Mordechai Gifter
Encyclopedia
Rabbi Mordechai Gifter (October 15, 1915 - January 18, 2001) was the rosh yeshiva
of the Telz Yeshiva in Cleveland and among the foremost religious leaders of Orthodox Jewry in the late 20th century. He studied in yeshiva
s in Lithuania and held several rabbinical positions in the United States of America.
. He was raised in Baltimore, Maryland where his father Reb Yisroel owned a grocery. He attended the Baltimore City Public Schools and received his religious education in after-school programs. He had a younger brother and sister, both who predeceased him.
As a young man Gifter studied in the Rabbi Isaac Elchonon Theological Seminary of Yeshiva University
in New York, New York, under the tutelage of Rabbi Moshe Soloveichik
. His uncle, Dr. Samuel Saar, was the Dean
of the Seminary. In 1932 at Saar's advice, Gifter traveled to Lithuania
to study in the Telshe Yeshiva
.
Gifter was immediately accepted for admission and placed in advanced classes. He developed a strong bond with Rabbi Zalman Bloch, the Dean of Students
at the yeshiva. He eventually became engaged to Bloch's daughter. In 1937, prior to his wedding, Gifter returned home to the United States to visit his parents in Baltimore
. He planned on returning to Lithuania
for his wedding and to resume his studies.
When it became obvious that he would be unable to return due to the political climate of the late 1930s, he arranged for his bride's family to join him in the United States. Only his bride came; the family chose not to abandon their community in its time of greatest need. The Gifters married in Baltimore, with Mrs. Gifter's family still in war-torn Lithuania
.
Shortly thereafter, Gifter was appointed to the pulpit of the Nusach Ari
Synagogue in northwest Baltimore. He soon became well known as an invigorating speaker and refined orator. His lectures and addresses became popular throughout the Baltimore area, and his national reputation began to grow as well. In addition to his rabbinic position Gifter was appointed an adjunct lecturer at the expanding Ner Israel Rabbinical College headed by Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman. He was the first native Baltimorean to lead a congregation in the city.
In 1941 Rabbi moved to Waterbury, Connecticut
and assumed a rabbinic pulpit in that community. In 1944 Rabbi Gifter was called to moved to Cleveland, Ohio
to join the faculty of his alma mater, the newly re-established Rabbinical College of Telshe, which was moved from Telshe, Lithuania to Cleveland. The original school and Telshe community were almost completely destroyed by the Nazis and Lithuanian militia. In 1964 he was appointed assistant Dean to Rabbi Boruch Sorotzkin.
In 1977, Rabbi Gifter brought 20 students from Cleveland to Israel and opened a branch of the college in the town of Kiryat Ye'arim (Telz-Stone) near Jerusalem, leaving Rabbi Sorotzkin in charge of the Cleveland campus. In addition to teaching his students, Rabbi Gifter delivered a shiur (Torah lecture) on the Minchas Chinuch on Fridays in Jerusalem, attracting many Torah scholars. Notes from that shiur were eventually compiled in a sefer
called Pitei Mincha. When Rabbi Sorotzkin died in 1979, Rabbi Gifter was sent back to the United States to lead the Cleveland campus and the Israeli branch closed. Rabbi Gifter never recovered from the tremendous loss that he felt for his first love, Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel), and did not return to his on-campus residence, but moved into small quarters in the students' dormitory to accentuate his feeling of being in "golus" (exile).
For many years he led the presidium and leadership council (Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah
) of Agudath Israel of America
. He was one of the electrifying speakers in the Jewish world. Rabbi Gifter maintained a relationship with his first faculty position at Ner Israel Rabbinical College, returning to Baltimore annually to visit his daughter and son-in-law and friends.
Gifter died in 2001, having suffered numerous ailments (Alzheimer's Disease
) for many years prior to his passing.
He was eulogized by Rabbi Dovid Barkin
amongst others.
He was survived by his wife, three sons and three daughters. His eldest son Rabbi Binyomin Gifter who together with his brothers are working on publishing the works of his father; His son-in-law Rabbi Ephraim Eisenberg served as Lecturer and Associate Dean of Ner Israel Rabbinical College in Baltimore prior to his passing in 2002.
