tu BiShvat 5679 in Lodz, Poland to his father, Rabbi Shaul Yosef Berman, rosh yeshiva of Toras Chesed in Lodz and a student of the Chofetz Chayim. As a young child, Reb Abba's...
- Rabbi Zvi Block
- Rabbi Zev "Velvel" Gordon
- Rabbi Lazar GulkowitschLazar GulkowitschLazar Gulkowitsch was an eminent Jewish Studies scholar.-Life:Born in Zirin , Belarus as the son of a merchant, he attended school in Baranavichy and then the famous Mir Yeshiva...
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- Rabbi Avraham JacobovitzAvraham JacobovitzRabbi Avraham Jacobovitz is an Israeli born Charedi rabbi, who founded and Jewish Awareness America , to educate Jewish college students about Jewish heritage and values.-Early life:Born in 1950 in Tel Aviv to Hagaon Rav Yehuda Jacobovitz זצ"ל and Mrs...
- Rabbi Meir KahaneMeir KahaneMartin David Kahane , also known as Meir Kahane , was an American-Israeli rabbi and ultra-nationalist writer and political figure. He was an ordained Orthodox rabbi and later served as a member of the Israeli Knesset...
- Rabbi Aryeh KaplanAryeh KaplanAryeh Moshe Eliyahu Kaplan was a noted American Orthodox rabbi and author known for his "intimate knowledge of both physics and kabbalah." He was lauded as an original thinker and prolific writer, from studies of the Torah, Talmud and mysticism to introductory pamphlets on Jewish beliefs and...
- Rabbi Yisrael Mendel KaplanYisrael Mendel KaplanRabbi Israel Mendel Kaplan or Yisrael Mendel Kaplan , known as "Reb Mendel" served as a teacher in the Hebrew Theological College in Chicago and in the Philadelphia Yeshiva to many of the men who were to become the leaders of Orthodox American Jewry.-Early life:Yisrael Mendel Kaplan was born in...
- Rabbi Moshe Kaplan
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- Rabbi Dovid Kronglass
- Rabbi Yaakov LubanYaakov LubanRabbi Yaakov Luban is the rabbi of Congregation Ohr Torah in Edison, New Jersey, USA. He is also the Executive Rabbinic Coordinator at the Orthodox Union. He learned under Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz in the Mir yeshiva in Jerusalem, Israel. He also learned in Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia and in...
- Rabbi Herman N. NeubergerHerman N. NeubergerHermann Naftali Neuberger was an Orthodox rabbi and leader. He was the brother of Albert Neuberger CBE FRS FRCP.- Younger years :...
- Rabbi Pesach SteinPesach SteinRabbi Pesach Yitzhak Stein was a renowned Rosh Yeshiva at the Telz Yeshiva in Cleveland, Ohio.-Biography:Stein was born in Breinsk in 1918...
- Rabbi Shraga Feivel ZimmermanShraga Feivel ZimmermanRabbi Shraga Feivel Halevy Zimmerman is the ABD of the Jewish community in Gateshead. He took up his appointment in 2008, in succession to Rabbi Bezalel Rakow, who died in 2003...
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External links
40.60503°N 73.966389°W