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Avrohom Yeshaya Karelitz

Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz (7 November 1878 – 24 October 1953), also known as the Chazon Ish (Hebrew: החזון איש) after his magnum opus, was a Belarusian-born Orthodox rabbi who later became one of the leaders of Haredi Judaism in Israel, where he spent his final 20 years, from 1933 to 1953.

Rabbi
Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz
Personal
Born(1878-11-07)November 7, 1878
DiedOctober 24, 1953(1953-10-24) (aged 74)
ReligionJudaism
SpouseBashe Bei
Parent(s)Rabbi Shmaryahu Yosef Karelitz
Rasha Leah Katzenellenbogen-Epstein
OccupationRabbi

Biography edit

Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz was born in Kosava, in the Grodno Governorate of the Russian Empire (now Brest Region, Belarus), the son of Shmaryahu Yosef Karelitz, the rabbi of Kosava; his mother was Rasha Leah,[1]: p.29  the daughter of Shaul Katzenelbogen.[2] Avraham Yeshaya was born after his older brother Meir. His younger brothers were Yitzchak and Moshe. Yitzchak succeeded their father as the rabbi of Kosava; he and his wife and daughter were shot to death in their home by the Germans in mid-1942.[2]

His oldest sisters were Henya Chaya, Badana, Tzivia and Batya. Karelitz's youngest sister, Pesha Miriam (Miril), married Rabbi Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky.[3] Kanievsky referred to his brother-in-law Avraham Yeshaya as his mentor as long as the latter was alive.

As a youth, Karelitz was sent to study under Chaim Soloveitchik of Brisk. He did not take to the Brisker method of study, and later it became clear that he actually opposed it. After a few days, he returned home and continued to study with his father who was head of the local Beth din. He married Bashe Bei of Kvėdarna[4] and developed a close relationship with Moshe Rosen (Nezer HaKodesh).

He moved to Vilna in about 1920, and became close to Chaim Ozer Grodzinski, consulting with him in all religious and communal matters. Encouraged by Grodzinski and with Abraham Isaac Kook’s help, Karelitz settled in Eretz Israel, then the British Mandate of Palestine, in 1933. His house in Bnei Brak became the address for thousands who sought religious guidance.

Karelitz, his brother-in-law Kanievsky and Yaakov Galinsky were extremely close.[5] [6][7]

Karelitz devoted his life to the study of Torah while simultaneously gaining knowledge in secular sciences such as astronomy, anatomy, mathematics, and botany. After his marriage, he continued to lead an extremely modest life, his wife providing for their needs while he spent day and night studying Torah in-depth. He did not have any children.

Though he served as a religious leader for much of his life, he never received formal ordination as a rabbi.[8]

Influence and authority edit

Karelitz did not publish many responsa, yet still achieved recognition as a leading authority on halakha. Like his brother-in-law Kanievsky, Karelitz "held no official position but nevertheless became a recognized worldwide authority on many matters relating to Jewish law and life."[9]

He declined to participate in any of the religious-political movements which were very active prior to, and during, the formation of the State of Israel in 1948. Yet, he had an immense influence on Haredi Judaism in Israel, whose formative period coincided with his years in Israel. He maintained an anti-Zionist viewpoint[10][11] and begrudgingly accepted the existence of the Israeli state.[12]

In recognition of his deep insight and interest in many fields of study, many sought his guidance on social and political issues. David Ben-Gurion, the prime minister of Israel, and Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, who became the second president of Israel, visited him once to discuss political-religious issues. Karelitz cited one of a pair of metaphors from the Talmudic discussion (Sanhedrin 32b): one is about two camels which meet on a narrow mountain pass as a metaphor. A camel without goods was expected to defer to a camel laden with goods; similarly, Karelitz contended secular society should defer to religious society, which bore the "goods" of tradition.[13]

Chazon Ish etrog edit

Only an etrog from a pure etrog tree is considered fit for the Sukkot festival service. There exists a common concern that any etrog may have come from a tree grafted with lemon branches, a practice which would result in nicer looking produce, though rendering the fruit unfit for the festival service. There is a variety of Balady citron in Karelitz's name, which he certified for use as a pure etrog. After one Sukkot, Karelitz handed Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz a packet of seeds taken from the etrog he had used for the festival and instructed him to plant them in his yard. Lefkowitz, who had no agricultural experience, followed his mentor's instructions to plant and water it, and the tree grew and bore fruit. Every year Karelitz came to select his etrog for the holiday from the tree, as did his brother-in-law, Kanievsky, and other senior rabbis. Lefkowitz also allowed etrog growers to take cuttings from the tree to grow entire orchards of etrogim certified as kosher by Karelitz.[14][15]

