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{{Short description|Lithuanian rabbi and Talmudic scholar (1863–1940)}} | ||
| {{Infobox Jewish leader | {{Infobox Jewish leader | ||
| |honorific-prefix = Rabbi | |honorific-prefix = Rabbi | ||
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| '''Chaim Ozer Grodzinski'''<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=] | '''Chaim Ozer Grodzinski'''<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=] | ||
| |url=https://www.jewishpress.com/sections/features/features-on-jewish-world/a-letter-from-r-chaim-ozer/2021/03/05 | |url=https://www.jewishpress.com/sections/features/features-on-jewish-world/a-letter-from-r-chaim-ozer/2021/03/05 | ||
| |title=A Letter From R'Chaim Ozer |date=March 5, 2021}}</ref> ({{lang-he|חיים עוזר גראדזענסקי}}; August 24, 1863 – August 9, 1940) was a |
|title=A Letter From R'Chaim Ozer |date=March 5, 2021}}</ref> ({{lang-he|חיים עוזר גראדזענסקי}}; August 24, 1863 – August 9, 1940) was a '']'' (rabbinical chief justice), '']'' (halakhic authority), and ]ic scholar in ], ] in the late 19th and early 20th centuriesfor over 55 years.<ref name="glimpses" /> He played an instrumental role in preserving ] during the ], and Polish and Russian yeshivas of Poland and during the ] ] in 1939, when he arranged for these yeshivas to relocate to Lithuanian cities. | ||
| ==Biography== | ==Biography== | ||
| Chaim Ozer Grodzinski was born on 9 ] 5623 (24 August 1863)<ref name="glimpses">Rabbi ]. ''Glimpses of Greatness: Reb Chaim Ozer ''Is'' Klal Yisrael''. ] Features, 22 July 2010, p. C3.</ref> in ], ], a small town near Vilnius. His father, |
Chaim Ozer Grodzinski was born on 9 ] 5623 (24 August 1863)<ref name="glimpses">Rabbi ]. ''Glimpses of Greatness: Reb Chaim Ozer ''Is'' Klal Yisrael''. ] Features, 22 July 2010, p. C3.</ref> in ], ], a small town near Vilnius. His father, David Shlomo Grodzinski, was rabbi of Iwye for over 40 years,<ref name="glimpses" /> and his grandfather was rabbi of the town for 40 years before that.<ref name="observer" /> | ||
| When he was 12 years old he went to study with the ''perushim'', a group of Lithuanian Torah scholars in ] where he became ].<ref name="glimpses" /> | |||
| From infancy, Chaim Ozer was weak and sickly. However, he was gifted with a fine memory, never forgetting anything he read or heard. At the age of 9, he was tested by Rabbi ], who asked the boy a question in halakha. Ozer refuted the Rav's thesis and cited a different one from the sources, astounding the Rav.<ref name="glimpses" /> | |||
| At the age of 15, he began studying at the ] and was accepted into ]'s ].<ref name="glimpses" /> He was married in his early twenties. | |||
| When he was 12 years old, his father sent him to learn with the ''perushim'', a group of the finest Lithuanian Torah scholars assembled in ]. Chaim Ozer celebrated his ] there. He declined to deliver the usual bar mitzvah '']'', but demonstrated his fluency in the '']'' and the '']'' by asking his guests to recite a few words from these '']'' and he continued for them, quoting entire pages word for word and clearly explaining each topic.<ref name="glimpses" /> | |||
| Two years after his marriage, Grodzinski's father-in-law, Eliyahu Eliezer Grodnenski died and Grodnenski replaced him as a rabbi in Vilnius.<ref name="glimpses" /> | |||
| By the age of 20, when he passed through Vilnius, his fame preceded him. Both Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Grodnenski — the leading Rav of Vilna and the son-in-law of Rabbi Yisroel Salanter — and Rabbi Elinke Levinsohn of ] desired the young Torah prodigy for their own son-in-law. The two went to Rabbi ] of ] to decide which family would merit this honor. After hearing each one's position, Spektor asked to meet Grodzinski, and spoke at length with him on various Torah topics. Afterward, Spektor told the two prospective fathers-in-law: "The truth is that if I had a daughter to marry off, I would take him and leave you both out in the cold. Since I have no such daughter, however, I have decided in favor of the Rav of Vilna".<ref name="glimpses" /> | |||
| At the age of 24 he joined the ] of Vilna, which at the time was the only leadership in the city that didn't have a Rav at the time. | |||
