Novardok yeshiva
Encyclopedia
The Novardok yeshiva in Navahrudak, then the Russian Empire
, was one of the biggest and most important yeshiva
s in pre-World War II
Europe
, and a powerful force within the Mussar movement
. The yeshiva was established in 1896, together with a Kollel
for married men, under the direction of Rabbi Yosef Yozel Horwitz, an alumnus of the Kovno Kollel
and pupil of Rabbi Yisrael Salanter
. In the footsteps of his mentor, he was a staunch advocate of the Mussar approach. He was known as the der Alter fun Novardok, a Yiddish
term meaning "the elder of Novardok".
The yeshiva opened with ten students. A few months later there were already fifty. A year after the yeshiva's establishment, great criticism was levelled at the study and practice of Mussar, and the opponents of that philosophy sought to close the yeshiva. They didn't succeed. By 1899, the yeshiva had swelled to 200 pupils.
After the Bolshevik takeover of Russia
, the Alter ordered his students to cross the border into Poland
. Many of the students were shot in the attempt; others were sent to Siberia
n prison camp
s, but six hundred made it across the border. Novardok yeshiva was re-established in Białystok under the leadership of the Alter's son-in-law, Rabbi Avraham Yoffen, it soon became the center of an entire movement. Following the doctrine of "springs flowing outward", in a few years Novardok established yeshivas all over the region, in major cities such as Kiev
, Kharkov, Odessa
Kherson
, Nizhny Novgorod
, Rostov-on-Don
, Zhitomir, Berdichev, Tsaritsyn, Saratov
, Plogid, Chernigov, Pinsk
, Cherson, Mogilev
, Kamieniec-Podolski, Nikolaev
, Bălţi
and Od.
Students of Novardok participated in deliberately humiliating behaviour, such as going to a bakery and asking for a box of nails, or wearing a tie made out of hay. One pupil related that the purpose of these exercises were not to "put yourself down", as is commonly thought. The training, in fact, promoted the opposite; it gave the students the emotional freedom from the chains of public approval. They discovered that the fear of embarrassment was actually much greater than the reality. This strengthened their confidence to do the right thing, oblivious to what others might think.
, and without a word to anyone, study Torah
.
With this method, Novardok established in Poland alone no less than seventy yeshivas of varying sizes. Dispatched from the yeshiva base in Białystok, teams would investigate towns and cities and evaluate their suitability for a yeshiva. The extensive Novardok network supplied half of all the students to Eastern Europe
's other famous yeshivas.
, New York
where he re-established his yeshiva. The faculty consisted of Rabbi Yoffen as dean, his son Rabbi Yaakov Yoffen as a lecturer, and his son-in-law Rabbi Yehuda Leib Nekritz as Mashgiach ruchani
. However, the post-WWII yeshivas are run as regular yeshivas, without the unique Novardok way of education.
During the 1960s Rabbi Avraham Yoffen moved to Jerusalem and established a branch of his yeshiva in Meah Shearim. Under the leadership of the younger Rabbi Yoffen and Rabbi Nekritz, the Brooklyn branch continued to thrive and became renowned as a center for very advanced Talmudic studies.
Following Rabbi Avraham Yoffen's passing in 1970, leadership of the Jerusalem branch was assumed by his grandson, Rabbi Aaron Yoffen, the editor of the Mossad Harav Kook
edition of the Ritva's commentary to Yevamot and Nedarim. Yearly, Rabbi Yaakov Jofen would travel to Jerusalem to teach the students of his father's yeshiva.
Following Rabbi Nekritz's death and Rabbi Yaakov Yoffen's passing in 2003, the leadership of the Brooklyn-based yeshiva fell to their sons, Rabbi Mordechai Yoffen and Rabbi Tzvi Nekritz. They chose to move the Yeshiva to the Flatbush
neighborhood of Brooklyn, and bringing in Rabbi Yaakov Drillman of Yeshiva Chaim Berlin as a Rosh Yeshiva.
The Jerusalem branch is headed by Rabbi Shmuel and Rabbi Eitan Yoffen, sons of Rabbi Aaron Yoffen. However, the latter is primarily a high level talmudic professor in the Mir Yeshiva of Jerusalem
.
