Mayer E. Twersky is an Orthodox

Orthodox Judaism

Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...

 rabbi and one of the 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...

 at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) of Yeshiva University

Yeshiva University

Yeshiva University is a private university in New York City, with six campuses in New York and one in Israel. Founded in 1886, it is a research university ranked as 45th in the US among national universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2012...

. He holds the Leib Merkin Distinguished Professorial Chair in Talmud and Jewish Philosophy. His popular lectures emphasize a combination of penetrating conceptual analyses and deep ethical imperatives.

Twersky hails from the well-known chassidic

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...

 family of Chernobyl

Chernobyl (Hasidic dynasty)

Chernobyl is a Hasidic dynasty that was founded by Grand Rabbi Menachem Nachum Twersky, known by the name of his work as the "Meor Einayim Chernobyl is a Hasidic dynasty that was founded by Grand Rabbi Menachem Nachum Twersky, known by the name of his work as the "Meor Einayim Chernobyl is a...

. He is the younger son of Isadore Twersky

Isadore Twersky

Isadore Twersky was an Orthodox rabbi and the Nathan Littauer Professor of Hebrew Literature and Philosophy at Harvard University, a chair previously held by Harry Austryn Wolfson. Twersky was an internationally recognized authority on Rabbinic literature and Jewish philosophy...

 and is a distant cousin of Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski

Abraham J. Twerski

Abraham Joshua Twerski is an American Hasidic rabbi, a scion of the Chernobil Hasidic dynasty, and a psychiatrist specializing in substance abuse...

. Other cousins include the Grand Rabbis of Chernobyl, and anyone with the last name of Twersky (or Twerski). He is also a grandson and close student of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik.

Twersky attended the Maimonides School

Maimonides School

Maimonides School is a coeducational, Modern Orthodox, Jewish day school located in Brookline, Massachusetts. The school was founded in 1937 by Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik and his wife Tonya Soloveitchik...

, which his grandfather founded, through high school. He then attended Harvard College

Harvard College

Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...

, while studying Talmud privately with his grandfather. Following college, he studied for rabbinic ordination at RIETS. He eventually became a teacher in the Yeshiva University High School for Boys

Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy

The Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy, also known as Yeshiva University High School for Boys , MTA or TMSTA , is an Orthodox Jewish day school , the boys' high school of Yeshiva University in the Washington Heights neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan.-History:The Talmudical...

 and later a lecturer in RIETS.

In addition to Hebrew articles in RIETS's annual Torah journal, Twersky has published three English articles in the journal Tradition

Tradition (journal)

Tradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought is a quarterly Orthodox academic journal published by the Rabbinical Council of America in association with Yeshiva University in New York City...

and an English article in the Orthodox Union

Orthodox Union

The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America , more popularly known as the Orthodox Union , is one of the oldest Orthodox Jewish organizations in the United States. It is best known for its kosher food preparation supervision service...

's magazine Jewish Action

Jewish Action

Jewish Action is an American Orthodox Jewish magazine published by the Orthodox Union.The magazine generally presents a Modern Orthodox viewpoint, and covers "topics of interest to an international Orthodox Jewish audience.....

. Two of these four articles relate to the place of women in contemporary Orthodox Judaism.

Twersky currently holds the position of Grand Rabbi of the Talne hasidim.

Twersky is currently on the board of TorahWeb, which frequently publishes short English articles of his. He also lectures frequently to synagogue congregants.

Online Speeches

• TorahWeb.org Audio and Video
• YU Torah
• Leib Merkin Distinguished Professorial Chair in Talmud and Jewish Philosophy

Online Articles

• TorahWeb.org Articles
• Torah Perspectives on Women's Issues
• Halakhic Values and Halakhic Decisions: Rav Soloveitchik’s Pesak Regarding Women’s Prayer Groups
• http://www.edah.org/backend/coldfusion/search/document.cfm?title=Values%2C%20Halakhah%20and%20Pesaq%3A%20Continued%20Discussion%20Of%20%22Halakhic%20Values%3A%20Pesaq%20or%20Persuasion%22&hyperlink=3%5F2%5Fstudent%2Dsinger%2Ehtm&type=JournalArticle&category=Jewish%20Diversity%2FRelating%20to%20the%20Non%2DOrthodox&authortitle=&firstname=Gil%20&lastname=Student&pubsource=not%20available&authorid=579&pdfattachment=3%5F2%5FStudent%2DSinger%2EpdfRabbi Gil Student's defense of Rabbi Twersky's article]