| Two years after his marriage, Grodzinski's father-in-law died and the community of Vilnius asked him to take his place. Thus he became the leading Rav of Vilna at the age of 22. He was immediately accepted by all the older rabbis. When people remarked, "But he's so young for such a lofty position," Grodzinski humorously replied, "Don't worry, it's only a temporary blemish. I'll get over it with time".<ref name="glimpses" /> Any lingering doubts about his fitness for the position were put to rest when Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik and Rabbi ] came to the city and first went to call on the Rav of Vilna, Chaim Ozer Grodzinski.<ref name="glimpses" /> | |||
| ==Leadership== | ==Leadership== | ||
| In 1887 he was appointed as a dayan (religious judge) of the ] of Vilna.<ref name="Ben-Sasson">{{cite EJ|last=Ben-Sasson|first=Haim Hillel|title=Grodzinski, Ḥayyim Ozer|volume=8|pages=91-92}}</ref> He was a participant in the founding conference of ] (in ], Silesia, in 1912) and served on the party's Council of Sages.<ref name="Ben-Sasson"/><ref>Eisenberg, Ronald (2014). ''''. Lanham, MD: Jason Aronson. p. 241-242.</ref> He also was a co-founder and active leader of the ] (Council of the Yeshivot),<ref name="Ben-Sasson"/> based in Vilnius, an umbrella organization that offered material and spiritual support for yeshivot throughout the eastern provinces of Poland from 1924 to 1939. | In 1887 he was appointed as a dayan (religious judge) of the ] of Vilna.<ref name="Ben-Sasson">{{cite EJ|last=Ben-Sasson|first=Haim Hillel|title=Grodzinski, Ḥayyim Ozer|volume=8|pages=91-92}}</ref> He was a participant in the founding conference of ] (in ], Silesia, in 1912) and served on the party's Council of Sages.<ref name="Ben-Sasson"/><ref>Eisenberg, Ronald (2014). ''''. Lanham, MD: Jason Aronson. p. 241-242.</ref> He also was a co-founder and active leader of the ] (Council of the Yeshivot),<ref name="Ben-Sasson"/> based in Vilnius, an umbrella organization that offered material and spiritual support for yeshivot throughout the eastern provinces of Poland from 1924 to 1939. He wrote a three-volume work ''Achiezer''.<ref name="observer" /> | ||
| In addition to his communal work, he maintained a strict schedule of Torah learning, producing his monumental, three-volume work ''Achiezer'' even as he was fully involved in communal affairs.<ref name="observer" /> | |||
| ⚫ | He |
||
| He was also the person who helped rabbi yitzchak become the chief Rabbi of Vilna, a job which the Russian government required from all Jewish communities, but Reb Chaim couldn't join as he didn't have the education required by the government to take the job | |||
| With the death of Rabbi Yitzchak Elchonon Spektor in 1896, Grodzinski became the leader of European Jewry. He was consulted regularly in the fight for traditional Torah education in the Russian empire and to counteract the ban against ] (ritual slaughter) of kosher meat. Eventually his influence was so strong that no Rav or shochet could be appointed anywhere in Poland or Russia without his consent.<ref name="glimpses" /> Thanks to his phenomenal memory, he remembered names of people and places from all over the world, making him a valuable resource when communities far and wide sought to appoint a new Rav or rosh yeshiva.<ref name="observer" /> | |||
| Both the communities of ] and ] offered him the position of ], but he declined, saying that he was needed where he was. In gratitude for his dedication, the Jewish community of Vilnius wanted to name him the official chief rabbi of Vilnius, but he refused this honor, saying that he had not come to change the city's long-standing tradition not to have a central rav. When the community offered him a pay raise instead, he agreed on condition that all the other rabbis in Vilnius would receive one, too.<ref name="glimpses" /> | |||
| ⚫ | In 1909, there was a meeting in Hamburg, Germany, that was |
||
| In a letter, R. Grodzinski explained why the Agudah would not collaborate with the Religious Zionist organization, Mizrachi. “There should also be a joined effort in the communities in the diaspora to unite together all the Haredim against the antireligious front ... it is clear that as long as the Mizrachi is in the framework of the World Zionist Organization, there can be no discussion about a joint between the two organizations (Agudah and Mizrachi)”<ref>Grodzensky, R’ Chaim Ozer Kovetz HaIgros p. 41</ref> | |||
| ⚫ | He assisted in the management of the Rameilles Yeshiva of Vilnius. His students included ], ], ], and ].<ref name="glimpses" /> | ||