Halachic and philosophical positions edit

He believed that a halachic position taken by the Shulchan Aruch could not be reversed based on the new discovery of manuscripts of which the Shulchan Aruch's author was presumably unaware. This position is sometimes misunderstood to mean that no evidence from manuscripts may be used in the halachic process.[16]: 49 

Published works edit

In 1911, he published his first work on Orach Chayim and other parts of the Shulchan Aruch in Vilna, anonymously under the title Chazon Ish, meaning "Vision of a man",[1] with the word Ish alluding to the first letters of his two names (אברהם ישעיה), similar to Yaakov Emden's pen-name "Yaavetz".[1] In later years, he became almost exclusively known by the title Chazon Ish.

Although essentially an academic scholar, he applied himself to practical problems, devoting much effort to the strengthening of religious life and institutions. His rulings on the use of the milking machine on Shabbat and on cultivation by hydroponics during the sabbatical year are two illustrations of his practical approach. Karelitz wrote over 40 books in Hebrew.

In contrast to other great achronim such as Chaim Soloveitchik, Karelitz is known for avoiding formulaic or methodical analysis of Talmudic passages, instead preferring a more varied and intuitive approach similar to that of the rishonim. Karelitz also discounted the need to delve into musar as a formal study, feeling that a life dedicated to traditional Torah study would guide one toward the proper path. He particularly rejected elements of the Novardok philosophy, such as their extreme self-effacement and self-abasement.

In one of his regular lectures, Aharon Leib Steinman spoke about studying Kabbalah, and related that Karelitz had vast knowledge in Kabbalah. Karelitz studied with a secret kabbalist known as "The Baker of Kosovo."[17]

Recently translated into English is his philosophical essay Emunah Ubitachon (Faith and Trust) discussing his approach to faith and trust in God.

A fictionalized portrait of Karelitz by his onetime disciple, the Yiddish poet and novelist Chaim Grade, is to be found in Grade's epic novel Tsemakh Atlas: Di Yeshive,[18] translated into English as The Yeshiva.[19] Karelitz appears there as "Reb Avraham-Shaye Kosover."

A number of multi-volume biographies have been published about Karelitz, including Pe'er Hador, and the more recent Maaseh Ish, both in Hebrew.