Other survivors are his son Rabbi Yisroel Gifter of Lakewood, New Jersey. and his sons in law Rabbi Yaakov Reisman, rav of Congregation Agudath Yisroel of Long Island in Far Rockaway
, New York
and Rabbi Avrohom Chaim Feuer, writer, author and lecturer and former rav of Kehillas Beis Avrohom of Monsey, New York, presently Shaarei Chessed, Jerusalem.
, Jerusalem, Israel.
He published numerous many books on Jewish Law, philosophy, theology and bible. He was a frequent contributor to many scholarly journals including the Western Reserve University Law Review.
Among his books are:
Hebrew:
English:
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...
of the Telz Yeshiva in Cleveland and among the foremost religious leaders of Orthodox Jewry in the late 20th century. He studied in 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...
s in Lithuania and held several rabbinical positions in the United States of America.
Biography
Mordechai Gifter was born in 1915, in Portsmouth, VirginiaPortsmouth, Virginia
Portsmouth is located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the city had a total population of 95,535.The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard, is a historic and active U.S...
. He was raised in Baltimore, Maryland where his father Reb Yisroel owned a grocery. He attended the Baltimore City Public Schools and received his religious education in after-school programs. He had a younger brother and sister, both who predeceased him.
As a young man Gifter studied in the Rabbi Isaac Elchonon Theological Seminary of 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 research university ranked as 45th in the US among national universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2012...
in New York, New York, under the tutelage of Rabbi Moshe Soloveichik
Moshe Soloveichik
Moshe Soloveitchik , was an Orthodox rabbi. He was the second son of renowned rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik and grandson of the Beis HaLevi. He married Pesya Feinstein, daughter of the renowned Rabbi of Pruzany, Rabbi Eliyahu Feinstein, and first cousins with Rabbi Moshe Feinstein.At the age of 31, he...
. His uncle, Dr. Samuel Saar, was the Dean
Dean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
of the Seminary. In 1932 at Saar's advice, Gifter traveled 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...
to study in the Telshe Yeshiva
Telshe yeshiva
Telshe yeshiva was a famous Eastern European yeshiva founded in the Lithuanian town of Telšiai. After World War II the yeshiva relocated to Wickliffe, Ohio, in the United States and is currently known as the Rabbinical College of Telshe, It is one of the most prominent Haredi institutions of Torah...
.
Gifter was immediately accepted for admission and placed in advanced classes. He developed a strong bond with Rabbi Zalman Bloch, the Dean of Students
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...
at the yeshiva. He eventually became engaged to Bloch's daughter. In 1937, prior to his wedding, Gifter returned home to the United States to visit his parents in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
. He planned on returning 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...
for his wedding and to resume his studies.
When it became obvious that he would be unable to return due to the political climate of the late 1930s, he arranged for his bride's family to join him in the United States. Only his bride came; the family chose not to abandon their community in its time of greatest need. The Gifters married in Baltimore, with Mrs. Gifter's family still in war-torn 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...
.
Shortly thereafter, Gifter was appointed to the pulpit of the Nusach Ari
Nusach Ari
Nusach Ari means, in a general sense, any prayer rite following the usages of Rabbi Isaac Luria, the AriZal, in the 16th century, and, more particularly, the version of it used by Chabad Hasidim....
Synagogue in northwest Baltimore. He soon became well known as an invigorating speaker and refined orator. His lectures and addresses became popular throughout the Baltimore area, and his national reputation began to grow as well. In addition to his rabbinic position Gifter was appointed an adjunct lecturer at the expanding Ner Israel Rabbinical College headed by Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman. He was the first native Baltimorean to lead a congregation in the city.
In 1941 Rabbi moved to Waterbury, Connecticut
Waterbury, Connecticut
Waterbury is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, on the Naugatuck River, 33 miles southwest of Hartford and 77 miles northeast of New York City...
and assumed a rabbinic pulpit in that community. In 1944 Rabbi Gifter was called to moved to Cleveland, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
to join the faculty of his alma mater, the newly re-established Rabbinical College of Telshe, which was moved from Telshe, Lithuania to Cleveland. The original school and Telshe community were almost completely destroyed by the Nazis and Lithuanian militia. In 1964 he was appointed assistant Dean to Rabbi Boruch Sorotzkin.
