Moshe Mordechai Epstein
Encyclopedia
Moshe Mordechai Epstein (1866-1934) was Rosh Yeshiva
of Yeshiva Knesseth Yisrael in Slabodka
, Lithuania
and is recognized as having been one of the leading Talmud
ists of the twentieth century.
, in the Vilna
district of Lithuania, on the 20th of Adar
, 5626 (1866), to Rabbi Tzvi Chaim and Baila Chana Epstein. His father, who served as the rabbi of Bakst, had been affectionately referred to during his days in the Volozhin yeshiva
as "the Black Genius". Little Moshe Mordechai's genius was detected from a very early age. The child prodigy began studying in the Volozhin yeshiva at the age of 16, under the guidance of the legendary Torah giant Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik
. There, he met his brother-in-law-to-be, Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer
, and, in 1889, married Menucha Frank, the eldest "Frank sister".
families of that era was that of Rabbi Shraga Feivel Frank, a wealthy fur merchant in Kovno, Lithuania, and a devoted follower of Torah and mussar. Rabbi Frank, who died of pneumonia at the age of 43, left four daughters yet unmarried, and in his will, he asked that his wife, Golda, marry off each daughter to a young man who showed the signs of becoming a "gadol b'yisrael" -- a true leader of the Jewish people, a colossus of Torah in its knowledge, thought, diligence, commitment, and values. Rebbetzin
Frank took this mission very seriously, and she investigated every candidate thoroughly.
In the end, Rabbi Frank's prayer was realized. His sons-in-law became the pillars of Torah Jewry through the next generation, and its guides after the ashes of the Holocaust. When the European strongholds of Torah were replanted in America and Israel, it was the sons-in-law and grandsons of Rabbi Shraga Frank who cultivated it. These four leaders were Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer
of Slabodka and Kletzk, Rabbi Boruch Horowitz of Slabodka, Rabbi Sheftel Kramer of Slutzk and later New Haven
, Connecticut
; and Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Epstein.
's foremost disciples: Rabbi Yitzchak Blazer
, known in yeshivos as "Reb Itzele Peterburger". It was there that they became intrigued with the study of mussar.
In 1894, both rabbis started teaching in the famed Slabodka yeshiva, which was not far from Kovno. In 1897, the Alter of Slabodka (Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel; Slabodka's famed mashgiach ruchani
, invited Rabbi Epstein to become the rosh yeshiva. Rabbi Epstein accepted the post, while Rabbi Meltzer moved to the town of Slutsk to lead the Ridvaz's yeshiva there. The Slabodka yeshiva flourished under the joint leadership of Rabbis Eptein and Finkel, and many of its students were crucial in nurturing the spiritual level of the Jewish people in subsequent generations. For a list of notables, see Slabodka yeshiva
.
In 1924, Rabbi Epstein, the Alter, and most of the yeshiva, relocated to Hebron
, in what was then British Mandate for Palestine. The yeshiva thrived for five years in Hebron as it had in Lithuania. In late August 1929, Arab mobs, incited by the antisemitic Mufti of Jerusalem
, swarmed the yeshiva, killing 68 Jews and wounding many more, in an event now known as the 1929 Hebron massacre
. In the aftermath, the British authorities evacuated the rest of the Jewish community. The yeshiva was relocated to the Geula
section of Jerusalem. In 1975 Chevron Yeshiva moved to its current location in Givat Mordechai
.
, who succeeded Rabbi Epstein as Rosh yeshiva of Chevron after his death. Rabbi Epstein had only one son, Rabbi Chaim Shraga Feivel, whom he named after his father-in-law. Rabbi Epstein authored the Levush Mordechai, which contains his chiddushim, or novellae, on the entire Talmud.
Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Epstein died in Jerusalem in 1933, corresponding to the Hebrew date
10 of Kislev
5694.
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 Yeshiva Knesseth Yisrael in 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...
, 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...
and is recognized as having been one of the leading Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
ists of the twentieth century.
