Aaron Schechter - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Aaron Moshe Schechter is the rosh yeshiva

Rosh yeshiva

Rosh yeshiva, , , is the title given to the dean of a Talmudical academy . It is made up of the Hebrew words rosh — meaning head, and yeshiva — a school of religious Jewish education...

("dean") of the Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin

Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin

Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin or Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin, is a Haredi Lithuanian-type yeshiva located in Brooklyn, New York. Established in 1904 as Yeshiva Tiferes Bachurim, it is the oldest yeshiva in Kings County...

and its post-graduate Talmud

Talmud

The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....

ical division Kollel Gur Aryeh

Kollel Gur Aryeh

Kollel Gur Aryeh is a kollel for young married Orthodox men located in Brooklyn, New York. It was established in 1956 by Rabbi Yitzchok Hutner as the post-graduate division of the Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin. A number of well-known Haredi scholars and rosh yeshivas are among its alumni.The kollel is...

as well as of all the branches of the yeshiva in Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

, New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

that includes an elementary school and a high school for young Jewish boys, teenagers, and young men almost exclusively drawn from the surrounding community of Haredi

Haredi Judaism

Haredi or Charedi/Chareidi Judaism is the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism, often referred to as ultra-Orthodox. A follower of Haredi Judaism is called a Haredi ....

Jews living in Midwood, Brooklyn

Midwood, Brooklyn

Midwood is a neighborhood in the south central part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, New York, USA, roughly halfway between Prospect Park and Coney Island. The neighborhood is within Community District 14...

. The total number of students at the "Chaim Berlin" institutions is close to three thousand students.

Rabbi Schechter was born in Brooklyn in the 1920s and became a disciple of Rabbi Yitzchok Hutner

Yitzchok Hutner

Yitzchok Hutner was an Orthodox rabbi and American rosh yeshiva.-Early years:Yitchok Hutner was born in Warsaw, Poland, to a family with both Ger Hasidic and non-Hasidic Lithuanian Jewish roots. As a child he received private instruction in Torah and Talmud...

after being enrolled in the Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin

Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin

as a young child. His father belonged to the Young Israel

Young Israel

The National Council of Young Israel or Young Israel , is a synagogue-based Orthodox Judaism organization in the United States with a network of affiliated "Young Israel" synagogues...

movement and was befriended by Rabbi Hutner who had arrived in America in the 1930s.

Disciple of Rabbi Yitzchok Hutner

Rabbi Hutner chose Rabbi Schechter for leadearship positions in the yeshiva even prior to Rabbi Schechter's marriage. He encouraged Rabbi Schechter to write a rabbinic

Rabbinic literature

Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, can mean the entire spectrum of rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history. However, the term often refers specifically to literature from the Talmudic era, as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic writing, and thus corresponds with the Hebrew term...

commentary on Maimonides

Maimonides

Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...

that he called Avodas Aharon and Rabbi Hutner wrote a glowing approbation:

...I recognized in you that your heart is the heart of the lion in all areas of the Torah: In hilchot deiot ("laws of ideas"), chovot halevavot ("duties of the heart"), and in the mitzvot

613 mitzvot

The 613 commandments is a numbering of the statements and principles of law, ethics, and spiritual practice contained in the Torah or Five Books of Moses...

of the limbs. And now that I have merited to see you in terms of a man elevated as a gaon ("genius") in Torah and knowledge...

...Avodat Aharon is the suitable name. Since this name combines the unique manner of your spiritual direction...that is combining the totality of the light of Torah and the light of avoda ("serving [God]") into one light. And I pray and my blessings to you is, my beloved, that these two lights of Torah and avoda will be purely upon your head, and from upon your brow shall shine forth the holy tzitz ("gold plate") like all the Torah and avoda of Aaron

Aaron

In the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an, Aaron : Ααρών ), who is often called "'Aaron the Priest"' and once Aaron the Levite , was the older brother of Moses, and a prophet of God. He represented the priestly functions of his tribe, becoming the first High Priest of the Israelites...