In 1977, Rabbi Gifter brought 20 students from Cleveland to Israel and opened a branch of the college in the town of Kiryat Ye'arim (Telz-Stone) near Jerusalem, leaving Rabbi Sorotzkin in charge of the Cleveland campus. In addition to teaching his students, Rabbi Gifter delivered a shiur (Torah lecture) on the Minchas Chinuch on Fridays in Jerusalem, attracting many Torah scholars. Notes from that shiur were eventually compiled in a sefer
Sefer (Hebrew)
Sefer in simple Hebrew is a word that means any kind of "book" It is derived from the same Hebrew root-word as sofer , sifriyah and safrut ....
called Pitei Mincha. When Rabbi Sorotzkin died in 1979, Rabbi Gifter was sent back to the United States to lead the Cleveland campus and the Israeli branch closed. Rabbi Gifter never recovered from the tremendous loss that he felt for his first love, Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel), and did not return to his on-campus residence, but moved into small quarters in the students' dormitory to accentuate his feeling of being in "golus" (exile).
For many years he led the presidium and leadership council (Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah
Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah
Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah refers to the supreme rabbinical policy-making council of any of several related Haredi Jewish organizations....
) 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:...
. He was one of the electrifying speakers in the Jewish world. Rabbi Gifter maintained a relationship with his first faculty position at Ner Israel Rabbinical College, returning to Baltimore annually to visit his daughter and son-in-law and friends.
Gifter died in 2001, having suffered numerous ailments (Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
) for many years prior to his passing.
He was eulogized by Rabbi Dovid Barkin
Dovid Barkin
Rabbi Dovid Barkin is a former Rosh Yeshiva of the famed Telshe yeshiva in Cleveland, Ohio.Rabbi Dovid Barkin married Miriam, the daughter of Telzer Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Eliyahu Meir Bloch...
amongst others.
He was survived by his wife, three sons and three daughters. His eldest son Rabbi Binyomin Gifter who together with his brothers are working on publishing the works of his father; His son-in-law Rabbi Ephraim Eisenberg served as Lecturer and Associate Dean of Ner Israel Rabbinical College in Baltimore prior to his passing in 2002.
Other survivors are his son Rabbi Yisroel Gifter of Lakewood, New Jersey. and his sons in law Rabbi Yaakov Reisman, rav of Congregation Agudath Yisroel of Long Island in Far Rockaway
Far Rockaway, Queens
Far Rockaway is a neighborhood on the Rockaway Peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens in the United States. It is the easternmost section of the Rockaways. The neighborhood starts at the Nassau County line and extends west to Beach 32nd Street. The neighborhood is part of Queens Community...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and Rabbi Avrohom Chaim Feuer, writer, author and lecturer and former rav of Kehillas Beis Avrohom of Monsey, New York, presently Shaarei Chessed, Jerusalem.
Works
Rabbi Gifter was a prolific writer. As a young man he authored articles on some of the most complicated issues in Jewish Law. They were published in the Talmudic law Journal of Rabbi Tzvi Pesach FrankTzvi Pesach Frank
Rabbi Tzvi Pesach Frank was a renowned halachic scholar and the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem for several decades.-Biography:...
, Jerusalem, Israel.
He published numerous many books on Jewish Law, philosophy, theology and bible. He was a frequent contributor to many scholarly journals including the Western Reserve University Law Review.
Among his books are:
Hebrew:
- Pirkei Torah - Commentary on the Bible.
- Hirhurei Teshuva - Commentary on Maimonides' Laws of Repentance.
- Pitei Mincha - Commentary on the Minchas Chinuch.
- Pirkei Iyun - Commentary on the Talmudic Tractate Makkos.
- Pirkei Moed - Commentary on the Festivals.
English:
- Torah Perspectives - Essay on a variety of topics.
- Pirkei Torah - Commentary on the Bible.