Rosh yeshiva, , is the title given to the dean of a Talmudical academy

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...

 (yeshiva). It is made up of the Hebrew words rosh — meaning head, and yeshiva — a school of religious Jewish education. The rosh yeshiva is required to have a vast and penetrating knowledge of the 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....

 and the ability to achieve a level of mastery of his material and an ability to analyse and present new perspectives, called chidushim, (novellae) verbally and often in print.

Role

Yeshivas play a central role in the life of certain communities within Orthodox Judaism

Orthodox Judaism

Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...

, so the position of rosh yeshiva is more than just a dean of a school. A rosh yeshiva is often a pillar of leadership in extended communities. In Hasidic Judaism

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...

 the role of rosh yeshiva is secondary to the 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...

, who is head of the Hasidic dynasty that controls it. In many Hassidic sects, the rosh yeshiva of a school will be the son or son-in-law of the Rebbe, the assumed heir of the Rebbe.

History

Yeshivas continue the scholarly traditions of the Biblical Sanhedrin

Sanhedrin

The Sanhedrin was an assembly of twenty-three judges appointed in every city in the Biblical Land of Israel.The Great Sanhedrin was the supreme court of ancient Israel made of 71 members...

 and the Seventy Elders wherein were discussed and elaborated the 613 Mitzvot

613 mitzvot

The 613 commandments is a numbering of the statements and principles of law, ethics, and spiritual practice contained in the Torah or Five Books of Moses...

. This tradition was continued by the sages of the Mishnah

Mishnah

The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...

 and 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....

 who often headed academies with hundreds of students. In the Talmudic academies in Babylonia

Talmudic Academies in Babylonia

The Talmudic Academies in Babylonia, also known as the Geonic Academies, were the center for Jewish scholarship and the development of Jewish law in Mesopotamia from roughly 589 CE to 1038 CE...

 the rosh yeshiva was referred to as the Reish Metivta in Aramaic and had the title of Gaon

Geonim

Geonim were the presidents of the two great Babylonian, Talmudic Academies of Sura and Pumbedita, in the Abbasid Caliphate, and were the generally accepted spiritual leaders of the Jewish community world wide in the early medieval era, in contrast to the Resh Galuta who wielded secular authority...

.

General role

The general role of the rosh yeshiva is to oversee the Talmudic studies and practical

Halakha

Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...

 matters. The rosh yeshiva may lecture on a daily or weekly basis to the highest shiur (class). He is also the one to decide whether to grant permission for students to undertake classes for rabbinical ordination, known as semicha

Semicha

, also , or is derived from a Hebrew word which means to "rely on" or "to be authorized". It generally refers to the ordination of a rabbi within Judaism. In this sense it is the "transmission" of rabbinic authority to give advice or judgment in Jewish law...

.

Rosh yeshiva dynasties

Depending on the size of the yeshiva, there may be several rosh yeshivas, sometimes from one extended family. There are familial dynasties of rosh yeshivas, for example the Soloveitchik

Soloveitchik

Soloveitchik is a surname. The source of the name is from the Russian word for "songbird," since the Soloveitchiks are a family of Levites, who are commanded by the Torah to sing in the Beit Hamikdash. It is notably the name of a rabbinic family descended from Yosef Dov Soloveitchik...

, the Finkel

Finkel

Finkel or Finckel is a surname, and may refer to:* Aryeh Finkel, rosh yeshiva of the Brachfeld branch of the Mir yeshiva* Benjamin Finkel, American mathematician and educator...

, the Feinstein

Feinstein

Feinstein, Finestein , a surname, may be:* "Feinsteine" is one of aggregate names of grain size. See German Korngröße article.* Feinstein is a Jewish name.People:...

, the Kotler, Kook, which head many yeshivas in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

.

Famous rosh yeshivas

Prior to The Holocaust

The Holocaust

The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...

, most of the large yeshivos were based in Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...

. Presently the majority of the world's yeshivas and their rosh yeshivas are located in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

.

The following is a list of some famous rosh yeshivas:

Rabbi Yosef Adler Rabbi Yehuda Amital Yehuda Amital Yehuda Amital was an Orthodox rabbi, the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion and a former member of the Israeli cabinet.-Biography:Amital was born in Oradea in Romania. When Germany occupied the area in 1944, the Nazis sent his entire family to Auschwitz where they were killed. Amital was sent to... Rabbi Chaim Yehuda Leib Auerbach Chaim Yehuda Leib Auerbach Chaim Yehuda Leib Auerbach was one of the founders and first roshei yeshiva of Shaar Hashamayim Yeshiva, a landmark Jerusalem institution specializing in Talmudic and kabbalah studies for Ashkenazi scholars... Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach Shlomo Zalman Auerbach Shlomo Zalman Auerbach , was a renowned Orthodox Jewish rabbi, posek, and rosh yeshiva of the Kol Torah yeshiva in Jerusalem, Israel... Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin, , also known as Reb Hirsch Leib Berlin, and commonly known by the acronym Netziv, was an Orthodox rabbi, dean of the Volozhin Yeshiva and author of several works of rabbinic literature in Lithuania.- Family :Berlin was born in Mir, Russia in 1816 into a family of Jewish... Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Bloch Avraham Yitzchak Bloch Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Bloch was the Chief Rabbi and Rosh Yeshiva of the Telz Yeshiva in Lithuania, and one of the greatest pre-Holocaust Rabbinic figures.... 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:... Rabbi Moshe Feinstein Moshe Feinstein Moshe Feinstein was a Lithuanian Orthodox rabbi, scholar and posek , who was world-renowned for his expertise in Halakha and was regarded by many as the de facto supreme halakhic authority for Orthodox Jewry of North America during his lifetime... Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Finkel Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel Rabbi Chaim Flom Chaim Flom Rabbi Chaim Flom was a rabbi, scholar and Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Ohr David in Jerusalem, Israel. He studied at Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim: Rabbinical Seminary of America .... Rabbi Mordechai Gifter Mordechai Gifter Rabbi Mordechai Gifter 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 yeshivas in Lithuania and held several rabbinical positions in the United States of America.-Biography:Mordechai Gifter... Rabbi Refael Reuvain Grozovsky Rabbi Chaim Yaakov Goldvicht Chaim Yaakov Goldvicht Rabbi Chaim Yaakov Goldvicht was the founding Rosh yeshiva of the major Israeli Hesder yeshiva Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh, commonly known as KBY. A world renowned scholar and teacher, Rabbi Goldvicht was also the author of Asufat Ma'arachot, a collection of thoughts on Torah and Jewish holidays... Rabbi Eliezer Gordon Eliezer Gordon Eliezer Gordon also known as Reb Laizer Telzer, served as the Rabbi and Rosh Yeshiva of Telz, Lithuania.-Early years:... Rabbi Nachman Shlomo Greenspan Nachman Shlomo Greenspan Rabbi Nachman Shlomo Greenspan was an outstanding Talmudic scholar, renowned rosh yeshiva of Etz Chaim in London and a brilliant and erudite author, penning a number of Torah works.-Early years:... Rabbi Shlomo Heiman Shlomo 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... Rabbi Yitzchok Hutner Yitzchok Hutner Yitzchok Hutner was an Orthodox rabbi and American rosh yeshiva.-Early years:Yitchok Hutner was born in Warsaw, Poland, to a family with both Ger Hasidic and non-Hasidic Lithuanian Jewish roots. As a child he received private instruction in Torah and Talmud... Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan Yisrael Meir Kagan Yisrael Meir Poupko , known popularly as The Chofetz Chaim, was an influential Eastern European rabbi, Halakhist, posek, and ethicist whose works continue to be widely influential in Jewish life... Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky Yaakov Kamenetsky Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky , was a prominent rosh yeshiva, posek and Talmudist in the post-World War II American Jewish community.... Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook Abraham Isaac Kook Abraham Isaac Kook was the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of the British Mandate for Palestine, the founder of the Religious Zionist Yeshiva Merkaz HaRav, Jewish thinker, Halachist, Kabbalist and a renowned Torah scholar... Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook Zvi Yehuda Kook Zvi Yehuda Kook was a rabbi, leader of Religious Zionism and Rosh Yeshiva of the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva... 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 :... Rabbi Shneur Kotler Shneur Kotler Yosef Chaim Shneur Kotler was an Orthodox rabbi and rosh yeshiva of Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, New Jersey from 1962 to 1982. During his tenure, he developed the Lithuanian-style, Haredi but non-Hasidic yeshiva into the largest post-graduate Torah institution in the world... Rabbi Boruch Ber Lebowitz Rabbi Dovid Leibowitz Dovid Leibowitz Dovid Leibowitz was a leading rabbi and disciple of prewar Europe's Slabodka Yeshiva in Lithuania who went on to found the Rabbinical Seminary of America as its first Rosh yeshiva in the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn, New York... Rabbi Henoch Leibowitz Henoch Leibowitz Alter Chanoch Henoch Leibowitz was an Orthodox rabbi who was rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Rabbeinu Yisrael Meir HaKohen, which was founded by his father Rabbi Dovid Leibowitz in 1933.- Life :... Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein Aharon Lichtenstein Aharon Lichtenstein is a noted Orthodox rabbi and rosh yeshiva.Rabbi Lichtenstein was born in Paris, France, but grew up in the United States, studied in Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin under Rabbi Yitzchok Hutner... 