| When his daughter lay in the hospital on the verge of death, he ran to his office to answer all the halakhic correspondence waiting on his desk, since he knew that he would not be able to research and answer these pressing questions during the week of ].<ref name="glimpses" /> | |||
| ⚫ | In 1909, there was a meeting in Hamburg, Germany, that was the precursor of ], whose main goal was to combat the Zionists and the Mizrachi against Zionism.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Shapiro|first=Yaakov|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1156725117|title=The empty wagon : Zionism's journey from identity crisis to identity theft|isbn=978-1-64255-554-7|pages=718|language=En|oclc=1156725117}}</ref> Grodzinski was the first chairman of the Moetzes Gedolei Torah, the rabbinical advisory board to the Agudah.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Biography of Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski (1863-1940) and his relationship to the Rabbi Meir Baal Haneis charity in Israel|url=https://www.rabbimeirbaalhaneis.com/Rabbi%20Chaim%20Ozer%20Grodzinski.asp|access-date=2022-01-28|website=www.rabbimeirbaalhaneis.com}}</ref> | ||
| His students were puzzled when he walked with a directions seeker a considerable distance on a snowy day; he later explained that | |||
| since the person had a ] he might hesitate to ask clarification since the location was unobvious.<ref>{{cite magazine | |||
| |title=Learning From Our Leaders |page=4 | |||
| |magazine=Pirchei Agudas Yisroel of America |date=5 May 2018}}</ref> | |||
| == |
==Death== | ||
| Grodzinski died of cancer<ref name="observer">{{cite web|url=http://www.tzemachdovid.org/gedolim/jo/tpersonality/achiezer.html |title=Ish HaEshkolos: He led world Jewry from Vilna |last=Brafman |first=Rabbi Aaron |accessdate=14 December 2010 |work=] |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100721031516/http://www.tzemachdovid.org/gedolim/jo/tpersonality/achiezer.html |archivedate=July 21, 2010 }}</ref> on 9 August 1940 (5 ]<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=] | Grodzinski died of cancer<ref name="observer">{{cite web|url=http://www.tzemachdovid.org/gedolim/jo/tpersonality/achiezer.html |title=Ish HaEshkolos: He led world Jewry from Vilna |last=Brafman |first=Rabbi Aaron |accessdate=14 December 2010 |work=] |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100721031516/http://www.tzemachdovid.org/gedolim/jo/tpersonality/achiezer.html |archivedate=July 21, 2010 }}</ref> on 9 August 1940 (5 ]<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=] | ||
| |url=https://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/letters-to-the-editor/letters-to-the-editor-257/2013/06/19/2 | |url=https://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/letters-to-the-editor/letters-to-the-editor-257/2013/06/19/2 | ||
| |title=Letters |date=June 19, 2013 | |title=Letters |date=June 19, 2013 | ||
| |quote= the 5th of Menachem Av, the yahrzeit of both the AriZal and Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzinski.}}</ref> 5700). |
|quote= the 5th of Menachem Av, the yahrzeit of both the AriZal and Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzinski.}}</ref> 5700). | ||
| ==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 22:15, 4 March 2023
Lithuanian rabbi and Talmudic scholar (1863–1940)| RabbiChaim Ozer Grodzinski | |
|---|---|
 Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski (right) conversing with Rabbi Shimon Shkop | |
| Personal life | |
| Born | (1863-08-24)August 24, 1863 9 Elul 5623 AM (Hebrew calendar) Iwye, Russian Empire (now Belarus) |
| Died | August 9, 1940(1940-08-09) (aged 76) 5 Av 5700 AM (Hebrew calendar) Vilnius, Soviet Lithuania |
| Parent | Rabbi David Shlomo Grodzinski |
| Alma mater | Volozhin yeshiva |
| Occupation | Rav of Vilnius, Lithuania |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Judaism |
| Denomination | Orthodox |
Chaim Ozer Grodzinski (Template:Lang-he; August 24, 1863 – August 9, 1940) was a Av beis din (rabbinical chief justice), posek (halakhic authority), and Talmudic scholar in Vilnius, Lithuania in the late 19th and early 20th centuriesfor over 55 years. He played an instrumental role in preserving Lithuanian yeshivas during the Communist era, and Polish and Russian yeshivas of Poland and during the Nazi invasion of Poland in 1939, when he arranged for these yeshivas to relocate to Lithuanian cities.