A 1,000-page academic biography of Karelitz by Benny Brown was published by Magnes Press in 2011.[20] The contents of this academic biography were subsequently debated by Brown and Joshua Envel in the journal Yeshurun, Vol. 30.[21] In the following edition of Yeshurun, Vol. 31, Envel presented his own hypothesis how to systematically conceptualize the methodology of Karelitz.[22] Envel's approach was then the subject of correspondence with several readers in Yeshurun, Vol. 32.[23] More recently, a chapter from Brown's book was translated and published in Ḥakirah, Vol. 24.[24]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c A book about his sister Batya's life: Esther Austern (1990). Silence Is Thy Praise: The Life and Ideals of Rabbanit Batya Karelitz. Mesorah Publications. p. 58. ISBN 978-0-8990-65687.
  2. ^ a b Shdeour, E. "Harav Yitzchak Karelitz of Kosova, Hy"d". Hamodia, 12 January 2012, p. C2.
  3. ^ "Karelitz Family Genealogy". Retrieved July 19, 2020.
  4. ^ "Home". karelitzfamily.com.
  5. ^ "Chazon Ish: The State". 3 April 2016.
  6. ^ "Rav Yaakov Galinsky zt"l". matzav.com. January 23, 2014.
  7. ^ "Rav Galinsky was extremely close to the Chazon Ish and the Steipler Gaon"
  8. ^ "Ben-Gurion meets religious leader", The New York Times, October 21, 1952, His name is Rabbi Abraham Yeshayahu Karelitz. He came here from Lithuania eighteen years ago. He never has been ordained as a rabbi and he holds no official position but his word is law to thousands of pious Jews for whom he official chief rabbis of Israel are too liberal.
  9. ^ S. Finkelman. "Karelitz, Avraham Yeshayahu". JewishVirtualLibrary.org. a personality, holding no official position, who ...
  10. ^ Amnon Rubinstein (2000). From Herzl to Rabin: the changing image of Zionism. Holmes & Meier. p. 184. ISBN 9780841914087. Rabbi Avraham Yeshayaha Karelitz, the sage known as the Chazon Ish, "vigorously rejected Zionism, holding it responsible for the Holocaust."
  11. ^ Monty Noam Penkower (2010). Twentieth Century Jews: Forging Identity in the Land of Promise and in the Promised Land. Academic Studies Press. p. 247. ISBN 978-1-936235-20-9. And a few years later, Rabbi Karelitz would arrange to have a scathing attack by Elchonon Wasserman on Zionism, Iktveta d'Meshiha (The Footsteps of the Messiah), translated from the Yiddish into Hebrew and published in Palestine.
  12. ^ Marc B. Shapiro (1999). Between the Yeshiva World and Modern Orthodoxy: The Life and Works of Rabbi Jehiel Jacob Weinberg, 1884-1966. Littman Library. p. 208. ISBN 978-1-874774-52-5. ...one of whom (Soloveitchik) was a complete anti-Zionist while another (Karelitz) granted the State of Israel only grudging acceptance.
  13. ^ Michael Handelzalts (February 11, 2010). "Pen Ultimate / Better on a Camel". Haaretz.
  14. ^ Pines, Menachem (30 September 2009). "The Chazon Ish's Magic Esrog Tree" (PDF). Mishpacha. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  15. ^ Freund, Rabbi Tuvia. "The Tradition of Chazon Ish Esrogim". Hamodia Sukkos Torah Supplement, 21 September 2010, p. 9.
  16. ^ The role of manuscripts in halakhic decision-making: Hazon Ish, his precursors and contemporaries
  17. ^ House of Nobility, Humble Abode: Rav Elyashiv and His Torah Dynasty by Nosson Weiss. Mishpacha Magazine Issue 159 May 23, 2007
  18. ^ New York & Los Angeles: Yiddish Natzyonaln Arbeiter Farband, 1967-1968, two volumes
  19. ^ [Curt Leviant, tr.] (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1976-1977, two volumes.
  20. ^ . Archived from the original on 2011-11-08. Retrieved 2011-11-08.
  21. ^ "ישורון - חלק ל - ניסן תשעד - עורך: רבי שלמה גאטסמאן (Page 863 of 932)".
  22. ^ "ישורון - חלק לא - אלול תשעד - עורך: רבי שלמה גאטסמאן (Page 814 of 952)".
  23. ^ "ישורון - חלק לב - ניסן תשעה - עורך: רבי שלמה גאטסמאן (Page 938 of 944)".
  24. ^ The Gaon of Vilna, the Ḥatam Sofer, and the Ḥazon Ish: Minhag and the Crisis of Modernity