. And in its light shall you perceive light to complete your portion in the Torah, in depth and completion, like the good hand of God that is upon you, and may your friends rejoice, and may your disciples be raised through your hand to light up the world with the light of Torah and knowledge of God.

The one who loves you and desires the shalom ("completeness and greatness") of your Torah.

Yitzchok Hutner.

Rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin

A number of years prior to his passing in 1980, Rabbi Hutner officially announced that Rabbi Schechter and Rabbi Yonasan David

Yonasan David

Yonasan Dovid David is the rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Pachad Yitzchok and Kollel Ohr Eliyahu in the Har Nof section in Jerusalem. He also serves as the co-rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin together with Rabbi Aaron Schechter in Brooklyn, New York City.-Biography:Rabbi David is married to Dr...

would both serve as co-equal roshei yeshiva

Rosh yeshiva

Rosh yeshiva, , , is the title given to the dean of a Talmudical academy . It is made up of the Hebrew words rosh — meaning head, and yeshiva — a school of religious Jewish education...

of the Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin

Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin

. This was done when the yeshiva moved to its location on Coney Island Avenue

Coney Island Avenue

Coney Island Avenue is a roadway in the New York City borough of Brooklyn that runs north-south for a distance of roughly five miles, almost parallel to Ocean Parkway. It begins at Brighton Beach Avenue in Coney Island and goes north to Park Circle at the southwest corner of Prospect Park, where...

in 1966 and Rabbi Hutner declared to all present that henceforth Rabbi Schechter and Rabbi David would share seats at the front of the main beth midrash

Beth midrash

Beth Midrash refers to a study hall, whether in a synagogue, yeshiva, kollel, or other building. It is distinct from a synagogue, although many synagogues are also used as batei midrash and vice versa....

(the main study hall of the yeshiva) with Rabbi Schechter sitting at the front right and Rabbi David at the front left, and with Rabbi Hutner sitting in the center. Even after the death of Rabbi Hutner, the center seat has been left empty as a kind of "holy spot", with Rabbi Schechter continuing to occupy the front right position. When Rabbi David returns for brief visits from Israel he assumes his position in the front left of the beth midrash. The seating arrangements reflect both Rabbi Schechter's and Rabbi David's shared position of supreme authority within the totality of the yeshiva.

Administration

A great part of Rabbi Schechter's success in building and expanding the Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin and helping launch the careers of a number of his disciples as rosh yeshivas has been his ability to maintain good ties with alumni. In this regard, Rabbi Schechter enjoys one of the greatest human legacies that Rabbi Hutner bequeathed in the person of philanthropist Abraham Fruchthandler who serves as president of the Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin and heads its overall operations all under the guidance of Rabbi Schechter.

Agudath Israel and Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah

After the death of Rabbi Hutner in 1980 Rabbi Schechter joined the nesius ("presidium") of Agudath Israel of America

Agudath Israel of America

Agudath Israel of America , is a Haredi Jewish communal organization in the United States loosely affiliated with the international World Agudath Israel.-Functions:...

. After the death in 1987 of Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak Ruderman

Yaakov Yitzchak Ruderman

Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman was a prominent Talmudic scholar and Rabbi who founded and served as Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Ner Yisroel in Baltimore....

(the founder and rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Ner Yisrael

Yeshiva Ner Yisrael: Ner Israel Rabbinical College

Ner Israel Rabbinical College or NIRC, is a prominent yeshiva in Baltimore, Maryland, founded in 1933 by Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman, a disciple of Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel, dean of the Slabodka yeshiva in Lithuania...

in Baltimore) Rabbi Schechter was accepted as a one of the select members of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah

Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah

Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah refers to the supreme rabbinical policy-making council of any of several related Haredi Jewish organizations....

