Belarusian Orthodox rabbi, Talmudist and ethicist
Chaim of Volozhin
(also known as
Chaim ben Yitzchok of Volozhin
or
Chaim Ickovits
; 21 January 1749 – 14 June 1821)
[1]
[2]
was a
rabbi
,
Talmudist
, and
ethicist
. Popularly known as "Reb Chaim Volozhiner" or simply as "Reb Chaim", he was born in
Volozhin
(a.k.a.
Vało?yn
or
Valozhyn
) when it was a part of the
Polish?Lithuanian Commonwealth
. He died there while it was under the control of the
Russian Empire
.
The title of his
major work
is
Nefesh Ha-Chaim
.
Student of the Vilna Gaon
[
edit
]
Both Chaim and his elder brother Simcha (d. 1812) studied under Rabbi
Aryeh Leib ben Asher Gunzberg
, the author of the
Shaagas Aryeh
, who was then rabbi of Volozhin, and afterward under Rabbi
Raphael ha-Kohen
, (the author of the
Toras Yekusiel
), later of
Hamburg
.
[1]
Aged 25, Chaim became a disciple of
Vilna Gaon
.
[3]
Using his new teacher's method, he began his studies anew, returning to
Torah
,
Mishnah
,
Talmud
, and
Hebrew grammar
. His admiration for the gaon was boundless, and after his death Chaim virtually acknowledged no superior.
[4]
[1]
Establishing the Volozhin Yeshiva
[
edit
]
It was with the view of applying the methods of the Vilna Gaon that Chaim founded the
Volozhin yeshiva
, then called Yeshivat Etz Chaim, in 1795,
[5]
a
yeshiva
that remained in operation for almost 100 years until it was closed in 1892.
[6]
[7]
The yeshiva became the "mother of all
Lithuanian
-style yeshivas". He began with ten pupils, young residents of Volozhin, whom Chaim maintained at his own expense. It is related that his wife sold her jewelry to contribute to their maintenance.
The fame of the institution spread, and the number of its students increased, necessitating an appeal to which the Jews of Russia generously responded. Rabbi Chaim lived to see his yeshiva housed in its own building, and to preside over a hundred disciples.
[1]
[8]
He saw one of his students establish his own yeshiva, in
Mir
.
[9]
Chaim continued to teach the Vilna Gaon's study method of penetrating analysis of the Talmudic text, seeking to elicit the intent and meaning of the writing of the
Rishonim
. This approach was followed by all the great Lithuanian yeshivas, such as
Slobodka yeshiva
,
Mir Yeshiva
,
Ponevezh yeshiva
,
Kelm yeshiva
,
Kletsk yeshiva
, and
Telz yeshiva
.
Works
[
edit
]
Chaim's major work is the
Nefesh Ha-Chaim
("Living Soul"). It deals with complex understandings of the nature of God, but also with secrets of prayer and the importance of Torah, and the purpose being "to implant the fear of God,
Torah
, and pure worship into the hearts of the upright who are seeking the ways of God". It presents a clear and orderly
kabbalistic
Weltanschauung
that addresses many of the same issues as the
Hasidic
texts of the day. The work is generally viewed as the Lithuanian response to Hasidism, albeit in a much less harsh manner than the criticisms of Hasidim voiced by Rav Chaim's predecessors such as the Vilna Gaon and
Rav Yechezkel Landau
. Norman Lamm described its structure:
The
Nefesh ha-Hayyim
consists of five parts, four of which are numbered and are called 'gates.' The fifth part, which appears between the third and fourth gates, is unnumbered. The first three gates, which are primarily metaphysical-mystical, number, respectively, twenty-two, eighteen, and fourteen chapters. The fourth gate, or final part, which is more popular and exoteric and extols the study of Torah, contains thirty-four chapters. The unnumbered part, containing eight chapters, is in the nature of a preface to gate 4 (and henceforth will be termed 'pre-4') and deals primarily with ethical material, such as the suppression of pride and other undesirable character traits, especially as it relates to the study of Torah and the performance of the commandments. ... The fact that it is unnumbered indicates that it was written after the rest of the book had been composed and was already in completed manuscript form. Evidence for this may also be found from the glosses and cross-references that are found throughout the book.
[10]
In addition, Chaim wrote
Ruach Chaim
, published posthumously.
