https://www.hareidi.org/en/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Rosh_yeshivaRosh yeshiva - Revision history2026-04-12T16:39:30ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.27.1https://www.hareidi.org/en/index.php?title=Rosh_yeshiva&diff=1512&oldid=prevChibichan613: /* Famous rosh yeshivas */2007-09-11T22:50:39Z<p><span dir="auto"><span class="autocomment">Famous rosh yeshivas</span></span></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>'''Rosh yeshiva''', ([[plural|pl]]. [[Hebrew language|Heb]]. ''Roshei yeshiva''; [[Yeshivish]] ''Rosh yeshivas''), ({{lang-he|ראש ישיבה}}), is the title given to the [[Dean (education)|dean]] of a [[Yeshiva|Talmudical academy]]. 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]] 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.<br />
<br />
==Role==<br />
Yeshivas play a central role in the life of certain communities within [[Orthodox Judaism]], 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]] the role of rosh yeshiva is secondary to the [[Rebbe]], 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.<br />
<br />
==History==<br />
Yeshivas continue the scholarly traditions of the Biblical [[Sanhedrin]] and the Seventy Elders wherein were discussed and elaborated the [[613 Mitzvot]]. This tradition was continued by the sages of the [[Mishnah]] and [[Talmud]] who often headed academies with hundreds of students. In Babylonia the rosh yeshiva was referred to as the ''Reish Metivta'' in [[Aramaic]].<br />
<br />
==General role==<br />
The general role of the rosh yeshiva is to oversee the Talmudic studies and [[halakha|practical]] matters. The rosh yeshiva may lecture on a daily or weekly basis to the highest class. He is also the one to decide whether to grant permission for students to undertake classes for rabbinical ordination, known as [[semicha]].<br />
<br />
==Rosh yeshiva dynasties==<br />
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]] family which heads many yeshivas in the [[United States]] and [[Israel]].<br />
<br />
==Famous rosh yeshivas==<br />
Prior to [[the Holocaust]] most of the large yeshivas were based in [[Eastern Europe]]. Many rosh yeshivas were trained by graduates of the [[Volozhin yeshiva]], headed by Rabbi [[Chaim Volozhin|Chaim of Volozhin]], ([[1749]] - [[1821]]). It was known as the "Mother of Yeshivas" because so many of its alumni established yeshivas of their own. Rabbi Chaim was the chief disciple of the famed [[Elijah ben Solomon|Vilna Gaon]] ([[1720]] - [[1797]]).<br />
<br />
Presently the majority of the world's yeshivas and their rosh yeshivas are located in the [[United States]] and [[Israel]].<br />
<br />
The following is a list of some famous rosh yeshivas:<br />
<br />
{| width="100%"<br />
|- valign=top<br />
|width="50%"|<br />
*Rabbi [[Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin]]<br />
*Rabbi [[Moshe Mordechai Epstein]]<br />
*Rabbi [[Moshe Feinstein]]<br />
*Rabbi [[Chaim Yaakov Goldvicht]]<br />
*Rabbi [[Nachman Shlomo Greenspan]]<br />
*Rabbi [[Yitzchok Hutner]]<br />
*Rabbi [[Dovid Leibowitz]] <br />
*Rabbi [[Henoch Leibowitz]] <br />
*Rabbi [[Aharon Lichtenstein]] <br />
*Rabbi [[Isser Zalman Meltzer]]<br />
|width="50%"|<br />
*Rabbi [[Yechezkel Sarna]]<br />
*Rabbi [[Hershel Schachter]]<br />
*Rabbi [[Gedalia Schorr]]<br />
*Rabbi [[Naftoli Shapiro]]<br />
*Rabbi [[Shimon Shkop]]<br />
*Rabbi [[Chaim Shmuelevitz]]<br />
*Rabbi [[Joseph B. Soloveitchik]]<br />
*Rabbi [[Adin Steinsaltz]]<br />
*Rabbi [[Naftoli Trop]]<br />
*Rabbi [[Chaim Volozhin]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Current rosh yeshivas==<br />
{{main|List of Rosh Yeshivas}}<br />
<br />
==Role of mashgiach ruchani==<br />
{{main|Mashgiach ruchani}}<br />
The personal and ethical development of the students in the yeshiva is usually covered by a different personality, known as the [[mashgiach ruchani|mashgiach]] or spiritual supervisor. This concept, introduced by the [[Mussar movement]] 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]].<br />
<br />
<br />
{{OrthodoxJudaism}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Rosh yeshivas| ]]<br />
[[Category:Orthodox rabbinic roles and titles]]<br />
[[Category:Hebrew words and phrases]]<br />
<br />
[[he:ראש ישיבה]]</div>Chibichan613