Another branch of the yeshiva, the Yeshiva of Far Rockaway
in Far Rockaway, New York, is led by Rabbi Yechiel Perr, the son-in-law of Rabbi Yehuda Leib Nekritz. The yeshiva is named after Rabbi Yoffen's book, Derech Ayson.
Another branch in the footsteps of Novardok is Yeshiva Madreigas HaAdam in Queens, NY, named after the Alter's mussar compendium, headed by Rabbi Yoffen's grandson, Rabbi Moshe Faskowitz.
An additional network of Novardok Yeshivas was founded after World War II in France
by Rabbi Gershon Libman (1905-1997).
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, was one of the biggest and most important yeshiva
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
s in pre-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and a powerful force within the Mussar movement
Mussar movement
The Musar movement is a Jewish ethical, educational and cultural movement that developed in 19th century Eastern Europe, particularly among Orthodox Lithuanian Jews. The Hebrew term Musar , is from the book of Proverbs 1:2 meaning instruction, discipline, or conduct...
. The yeshiva was established in 1896, together with a 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...
for married men, under the direction of Rabbi Yosef Yozel Horwitz, an alumnus of the Kovno Kollel
Kovno kollel
The Kovno Kollel also known as Kollel Perushim of Kovno or Kollel Knesses Beis Yitzchok, was a kollel located in Kaunas, Lithuania. It was founded in 1877 by Rabbi Yisrael Lipkin Salanter when he was 67....
and pupil of Rabbi Yisrael Salanter
Yisrael Salanter
Rabbi Yisroel Lipkin, better known as "Yisroel Salanter" or "Israel Salanter" , was the father of the Musar movement in Orthodox Judaism and a famed Rosh yeshiva and Talmudist...
. In the footsteps of his mentor, he was a staunch advocate of the Mussar approach. He was known as the der Alter fun Novardok, a Yiddish
Yiddish language
Yiddish is a High German language of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. It developed as a fusion of German dialects with Hebrew, Aramaic, Slavic languages and traces of Romance languages...
term meaning "the elder of Novardok".
The yeshiva opened with ten students. A few months later there were already fifty. A year after the yeshiva's establishment, great criticism was levelled at the study and practice of Mussar, and the opponents of that philosophy sought to close the yeshiva. They didn't succeed. By 1899, the yeshiva had swelled to 200 pupils.
After the Bolshevik takeover of Russia
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
, the Alter ordered his students to cross the border into Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. Many of the students were shot in the attempt; others were sent to Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
n prison camp
Internment
Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of 'interning'; confinement within the limits of a country or place." Most modern usage is about individuals, and there is a distinction...
s, but six hundred made it across the border. Novardok yeshiva was re-established in Białystok under the leadership of the Alter's son-in-law, Rabbi Avraham Yoffen, it soon became the center of an entire movement. Following the doctrine of "springs flowing outward", in a few years Novardok established yeshivas all over the region, in major cities such as Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, Kharkov, Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
Kherson
Kherson
Kherson is a city in southern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Kherson Oblast , and is designated as its own separate raion within the oblast. Kherson is an important port on the Black Sea and Dnieper River, and the home of a major ship-building industry...
, Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod , colloquially shortened to Nizhny, is, with the population of 1,250,615, the fifth largest city in Russia, ranking after Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, and Yekaterinburg...
, Rostov-on-Don
Rostov-on-Don
-History:The mouth of the Don River has been of great commercial and cultural importance since the ancient times. It was the site of the Greek colony Tanais, of the Genoese fort Tana, and of the Turkish fortress Azak...
, Zhitomir, Berdichev, Tsaritsyn, Saratov
Saratov
-Modern Saratov:The Saratov region is highly industrialized, due in part to the rich in natural and industrial resources of the area. The region is also one of the more important and largest cultural and scientific centres in Russia...
, Plogid, Chernigov, Pinsk
Pinsk
Pinsk , a town in Belarus, in the Polesia region, traversed by the river Pripyat, at the confluence of the Strumen and Pina rivers. The region was known as the Marsh of Pinsk. It is a fertile agricultural center. It lies south-west of Minsk. The population is about 130,000...
, Cherson, Mogilev
Mogilev
Mogilev is a city in eastern Belarus, about 76 km from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and 105 km from the border with Russia's Bryansk Oblast. It has more than 367,788 inhabitants...