Biography
Chaim Ozer Grodzinski was born on 9 Elul 5623 (24 August 1863) in Iwye, Belarus, a small town near Vilnius. His father, David Shlomo Grodzinski, was rabbi of Iwye for over 40 years, and his grandfather was rabbi of the town for 40 years before that.
When he was 12 years old he went to study with the perushim, a group of Lithuanian Torah scholars in Eishyshok where he became bar mitzvah.
At the age of 15, he began studying at the Volozhin yeshiva and was accepted into Chaim Soloveitchik's shiur. He was married in his early twenties.
Two years after his marriage, Grodzinski's father-in-law, Eliyahu Eliezer Grodnenski died and Grodnenski replaced him as a rabbi in Vilnius.
Leadership
In 1887 he was appointed as a dayan (religious judge) of the beth din of Vilna. He was a participant in the founding conference of Agudath Israel (in Kattowitz, Silesia, in 1912) and served on the party's Council of Sages. He also was a co-founder and active leader of the Va'ad ha-Yeshivot (Council of the Yeshivot), based in Vilnius, an umbrella organization that offered material and spiritual support for yeshivot throughout the eastern provinces of Poland from 1924 to 1939. He wrote a three-volume work Achiezer.
He assisted in the management of the Rameilles Yeshiva of Vilnius. His students included Yehezkel Abramsky, Eliezer Silver, Moshe Shatzkes, and Reuven Katz.
In 1909, there was a meeting in Hamburg, Germany, that was the precursor of Agudas Yisroel, whose main goal was to combat the Zionists and the Mizrachi against Zionism. Grodzinski was the first chairman of the Moetzes Gedolei Torah, the rabbinical advisory board to the Agudah.
Death
Grodzinski died of cancer on 9 August 1940 (5 Av 5700).
References
- "A Letter From R'Chaim Ozer". The Jewish Press. March 5, 2021.
- ^ Rabbi Aharon Sorasky. Glimpses of Greatness: Reb Chaim Ozer Is Klal Yisrael. Hamodia Features, 22 July 2010, p. C3.
- ^ Brafman, Rabbi Aaron. "Ish HaEshkolos: He led world Jewry from Vilna". The Jewish Observer. Archived from the original on July 21, 2010. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
- ^ Ben-Sasson, Haim Hillel (2007). "Grodzinski, Ḥayyim Ozer". In Berenbaum, Michael; Skolnik, Fred (eds.). Encyclopaedia Judaica. Vol. 8 (2nd ed.). Detroit: Macmillan Reference. pp. 91–92. ISBN 978-0-02-866097-4.
- Eisenberg, Ronald (2014). Essential Figures in Jewish Scholarship. Lanham, MD: Jason Aronson. p. 241-242.
- Shapiro, Yaakov. The empty wagon : Zionism's journey from identity crisis to identity theft. p. 718. ISBN 978-1-64255-554-7. OCLC 1156725117.
- "Biography of Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski (1863-1940) and his relationship to the Rabbi Meir Baal Haneis charity in Israel". www.rabbimeirbaalhaneis.com. Retrieved 2022-01-28.
- "Letters". The Jewish Press. June 19, 2013.
the 5th of Menachem Av, the yahrzeit of both the AriZal and Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzinski.