Further reading edit

avrohom, yeshaya, karelitz, avraham, yeshaya, karelitz, november, 1878, october, 1953, also, known, chazon, hebrew, החזון, איש, after, magnum, opus, belarusian, born, orthodox, rabbi, later, became, leaders, haredi, judaism, israel, where, spent, final, years,. Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz 7 November 1878 24 October 1953 also known as the Chazon Ish Hebrew החזון איש after his magnum opus was a Belarusian born Orthodox rabbi who later became one of the leaders of Haredi Judaism in Israel where he spent his final 20 years from 1933 to 1953 RabbiAvraham Yeshaya KarelitzPersonalBorn 1878 11 07 November 7 1878Kosava Grodno Governorate Russian EmpireDiedOctober 24 1953 1953 10 24 aged 74 Bnei Brak IsraelReligionJudaismSpouseBashe BeiParent s Rabbi Shmaryahu Yosef KarelitzRasha Leah Katzenellenbogen EpsteinOccupationRabbi Contents 1 Biography 2 Influence and authority 3 Chazon Ish etrog 4 Halachic and philosophical positions 5 Published works 6 References 7 Further readingBiography editAvraham Yeshaya Karelitz was born in Kosava in the Grodno Governorate of the Russian Empire now Brest Region Belarus the son of Shmaryahu Yosef Karelitz the rabbi of Kosava his mother was Rasha Leah 1 p 29 the daughter of Shaul Katzenelbogen 2 Avraham Yeshaya was born after his older brother Meir His younger brothers were Yitzchak and Moshe Yitzchak succeeded their father as the rabbi of Kosava he and his wife and daughter were shot to death in their home by the Germans in mid 1942 2 His oldest sisters were Henya Chaya Badana Tzivia and Batya Karelitz s youngest sister Pesha Miriam Miril married Rabbi Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky 3 Kanievsky referred to his brother in law Avraham Yeshaya as his mentor as long as the latter was alive As a youth Karelitz was sent to study under Chaim Soloveitchik of Brisk He did not take to the Brisker method of study and later it became clear that he actually opposed it After a few days he returned home and continued to study with his father who was head of the local Beth din He married Bashe Bei of Kvedarna 4 and developed a close relationship with Moshe Rosen Nezer HaKodesh He moved to Vilna in about 1920 and became close to Chaim Ozer Grodzinski consulting with him in all religious and communal matters Encouraged by Grodzinski and with Abraham Isaac Kook s help Karelitz settled in Eretz Israel then the British Mandate of Palestine in 1933 His house in Bnei Brak became the address for thousands who sought religious guidance Karelitz his brother in law Kanievsky and Yaakov Galinsky were extremely close 5 6 7 Karelitz devoted his life to the study of Torah while simultaneously gaining knowledge in secular sciences such as astronomy anatomy mathematics and botany After his marriage he continued to lead an extremely modest life his wife providing for their needs while he spent day and night studying Torah in depth He did not have any children Though he served as a religious leader for much of his life he never received formal ordination as a rabbi 8 Influence and authority editKarelitz did not publish many responsa yet still achieved recognition as a leading authority on halakha Like his brother in law Kanievsky Karelitz held no official position but nevertheless became a recognized worldwide authority on many matters relating to Jewish law and life 9 He declined to participate in any of the religious political movements which were very active prior to and during the formation of the State of Israel in 1948 Yet he had an immense influence on Haredi Judaism in Israel whose formative period coincided with his years in Israel He maintained an anti Zionist viewpoint 10 11 and begrudgingly accepted the existence of the Israeli state 12 In recognition of his deep insight and interest in many fields of study many sought his guidance on social and political issues David Ben Gurion the prime minister of Israel and Yitzhak Ben Zvi who became the second president of Israel visited him once to discuss political religious issues Karelitz cited one of a pair of metaphors from the Talmudic discussion Sanhedrin 32b one is about two camels which meet on a narrow mountain pass as a metaphor A camel without goods was expected to defer to a camel laden with goods similarly Karelitz contended secular society should defer to religious society which bore the goods of tradition 13 Chazon Ish etrog editOnly an etrog from a pure etrog tree is considered fit for the Sukkot festival service There exists a common concern that any etrog may have come from a tree grafted with lemon branches a practice which would result in nicer looking produce though rendering the fruit unfit for the festival service There is a variety of Balady citron in Karelitz s name which he certified for use as a pure etrog After one Sukkot Karelitz handed Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz a packet of seeds taken from the etrog he had used for the festival and instructed him to plant them in his yard Lefkowitz who had no agricultural experience followed his mentor s instructions to plant and water it and the tree grew and bore fruit Every year Karelitz came to select his etrog for the holiday from the tree as did his brother in law Kanievsky and other senior rabbis Lefkowitz also allowed etrog growers to take cuttings from the tree to grow entire orchards of etrogim certified as kosher by Karelitz 14 15 Halachic and philosophical positions editHe believed that a halachic position taken by the Shulchan Aruch could not be reversed based on the new discovery of manuscripts of which the Shulchan Aruch s author was presumably unaware This position is sometimes misunderstood to mean that no evidence from manuscripts may be used in the halachic process 16 49 Published