The Valozhyn Yeshiva, also known as the Etz Chaim Yeshiva, was a yeshiva situated in Valozhyn, present-day Belarus during the 19th century. Yeshiva or yeshivah (jəʃi'və ( Hebrew: ישיבה "sitting (n Valozhyn, Vałožyn or Volozhin (Вало́жын va'ɫoʐɨn Воло́жин Wołożyn וואלאזשין is a town in the Minsk Province of Belarus ( Belarusian Беларусь / Biełaruś is a Landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar Valozhyn Yeshiva is known as "the mother of yeshivas".

Contents 1 Establishment (1803) 2 Closure (1892) 3 Threat of repossession 4 Prominent alumni 5 References 6 Bibliography 7 External links

Establishment (1803)

The yeshiva was founded by Rabbi Chaim Volozhin in 1803 who was a student of the Vilna Gaon. Rabbi Chaim Ben Yitzchok (Chaim Ickovits or Chaim Volozhin (חיים מוולוז'ין also Chaim Volozhiner or Chaim of Volozhin) ( January 1803 ( MDCCCIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman, known as the Vilna Gaon or Elijah of Vilna and simply by his Hebrew Acronym Gra (" G aon Reb Chaim's son Isaac took over in 1821. When Isaac died in 1849, Rabbi Eliezer Fried was appointed head of the Yeshiva with Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin as his assistant. Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin (נפתלי צבי יהודה ברלין also known as Reb Hirsch Leib Berlin, 1817 - 10 August 1893 Rabbi Fried died soon after in 1854 whereupon Rabbi Berlin became the new head along with Rabbi Joseph Ber Soloveichik, Reb Chaim's great-grandson who was the assistant Rosh Yeshiva. Yosef Dov Soloveitchik (b1820 in Nesvizh Minsk Belarus d1892 in Brest-Litovsk Grodno Belarus was the author of Beis Halevi, by which name he is better known among

There was disagreement between the two leaders and a delegation of prominent rabbis resolved the dispute by reasserting that Berlin was head and Soloveitchik was the assistant. In 1865, the latter left to become the rabbi in Slutsk.

Closure (1892)

In 1892, the Volozhin yeshiva shut down. Year 1892 ( MDCCCXCII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year There are several explanations and differing versions of events:

1. Russian authorities (influenced by Haskalah elements) sought to introduce a limited program of secular studies into the yeshiva. The Russian Empire ( Pre-reform Russian: Pоссійская Имперія Modern Russian: Российская Империя translit: Rossiyskaya Haskalah ( Hebrew: השכלה "enlightenment" "education" from sekhel " Intellect " "mind") the Jewish Enlightenment As this would seriously undermine the aims of the institution, Rabbi Berlin saw no other solution than to let the government close the yeshiva. A variation on this version is that Rabbi Berlin may have been willing to accept the secular studies but not in the manner it was presented by the authorities, with one historical record describing government requirements such as: "All teachers of all subjects must have college diplomas . A diploma (from Greek δίπλωµα diploma, meaning "folded paper" is a Certificate or Deed issued by an educational institution . . no Judaic subjects may be taught between 9 AM and 3 PM . . . no night classes are allowed . . . total hours of study per day may not exceed ten. "
2. The yeshiva was closed due to its own internal upheaval. This internal strife was caused by Rabbi Berlin's attempt to install his son as Rosh Yeshiva. Recently available Russian governmental documents of the time clearly point to this conclusion, as described in the publications of Shaul Stampfer. ^[1]

After the Valozhyn yeshiva was closed down in 1892 by order of the Russian government, Rabbi Refael Shapiro, (the son-in-law of Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin), reopened it, albeit on a smaller scale, in 1899. Rabbi Refael Shapiro (1837&ndash1921 was the famed Rosh Yeshiva of the Volozhin yeshiva and a son-in-law of Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin (נפתלי צבי יהודה ברלין also known as Reb Hirsch Leib Berlin, 1817 - 10 August 1893

Threat of repossession

In 2000 authorities in Valozhyn returned the building to the Jewish Religious Union of Belarus, an Orthodox umbrella organization. 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. A few years later in 2007 the government of Belarus issued an edict which would repossess the famous building from its ownership by the Jewish community unless the community rasied $20,000 in order to renovate of the entire building. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Belarus ( Belarusian Беларусь / Biełaruś is a Landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east In response, the Jewish community in America took action and Agudath Israel raised money to restore the holy site. ^[2]

Prominent alumni

Rabbi Zelig Reuven Bengis Rabbi Shmuel Alexandrov Rabbi Meir Bar-Ilan Micha Josef Berdyczewski Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin Hayyim Nahman Bialik Rabbi David Cohen Alter Asher Droyanov Rabbi Baruch Epstein Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Epstein

Rabbi Isaac Halevy Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski Abraham Harkavy Rabbi Shmuel Yitzchak Hillman Rabbi Jacob Joseph Rabbi Chaim Mordechai Katz Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook Moyshe Kulbak Rabbi Baruch Ber Lebowitz Rabbi Aryeh Levin

Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer Rabbi Samuel Mohilever Rabbi Yitzchak Yaacov Reines Rabbi Zundel Salant Rabbi Refael Shapiro Rabbi Shimon Shkop Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik Rabbi Elchonon Wasserman Rabbi Kalman Zev Wissotzky

References

Bibliography

• Shaul Stampfer, Lithuanian Yeshivas of the Nineteenth Century
• E. Leoni, Wolozyn; sefer shel ha-ir-shel yeshivat “Ets Hayim” Tel-Aviv, 1970

External links

• Student Portraits
• Partial Translation of Wolozyn; sefer shel ha-ir-shel yeshivat “Ets Hayim”
• The Volozhyn Genealogy Chain
• Photo of Volozhin yeshiva on site “Globe of Belarus” (in Russian)

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