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.... Rabbi Avigdor Nebenzahl Rabbi Avraham Yaakov Pam Avraham Yaakov Pam Rabbi Avraham Yaakov Hakohen Pam was the rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Torah Vodaas in Brooklyn, New York.-Biography:... Rabbi Michael Rosensweig Michael Rosensweig Michael Rosensweig is a Rosh Yeshiva and Rosh Kollel at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary of Yeshiva University.-Education:Rabbi Rosensweig graduated early from the Yeshiva High School of Queens... Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman Rabbi Shmuel Rozovsky Shmuel Rozovsky Rabbi Shmuel Rozovsky is known as a Talmudic lecturer at Ponevezh Yeshiva and is counted amongst the great rabbis of his generation. During his heyday, Reb Shmuel was known as the king of the yeshivah world. Hundreds attended his lectures... Rabbi Yisroel Salanter Rabbi Yechezkel Sarna Yechezkel 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... Rabbi Hershel Schachter Hershel Schachter Hershel Schachter is a rabbi and rosh yeshiva at Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary , Yeshiva University, in New York City, and the son of the late Rabbi Melech Schachter, who was also a rosh yeshiva at Yeshiva University... Rabbi Aaron Schechter Aaron Schechter Aaron Moshe Schechter is the rosh yeshiva of the Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin and its post-graduate Talmudical division Kollel Gur Aryeh as well as of all the branches of the yeshiva in Brooklyn, New York City that includes an elementary school and a high school for young Jewish boys, teenagers,... Rabbi Gedalia Schorr Gedalia Schorr Rabbi Gedalyahu Schorr , also known as Gedalia Schorr, was a prominent rabbi and rosh yeshiva. He was regarded as the "first American Gadol" , an expression coined by Rabbi Aharon Kotler... Rabbi Elazar Shach Elazar Shach Elazar Menachem Man Shach also spelt Eliezer Schach, was a leading Lithuanian-born and educated Haredi rabbi in Bnei Brak, Israel. He also served as one of three co-deans of the Ponevezh yeshiva in Bnei Brak along with Rabbis Shmuel Rozovsky and Dovid Povarsky... Rabbi Moshe Shmuel Shapira Moshe Shmuel Shapira Rabbi Moshe Shmuel Shapiro was a Rosh Yeshiva and important rabbinic figure in Israel. His father, Rabbi Aryeh Shapiro, was the son of Rabbi Refoel Shapiro of Volozhin and grandson of Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin His mother was a descendant of Rabbi Yom Tov Lipman Heilpern of Bialystock , a... Rabbi Meir Shapiro Meir Shapiro Yehuda Meir Shapiro , , was a prominent Hasidic rabbi and rosh yeshiva, also known as the Lubliner Rav... Rabbi Naftoli Shapiro Naftoli Shapiro Rabbi Naftoli Shapiro was an Orthodox Talmudic scholar and rosh yeshiva in Glasgow for 40 years.Born in 1906 in the town of Mir, Poland, Rabbi Shapiro studied at the prestigious Mir yeshiva from the age of twelve. He also learned at the Raduń Yeshiva, and was a pupil of the Chofetz Chaim... 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... Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz Chaim Shmuelevitz Chaim Leib Shmuelevitz, , was a member of the faculty of the Mirrer Yeshiva for more than 40 years, in Poland, Shanghai and Jerusalem, serving as Rosh yeshiva during its sojourn in Shanghai from 1941 to 1947, and again in the Mirrer Yeshiva in Jerusalem from 1965 to 1979... Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz Adin Steinsaltz Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz or Adin Even Yisrael is a teacher, philosopher, social critic, and spiritual mentor, who has been hailed by Time magazine as a "once-in-a-millennium scholar". He has devoted his life to making the Talmud accessible to all Jews... 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:... Rabbi Chaim Volozhin Chaim Volozhin Chaim Volozhin was an Orthodox rabbi, Talmudist, and ethicist. Popularly known as "Reb Chaim Volozhiner" or simply as "Reb Chaim", he was born in Volozhin when it was a part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth... Rabbi Elchonon Wasserman Elchonon Wasserman Elchonon Wasserman was a prominent rabbi and rosh yeshiva in pre-World War II Europe. He was one of the Chofetz Chaim's closest disciples and a noted Torah scholar.-Biography:... Rabbi Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg Rabbi Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg was a noted European Orthodox rabbi, posek and rosh yeshiva. He is best known as author of the work of responsa Seridei Eish....

Role of mashgiach ruchani

The personal and ethical development of the students in the yeshiva is usually covered by a different personality, known as the mashgiach

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...

 or spiritual supervisor. This concept, introduced by the Mussar movement

Mussar movement

The Musar movement is a Jewish ethical, educational and cultural movement that developed in 19th century Eastern Europe, particularly among Orthodox Lithuanian Jews. The Hebrew term Musar , is from the book of Proverbs 1:2 meaning instruction, discipline, or conduct...

 in the 19th century, led to perfection of character as one of the aims of attending a yeshiva. One typical and influential mashgiach was Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler

Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler

Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler was an Orthodox rabbi, Talmudic scholar, and Jewish philosopher of the 20th century. He is known as mashgiach ruchani of the Ponevezh yeshiva in Israel and through collections of his writings published posthumously by his pupils.-Lithuania:Eliyahu Dessler Eliyahu Eliezer...

.