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| Born in ], ], where his maternal grandfather Rabbi ] was the rosh yeshiva and rabbi, Rabbi Kotler escaped to ] in 1940. There, he studied under the leading scholars of ], among them Rabbi Meltzer who had moved there previously. | Born in ], ], where his maternal grandfather Rabbi ] was the rosh yeshiva and rabbi, Rabbi Kotler escaped to ] in 1940. There, he studied under the leading scholars of ], among them Rabbi Meltzer who had moved there previously. | ||
| In 1947, after ], he moved to Lakewood to join his father, who had brought his ] there from ]. Rabbi Shneur Kotler assumed the leadership of the yeshiva with his father's death in 1962. He transformed Lakewood from a |
In 1947, after ], he moved to Lakewood to join his father, who had brought his ] there from ]. Rabbi Shneur Kotler assumed the leadership of the yeshiva with his father's death in 1962. He transformed Lakewood from a small elite institution into a large center of excellence and fulcrum of the ] yeshiva world. | ||
| Whereas his father had actively restricted enrollment to a select group of students, his son Shneur opened the yeshiva doors to a broader range of students and post-graduate fellows. From a group of approximately 200 students, the yeshiva grew to almost a thousand students by 1981. As more students enrolled, the scope of study broadened to the point where a student could join any number of groups studying all the tractates of the Talmud. | Whereas his father had actively restricted enrollment to a select group of students, his son Shneur opened the yeshiva doors to a broader range of students and post-graduate fellows. From a group of approximately 200 students, the yeshiva grew to almost a thousand students by 1981. As more students enrolled, the scope of study broadened to the point where a student could join any number of groups studying all the tractates of the Talmud. | ||
Revision as of 01:30, 18 August 2010
Shneur Kotler (1918 - 1982) was an Orthodox rabbi, and the son of the famed Talmudic scholar Rabbi Aharon Kotler. Upon the death of his father in 1962, he became the rosh yeshiva of Beis Medrash Govoha, a Lithuanian-style Talmudic Haredi but non-Hasidic yeshiva in Lakewood, New Jersey.
Born in Slutsk, Russia, where his maternal grandfather Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer was the rosh yeshiva and rabbi, Rabbi Kotler escaped to Mandatory Palestine in 1940. There, he studied under the leading scholars of Jerusalem, among them Rabbi Meltzer who had moved there previously.
In 1947, after World War II, he moved to Lakewood to join his father, who had brought his yeshiva there from Europe. Rabbi Shneur Kotler assumed the leadership of the yeshiva with his father's death in 1962. He transformed Lakewood from a small elite institution into a large center of excellence and fulcrum of the Orthodox yeshiva world.
Whereas his father had actively restricted enrollment to a select group of students, his son Shneur opened the yeshiva doors to a broader range of students and post-graduate fellows. From a group of approximately 200 students, the yeshiva grew to almost a thousand students by 1981. As more students enrolled, the scope of study broadened to the point where a student could join any number of groups studying all the tractates of the Talmud.
Kotler sent out groups of married students, pioneers to establish kollels in major communities across America, from Philadelphia in the East to Los Angeles in the West. The members of these kollels would divide their time between studying Talmud and spreading the experience of Torah learning to the local Jewish populations. There are now Lakewood satellite kollels operating in 30 cities across North America.
Kotler was active in communal organizations and issues. He held leadership positions as a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Agudath Israel of America and was on the rabbinical boards of the Torah Umesorah National Society for Hebrew Day Schools and Chinuch Atzmai. Rabbi Kotler was also very active in helping Jewish refugees from Russia and Iran.
Death
Kotler died in 1982 in Massachusetts General Hospital, in Boston. He was 64 years old. Tens of thousands of mourners assembled at Rabbi Kotler's funeral in Jerusalem; even vaster throngs had attended in America before his final journey.
Rabbi Kotler passed away on the nineteenth year, seventh month and second day after assuming his Rosh Yeshiva position, equal to the day to the tenure of his father as Rosh Yeshiva of Lakewood. This extraordinary phenomenon was spoken of throughout the Torah world as a Heavenly sign that he was considered a worthy son, disciple and successor who carried on his father’s mission to build Torah with total devotion.
He was survived by his wife, Rischel; a sister, Sarah Schwartzman of New York; eight children, and many grandchildren. With his untimely death, his son Rabbi Malkiel Kotler took over the leadership of the yeshiva, assisted by three other grandchildren of Rabbi Aharon Kotler, Rabbis Dovid Schustal, Yerucham Olshin and Yisroel Neuman.
References
- New York Times Obituary 1982
- American Jewish Yearbook 1984 obituary
- Haaretz article on the Lakewood yeshiva
External links
Biography Rabbi Y.C. Shneur Kotler