Childhood
Rabbi Epstein was born in the town of BakstBakst
Bakst is a surname, and may refer to:* Léon Bakst, a Russian painter and scene- and costume- designer* Ryszard Bakst, a British pianist and piano music teacher of Jewish/Polish/Russian origin....
, in the Vilna
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
district of Lithuania, on the 20th of Adar
Adar
Adar is the sixth month of the civil year and the twelfth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. It is a winter month of 29 days...
, 5626 (1866), to Rabbi Tzvi Chaim and Baila Chana Epstein. His father, who served as the rabbi of Bakst, had been affectionately referred to during his days in the Volozhin yeshiva
Volozhin yeshiva
The Volozhin Yeshiva, also known as Etz Chaim Yeshiva, was a prestigious Lithuanian yeshiva located in the town of Volozhin, Russia, . It was founded by Rabbi Chaim Itzkovitz, a student of the famed Vilna Gaon, and trained several generations of scholars, rabbis, and leaders...
as "the Black Genius". Little Moshe Mordechai's genius was detected from a very early age. The child prodigy began studying in the Volozhin yeshiva at the age of 16, under the guidance of the legendary Torah giant Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik
Chaim Soloveitchik
Chaim Soloveitchik , also known as Reb Chaim Brisker, was a rabbi and Talmudic scholar credited as the founder of the popular Brisker approach to Talmudic study within Judaism. He was born in Volozhin in 1853, where his father, Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik served as a lecturer in the famous...
. There, he met his brother-in-law-to-be, Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer
Isser Zalman Meltzer
Isser Zalman Meltzer, , was a famous Lithuanian Orthodox rabbi, rosh yeshiva and posek. He is also known as the "Even HaEzel" - the title of his commentary on Rambam's Mishne Torah....
, and, in 1889, married Menucha Frank, the eldest "Frank sister".
The Frank sisters
Perhaps one of the most influential and illustrious TorahTorah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
families of that era was that of Rabbi Shraga Feivel Frank, a wealthy fur merchant in Kovno, Lithuania, and a devoted follower of Torah and mussar. Rabbi Frank, who died of pneumonia at the age of 43, left four daughters yet unmarried, and in his will, he asked that his wife, Golda, marry off each daughter to a young man who showed the signs of becoming a "gadol b'yisrael" -- a true leader of the Jewish people, a colossus of Torah in its knowledge, thought, diligence, commitment, and values. Rebbetzin
Rebbetzin
Rebbitzin or Rabbanit is the title used for the wife of a rabbi, typically from the Orthodox, or Haredi, and Hasidic Jewish groups...
Frank took this mission very seriously, and she investigated every candidate thoroughly.
In the end, Rabbi Frank's prayer was realized. His sons-in-law became the pillars of Torah Jewry through the next generation, and its guides after the ashes of the Holocaust. When the European strongholds of Torah were replanted in America and Israel, it was the sons-in-law and grandsons of Rabbi Shraga Frank who cultivated it. These four leaders were Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer
Isser Zalman Meltzer
Isser Zalman Meltzer, , was a famous Lithuanian Orthodox rabbi, rosh yeshiva and posek. He is also known as the "Even HaEzel" - the title of his commentary on Rambam's Mishne Torah....
of Slabodka and Kletzk, Rabbi Boruch Horowitz of Slabodka, Rabbi Sheftel Kramer of Slutzk and later New Haven
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
; and Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Epstein.
Leadership
After his marriage, Rabbi Epstein moved to his wife's hometown, in Kovno, and was joined there two years later by Rabbi Meltzer, following his marriage to Rabbi Epstein's sister-in-law, Baila Hinda Frank. In Kovno, the two scholars studied under the renowned mussar master, one of Rabbi Yisrael SalanterYisrael Salanter
Rabbi Yisroel Lipkin, better known as "Yisroel Salanter" or "Israel Salanter" , was the father of the Musar movement in Orthodox Judaism and a famed Rosh yeshiva and Talmudist...
's foremost disciples: Rabbi Yitzchak Blazer
Yitzchak Blazer
Yitzchak Blazer , also known as Reb Itzelle Peterburger, was one of the early leaders of the Musar movement, a Jewish ethical movement based in Lithuania. He was a student of the founder of the movement, Yisrael Salanter, and was responsible for publishing many of Salanter's letters in Or Yisrael...