works editIn 1911 he published his first work on Orach Chayim and other parts of the Shulchan Aruch in Vilna anonymously under the title Chazon Ish meaning Vision of a man 1 with the word Ish alluding to the first letters of his two names אברהם ישעיה similar to Yaakov Emden s pen name Yaavetz 1 In later years he became almost exclusively known by the title Chazon Ish Although essentially an academic scholar he applied himself to practical problems devoting much effort to the strengthening of religious life and institutions His rulings on the use of the milking machine on Shabbat and on cultivation by hydroponics during the sabbatical year are two illustrations of his practical approach Karelitz wrote over 40 books in Hebrew In contrast to other great achronim such as Chaim Soloveitchik Karelitz is known for avoiding formulaic or methodical analysis of Talmudic passages instead preferring a more varied and intuitive approach similar to that of the rishonim Karelitz also discounted the need to delve into musar as a formal study feeling that a life dedicated to traditional Torah study would guide one toward the proper path He particularly rejected elements of the Novardok philosophy such as their extreme self effacement and self abasement In one of his regular lectures Aharon Leib Steinman spoke about studying Kabbalah and related that Karelitz had vast knowledge in Kabbalah Karelitz studied with a secret kabbalist known as The Baker of Kosovo 17 Recently translated into English is his philosophical essay Emunah Ubitachon Faith and Trust discussing his approach to faith and trust in God A fictionalized portrait of Karelitz by his onetime disciple the Yiddish poet and novelist Chaim Grade is to be found in Grade s epic novel Tsemakh Atlas Di Yeshive 18 translated into English as The Yeshiva 19 Karelitz appears there as Reb Avraham Shaye Kosover A number of multi volume biographies have been published about Karelitz including Pe er Hador and the more recent Maaseh Ish both in Hebrew A 1 000 page academic biography of Karelitz by Benny Brown was published by Magnes Press in 2011 20 The contents of this academic biography were subsequently debated by Brown and Joshua Envel in the journal Yeshurun Vol 30 21 In the following edition of Yeshurun Vol 31 Envel presented his own hypothesis how to systematically conceptualize the methodology of Karelitz 22 Envel s approach was then the subject of correspondence with several readers in Yeshurun Vol 32 23 More recently a chapter from Brown s book was translated and published in Ḥakirah Vol 24 24 References edit a b c A book about his sister Batya s life Esther Austern 1990 Silence Is Thy Praise The Life and Ideals of Rabbanit Batya Karelitz Mesorah Publications p 58 ISBN 978 0 8990 65687 a b Shdeour E Harav Yitzchak Karelitz of Kosova Hy d Hamodia 12 January 2012 p C2 Karelitz Family Genealogy Retrieved July 19 2020 Home karelitzfamily com Chazon Ish The State 3 April 2016 Rav Yaakov Galinsky zt l matzav com January 23 2014 Rav Galinsky was extremely close to the Chazon Ish and the Steipler Gaon Ben Gurion meets religious leader The New York Times October 21 1952 His name is Rabbi Abraham Yeshayahu Karelitz He came here from Lithuania eighteen years ago He never has been ordained as a rabbi and he holds no official position but his word is law to thousands of pious Jews for whom he official chief rabbis of Israel are too liberal S Finkelman Karelitz Avraham Yeshayahu JewishVirtualLibrary org a personality holding no official position who Amnon Rubinstein 2000 From Herzl to Rabin the changing image of Zionism Holmes amp Meier p 184 ISBN 9780841914087 Rabbi Avraham Yeshayaha Karelitz the sage known as the Chazon Ish vigorously rejected Zionism holding it responsible for the Holocaust Monty Noam Penkower 2010 Twentieth Century Jews Forging Identity in the Land of Promise and in the Promised Land Academic Studies Press p 247 ISBN 978 1 936235 20 9 And a few years later Rabbi Karelitz would arrange to have a scathing attack by Elchonon Wasserman on Zionism Iktveta d Meshiha The Footsteps of the Messiah translated from the Yiddish into Hebrew and published in Palestine Marc B Shapiro 1999 Between the Yeshiva World and Modern Orthodoxy The Life and Works of Rabbi Jehiel Jacob Weinberg 1884 1966 Littman Library p 208 ISBN 978 1 874774 52 5 one of whom Soloveitchik was a complete anti Zionist while another Karelitz granted the State of Israel only grudging acceptance Michael Handelzalts February 11 2010 Pen Ultimate Better on a Camel Haaretz Pines Menachem 30 September 2009 The Chazon Ish s Magic Esrog Tree PDF Mishpacha Retrieved 21 August 2011 Freund Rabbi Tuvia The Tradition of Chazon Ish Esrogim Hamodia Sukkos Torah Supplement 21 September 2010 p 9 The role of manuscripts in halakhic decision making Hazon Ish his precursors and contemporaries House of Nobility Humble Abode Rav Elyashiv and His Torah Dynasty by Nosson Weiss Mishpacha Magazine Issue 159 May 23 2007 New York amp Los Angeles Yiddish Natzyonaln Arbeiter Farband 1967 1968 two volumes Curt Leviant tr Indianapolis Bobbs Merrill 1976 1977 two volumes החזון איש מאת בנימין בראון Archived from the original on 2011 11 08 Retrieved 2011 11 08 ישורון חלק ל ניסן תשעד עורך רבי שלמה גאטסמאן Page 863 of 932 ישורון חלק לא אלול תשעד עורך רבי שלמה גאטסמאן Page 814 of 952 ישורון חלק לב ניסן תשעה עורך רבי שלמה גאטסמאן Page 938 of 944 The Gaon of Vilna the Ḥatam Sofer and the Ḥazon Ish Minhag and the Crisis of ModernityFurther reading editChazon Ish Faith amp Trust Translated by Y Goldstein Am Asefer 2008 ISBN 978 965 7452 00 4 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Avrohom Yeshaya Karelitz amp oldid 1196619354, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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