[11]
[12]
It is a commentary on
Pirkei Avoth
.
[1]
Both titles also play on his name, "Chaim". Thus, for example, "The Spirit of Life" can also be translated as "Chaim's Spirit" or "Chaim's Soul".
Many of Chaim's
responsa
on
halakhic
subjects were lost by fire in 1815.
[1]
Family
[
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]
Chaim's brother, known as Zalman of Volozhin, is considered to have been among the greatest students of the Vilna Gaon. Zalman of Volozhin's biography, the hagiographical
Toldos Adam
, includes many anecdotes related to the author by Rabbi Chaim. Rabbi Chaim's son,
Yitzchak
, took over the leadership of the yeshiva upon his father's death in 1821. Yitzchak's daughter, Rivka, was married to Rabbi Eliezer Yitzchak Fried, her first cousin. (Eliezer Yitzchak's mother, Esther, was Yitzchak's sister.) Another of Yitzchak's daughters married
Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin
aka the "Netziv". Among Rabbi Chaim's descendants are the
Soloveitchik family
, such as his great-grandson
Yosef Dov Soloveitchik
.
[13]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
public domain
:
Solomon Schechter
and
Peter Wiernik
(1901?1906).
"Hayyim Ben Isaac of Volozhin (Hayyim Volozhiner)"
. In
Singer, Isidore
; et al. (eds.).
The Jewish Encyclopedia
. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
Jewish Encyclopedia Bibliography:
Fuenn
, Keneset Yisrael, pp. 347?349; idem, Kiryah Ne'emanah, pp. 156?158; Lewin, Aliyyot Eliyahu (ed. Stettin), p. 70; Schechter, Studies in Judaism, p. 85, Philadelphia, 1896; Jatzkan, Rabbenu Eliyah mi-Wilna, pp. 100?106, St. Petersburg, 1901; Ha-Shahar, vi. 96; Eliezer of Botoshan, Kin'at Soferim, p. 796; Ahiasaf, 5654, p. 260, and 5699, p. 81; Reines, Ozar ha-Sifrut, iii.; Ha-Kerem, 1887, pp. 179?181; David Tebele, Bet Dawid, Preface, Warsaw, 1854; Maginne Erez, Preface, Shklov, 1803; Zedner, Cat. Hebr. Books Brit. Mus. pp. 179, 555.S
- ^
Library of Congress Authorities: Volozhiner, ?ayyim ben Isaac, 1749?1821
- ^
Diamond, Robin (14 July 2020).
"Rabbi Mendel Kessin: End of the American Exile"
.
blogs.timesofisrael.com
. Retrieved
18 August
2020
.
- ^
see Heschel Levin's "Aliyyot Eliyahu", pp. 55?56,
Vilna
, 1889
OCLC
77975422
- ^
??? ??????? page 100
- ^
Babel, Isaac (1 November 2018) [1931].
Odessa Stories
. Translated by Dralyuk, Boris. Pushkin Press.
ISBN
978-1-78227-552-7
.
- ^
Wolkenfeld, David.
"Rabbi Hayyim Soloveitchik of Brisk"
.
www.sefaria.org
. Retrieved
10 August
2020
.
- ^
"Chut ha-Meshullash," responsum No. 5, published by his great-grandson
OCLC
13995133
- ^
Schloss, Chaim (2002).
2000 Years of Jewish History: From the Destruction of the Second Bais Hamikdash Until the Twentieth Century
. Feldheim Publishers.
ISBN
978-1-58330-214-9
.
- ^
Lamm, Norman (1989).
Torah Lishmah ? Torah for Torah's Sake: In the Works of Rabbi Hayyim of Volozhin and His Contemporaries
. Hoboken, N.J.: Ktav Publishing House, Inc. p. 61.
ISBN
0881251178
.
- ^
Volozhin, Chaim (1859).
Ruach Chaim
.
OCLC
30583186
.
- ^
Volozhiner, ?ayyim ben Isaac (2018).
Ruach Chaim : Rav Chaim Volozhiner's classic commentary on Pirkei Avos
. Brooklyn, NY: Menucha Publishers.
ISBN
978-1614656791
.
- ^
D. Eliach, Avi Ha'yeshivot, p.21 (1991)
External links
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