, known in yeshivos as "Reb Itzele Peterburger". It was there that they became intrigued with the study of mussar.
In 1894, both rabbis started teaching in the famed Slabodka yeshiva, which was not far from Kovno. In 1897, the Alter of Slabodka (Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel; Slabodka's famed mashgiach ruchani
Mashgiach ruchani
Mashgiach ruchani or mashgiach for short, means a spiritual supervisor or guide. It is a title which usually refers to a rabbi who has an official position within a yeshiva and is responsible for the non-academic areas of yeshiva students' lives.The position of mashgiach ruchani arose with the...
, invited Rabbi Epstein to become the rosh yeshiva. Rabbi Epstein accepted the post, while Rabbi Meltzer moved to the town of Slutsk to lead the Ridvaz's yeshiva there. The Slabodka yeshiva flourished under the joint leadership of Rabbis Eptein and Finkel, and many of its students were crucial in nurturing the spiritual level of the Jewish people in subsequent generations. For a list of notables, see Slabodka yeshiva
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...
.
In 1924, Rabbi Epstein, the Alter, and most of the yeshiva, relocated 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 what was then British Mandate for Palestine. The yeshiva thrived for five years in Hebron as it had in Lithuania. In late August 1929, Arab mobs, incited by the antisemitic Mufti of Jerusalem
Mohammad Amin al-Husayni
Haj Mohammed Effendi Amin el-Husseini was a Palestinian Arab nationalist and Muslim leader in the British Mandate of Palestine. From as early as 1920, in order to secure the independence of Palestine as an Arab state he actively opposed Zionism, and was implicated as a leader of a violent riot...
, swarmed the yeshiva, killing 68 Jews and wounding many more, in an event now known as the 1929 Hebron massacre
1929 Hebron massacre
The Hebron massacre refers to the killing of sixty-seven Jews on 23 and 24 August 1929 in Hebron, then part of the British Mandate of Palestine, by Arabs incited to violence by rumors that Jews were massacring Arabs in Jerusalem and seizing control of Muslim holy places...
. In the aftermath, the British authorities evacuated the rest of the Jewish community. The yeshiva was relocated to the Geula
Geula
Geula is a neighborhood in the center of Jerusalem, Israel populated mainly by Haredi Jews. Geula is bordered by Zikhron Moshe and Mekor Baruch on the west, the Bukharim neighborhood on the north, Meah Shearim on the east and the Jerusalem city center on the south.-History:Geula was established in...
section of Jerusalem. In 1975 Chevron Yeshiva moved to its current location in Givat Mordechai
Givat Mordechai
Givat Mordechai, is a Jewish neighborhood in southwest-central Jerusalem, Israel, midway between the neighborhoods of Nayot and Malcha. The neighborhood was named after an American philanthropist, Maxwell Abbell of Chicago...
.
Legacy
Rabbi Epstein was known to share a warm relationship with Rabbi Finkel. The Alter later became Rabbi Epstein's mechutan, when the latter's daughter married the Alter's son, Moshe Finkel. Rabbi Epstein's other daughter married Rabbi Yechezkel SarnaYechezkel Sarna
Rabbi Yechezkel Sarna 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...
, who succeeded Rabbi Epstein as Rosh yeshiva of Chevron after his death. Rabbi Epstein had only one son, Rabbi Chaim Shraga Feivel, whom he named after his father-in-law. Rabbi Epstein authored the Levush Mordechai, which contains his chiddushim, or novellae, on the entire Talmud.
Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Epstein died in Jerusalem in 1933, corresponding to the Hebrew date
Hebrew calendar
The Hebrew calendar , or Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today predominantly for Jewish religious observances. It determines the dates for Jewish holidays and the appropriate public reading of Torah portions, yahrzeits , and daily Psalm reading, among many ceremonial uses...
10 of Kislev
Kislev
Kislev Kislev Tiberian ; also Chislev is the third month of the civil year and the ninth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar....
5694.