, the supreme rabbi

Rabbi

In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...

nical policy decision-making body of Agudath Israel of America

Agudath Israel of America

Agudath Israel of America , is a Haredi Jewish communal organization in the United States loosely affiliated with the international World Agudath Israel.-Functions:...

that is loosely affiliated with the World Agudath Israel

World Agudath Israel

World Agudath Israel , usually known as the Aguda, was established in the early twentieth century as the political arm of Ashkenazi Torah Judaism, in succession to Agudas Shlumei Emunei Yisroel...

movement and its ideological kindred movements in Israel of Agudat Israel

Agudat Israel

Agudat Yisrael began as the original political party representing the ultra-Orthodox population of Israel. It was the umbrella party for almost all ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel, and before that in the British Mandate of Palestine...

and Degel HaTorah

Degel HaTorah

Degel HaTorah is an Ashkenazi Haredi political party in Israel. For much of its existence it has been allied to Agudat Yisrael under the name United Torah Judaism.-Ideology:...

. In this capacity Rabbi Schechter has become one of the foremost guides and leaders for Haredi Judaism

Haredi Judaism

Haredi or Charedi/Chareidi Judaism is the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism, often referred to as ultra-Orthodox. A follower of Haredi Judaism is called a Haredi ....

in the United States, particularly of the Lithuanian Jewish

Lithuanian Jews

Lithuanian Jews or Litvaks are Jews with roots in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania:...

community (although he does work closely with most branches of Hasidic Judaism

Hasidic Judaism

Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...

.)

Rabbi Schechter works closely with two other early disciples of Rabbi Hutner on the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah, Rabbi Aharon Feldman

Aharon Feldman

Aharon Feldman is an Orthodox Jewish rabbi and rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Ner Yisroel in Baltimore, Maryland. He has held this position since 2001....

of Yeshiva Ner Yisrael

Yeshiva Ner Yisrael: Ner Israel Rabbinical College

and Rabbi Yaakov Perlow

Yaakov Perlow

Rabbi Yaakov Perlow is a Hasidic rebbe and rosh yeshiva living in Boro Park, Brooklyn. He is the current Novominsker Rebbe and serves as rosh of the American Agudath Israel of America, a Haredi communal organization...

( who was appointed Rosh Agudas Yisroel -- "head [of] Agudath Israel [of America]") the Hasidic

Hasidic Judaism

Rebbe of Novominsk

Novominsk (Hasidic dynasty)

Novominsk is the name of a Hasidic dynasty originating in Mińsk Mazowiecki, Poland and currently based in the United States. It also runs a yeshiva knows Yeshivas Novominsk- Kol Yehuda....

as well as with all the members of the Moetzes and the lay leadership of Agudath Israel that is headquartered in Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

Leadership beyond Brooklyn

Rabbi Schechter sits on the governing rabbinical boards of key Haredi institutions in the United States, such as Torah Umesorah - National Society for Hebrew Day Schools

Torah Umesorah - National Society for Hebrew Day Schools

Torah Umesorah – National Society for Hebrew Day Schools is an Orthodox Jewish organization that fosters and promotes Torah-based Jewish religious education in North America by supporting and developing a loosely affiliated network of 760 independent private Jewish day schools catering to more...

and Chinuch Atzmai

Chinuch Atzmai

Chinuch Atzmai was founded in 1953 by the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah to serve as an alternate school system for Orthodox children in Israel. It was initially led by Rabbi Zalman Sorotzkin....

. Quite a number of his own disciples have become rosh yeshivas in their own right and many have become members of "out-of-town" Kollel

Kollel

A kollel is an institute for full-time, advanced study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features shiurim and learning sedarim ; unlike a yeshiva, the student body of a kollel are all married men...

s (post graduate and outreach schools) and Jewish day school

Jewish day school

A Jewish day school is a modern Jewish educational institution that is designed to provide Jewish children with both a Jewish and a secular education in one school on a full time basis, hence its name of "day school" meaning a school that the students attend for an entire day and not on a part time...

. Many of these young rabbis and their wives frequently look to him and seek out his counsel which he dispenses with great caution and in private as he rarely speaks in public (another of Rabbi Hutner's trademarks that he has adopted) preferring to focus the bulk of his energies on his students, yeshiva business and delivering his regular Talmud

Talmud

The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....

ic shiurim ("lectures") which only his students are permitted to attend.

External links

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