Chaim Yitzchak Bloch Hacohen
Encyclopedia
Chaim Yitzchak Hacohen Bloch was a prominent Lithuanian rabbi from 1894-1922. In 1922 he left to the United States and was appointed rabbi in Jersey City, New Jersey
, where he remained until his death in 1948.
, Lithuania
in the year 1864 into an illustrious family of rabbis where learning Torah was emphasized. He received an excellent Jewish education from birth. After having studied at bastions of Talmudic study such as yeshivos Volozhin and Grubin, Rabbi Bloch went on to be a beloved rabbi and scholar. In his later years after his move to New Jersey, Rabbi Bloch was nominated honorary president of the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the U.S. and Canada.
, Rabbi Bloch's upbringing was instilled with an emphasis on perfection of ones self and diligence in Torah study. During his teenage years he first studied at Yeshivas Grubin under Rav Simcha Zissel Ziv
. His father then sent him to learn in the prominent Volozhin yeshiva where he got rabbinic ordination under the tutelage of Rav Chaim Soloveitchik
. While in Volozhin, Rabbi Bloch not only gained proficiency in Torah study but also developed amazing character traits. He also was well known for his expertise in various other areas of general knowledge.
(rabbinic ordination) from the illustrious Brisker Rav, Bloch returned to his hometown of Plunge
and founded a yeshiva. Four years later at the young age of 34 he was appointed the rabbi of Plunge. However, Bloch was recognized as a rising star in the Lithuanian rabbinical community and was destined for even greater prominence. Attesting to this fact, In 1902, Bloch succeeded Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Hacohen Kook
as the rabbi of Bausk, and was eventually chosen by the Lithuanian government to be the official chief rabbi. During World War I, Bloch was forced to leave Bausk and wandered in Russia before returning to Bausk in 1920.
, the famous organization that worked to save the Jews of Europe. Not content with his work at the Vaad Hahatzola, Bloch joined other forms of activism. In 1943, Bloch joined hundreds of other prominent rabbis from across the United States on the historic march on Washington. The rabbis’ march, which was organized by the Bergson Group together with the Vaad ha-Hatzala (the Orthodox rescue committee), was the only rally for rescue of Europe's Jews that was held in the nation's capitol during the Holocaust. The march was an important part of the campaign to alert the American public about the mass murder of the Jews and the need for rescue.
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, where he remained until his death in 1948.
Background
Bloch was born in PlungePlunge
Plungė is a city in Lithuania with 23,246 inhabitants. It has a crab stick factory which exports to many countries in Europe.Before World War II, Plunge had a large Jewish population.- History :...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
in the year 1864 into an illustrious family of rabbis where learning Torah was emphasized. He received an excellent Jewish education from birth. After having studied at bastions of Talmudic study such as yeshivos Volozhin and Grubin, Rabbi Bloch went on to be a beloved rabbi and scholar. In his later years after his move to New Jersey, Rabbi Bloch was nominated honorary president of the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the U.S. and Canada.
Formative years
With family roots traced back to the prominent Acharonin the Shach and the Shlah HakodoshIsaiah Horowitz
Isaiah Horowitz, , also known as the Shelah ha-Kadosh after the title of his best-known work, was a prominent Levite rabbi and mystic.-Biography:...
, Rabbi Bloch's upbringing was instilled with an emphasis on perfection of ones self and diligence in Torah study. During his teenage years he first studied at Yeshivas Grubin under Rav Simcha Zissel Ziv
Simcha Zissel Ziv
Rabbi Simcha Zissel Ziv Broida , also known as the Alter of Kelm , was one of the foremost students of Rabbi Yisrael Salanter and one of the early leaders of the Musar movement...
. His father then sent him to learn in the prominent Volozhin yeshiva where he got rabbinic ordination under the tutelage of Rav Chaim Soloveitchik
Chaim Soloveitchik
Chaim Soloveitchik , also known as Reb Chaim Brisker, was a rabbi and Talmudic scholar credited as the founder of the popular Brisker approach to Talmudic study within Judaism. He was born in Volozhin in 1853, where his father, Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik served as a lecturer in the famous...
. While in Volozhin, Rabbi Bloch not only gained proficiency in Torah study but also developed amazing character traits. He also was well known for his expertise in various other areas of general knowledge.
Early rabbinic years
In 1894, after returning from Volozhin with semichaSemicha
, also , or is derived from a Hebrew word which means to "rely on" or "to be authorized". It generally refers to the ordination of a rabbi within Judaism. In this sense it is the "transmission" of rabbinic authority to give advice or judgment in Jewish law...
(rabbinic ordination) from the illustrious Brisker Rav, Bloch returned to his hometown of Plunge
Plunge
Plungė is a city in Lithuania with 23,246 inhabitants. It has a crab stick factory which exports to many countries in Europe.Before World War II, Plunge had a large Jewish population.- History :...
and founded a yeshiva. Four years later at the young age of 34 he was appointed the rabbi of Plunge. However, Bloch was recognized as a rising star in the Lithuanian rabbinical community and was destined for even greater prominence. Attesting to this fact, In 1902, Bloch succeeded Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Hacohen Kook
Abraham Isaac Kook
Abraham Isaac Kook was the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of the British Mandate for Palestine, the founder of the Religious Zionist Yeshiva Merkaz HaRav, Jewish thinker, Halachist, Kabbalist and a renowned Torah scholar...
as the rabbi of Bausk, and was eventually chosen by the Lithuanian government to be the official chief rabbi. During World War I, Bloch was forced to leave Bausk and wandered in Russia before returning to Bausk in 1920.
Later years and activism
In the aftermath of the carnage that World War I wreaked upon Europe, Bloch decided (1922) to move to Jersey City, New Jersey. Upon his arrival, he was appointed rabbi and created a thriving Jewish community. In 1932, Bloch was elected president of the Union of Orthodox Rabbis (Agudas Harabonim), which was at the time the foremost grouping of American rabbis. Although Rabbi Bloch left Europe, the plight of the European Jews was constantly on his mind. Due to this instinctive empathy for his fellow Jews, during World War II Bloch became one of the leaders of the Vaad HaHatzolaVaad Hatzalah
Vaad Hatzalah was an organization to rescue Jews in Europe from the Holocaust.It was founded in November 1939 by the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada...
, the famous organization that worked to save the Jews of Europe. Not content with his work at the Vaad Hahatzola, Bloch joined other forms of activism. In 1943, Bloch joined hundreds of other prominent rabbis from across the United States on the historic march on Washington. The rabbis’ march, which was organized by the Bergson Group together with the Vaad ha-Hatzala (the Orthodox rescue committee), was the only rally for rescue of Europe's Jews that was held in the nation's capitol during the Holocaust. The march was an important part of the campaign to alert the American public about the mass murder of the Jews and the need for rescue.
Scholarly works
Bloch was not only a beloved pulpit rabbi, but also a scholar of great erudition. Below is a list of Seforim (books) on Talmud, Halachah, and Ethics that Rabbi Bloch compiled.- Divrei Chibah on Chidushei Haritvah- Meseches Moed Katan
- Divrei Chibah on Chidushei Haritvah- Meseches Meggilah
- Divrei Chibah on Chidushei Haritvah- Meseches Makkos
- Divrei Chibah on Halachah
- Likkutei Ha-Rayiv
- Ha-Mavhin