, Kamieniec-Podolski, Nikolaev
Mykolaiv
Mykolaiv , also known as Nikolayev , is a city in southern Ukraine, administrative center of the Mykolaiv Oblast. Mykolaiv is the main ship building center of the Black Sea, and, arguably, the whole Eastern Europe.-Name of city:...
, Bălţi
Balti
Balti can refer to:* Balti language, a language spoken in Baltistan in Pakistan and Ladakh in Kashmir* Balti people, Muslims of Ladakhi/Tibetan origin from Baltistan in Pakistan and Ladakh in Kashmir...
and Od.
Self-improvement
Novardok had its own unique outlook, stressing the wearing of tattered clothing and total negation of ego and the physical world. Through this the complete and total focus of a person can be on his spiritual and intellectual side. Like other Mussar schools, Novardok demanded the complete shattering of personal desires, eradicating any vestige of evil habits. For that purpose, students would carry notebooks, in which they would daily enter records of failures and achievements. Before bedtime they would check their "bookkeeping" and make plans-of-action for correcting faults. One method of "breaking" oneself was by denying oneself the rewards of a sin.Students of Novardok participated in deliberately humiliating behaviour, such as going to a bakery and asking for a box of nails, or wearing a tie made out of hay. One pupil related that the purpose of these exercises were not to "put yourself down", as is commonly thought. The training, in fact, promoted the opposite; it gave the students the emotional freedom from the chains of public approval. They discovered that the fear of embarrassment was actually much greater than the reality. This strengthened their confidence to do the right thing, oblivious to what others might think.
Novardok network
An extension of Novardok's unconventional approach entailed the establishment of numerous branches of the yeshiva. The most elite students of the yeshiva would set out on foot to strange communities without a penny in their pockets, simultaneously abstaining from speech and not asking for a ride or even food. Upon reaching a town, they would enter the Beth MidrashBeth 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....
, and without a word to anyone, study Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
.
With this method, Novardok established in Poland alone no less than seventy yeshivas of varying sizes. Dispatched from the yeshiva base in Białystok, teams would investigate towns and cities and evaluate their suitability for a yeshiva. The extensive Novardok network supplied half of all the students to Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
's other famous yeshivas.
In Israel
One of the Alter's star students, Rabbi Ben Tzion Bruk opened a branch of the Yeshiva in Jerusalem in the 1930's. The Yeshiva was called Bais Yoseph Novardok. Today, it is headed by his son and grandson, Rabbi Yitzchok Bruk and Rabbi Avrohom Bruk, respectively.Post World War II
After escaping Nazi Europe, Rabbi Avraham Yoffen settled in BrooklynBrooklyn
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
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
where he re-established his yeshiva. The faculty consisted of Rabbi Yoffen as dean, his son Rabbi Yaakov Yoffen as a lecturer, and his son-in-law Rabbi Yehuda Leib Nekritz as Mashgiach ruchani
Mashgiach ruchani
Mashgiach ruchani or mashgiach for short, means a spiritual supervisor or guide. It is a title which usually refers to a rabbi who has an official position within a yeshiva and is responsible for the non-academic areas of yeshiva students' lives.The position of mashgiach ruchani arose with the...
. However, the post-WWII yeshivas are run as regular yeshivas, without the unique Novardok way of education.
During the 1960s Rabbi Avraham Yoffen moved to Jerusalem and established a branch of his yeshiva in Meah Shearim. Under the leadership of the younger Rabbi Yoffen and Rabbi Nekritz, the Brooklyn branch continued to thrive and became renowned as a center for very advanced Talmudic studies.
Following Rabbi Avraham Yoffen's passing in 1970, leadership of the Jerusalem branch was assumed by his grandson, Rabbi Aaron Yoffen, the editor of the Mossad Harav Kook
Mossad Harav Kook
Mossad Harav kook is a religious research foundation and notable publishing house, based in Jerusalem. Mossad Harav Kook is named after Abraham Isaac Kook and was founded by Yehuda Leib Maimon in 1937....
edition of the Ritva's commentary to Yevamot and Nedarim. Yearly, Rabbi Yaakov Jofen would travel to Jerusalem to teach the students of his father's yeshiva.
Following Rabbi Nekritz's death and Rabbi Yaakov Yoffen's passing in 2003, the leadership of the Brooklyn-based yeshiva fell to their sons, Rabbi Mordechai Yoffen and Rabbi Tzvi Nekritz. They chose to move the Yeshiva to the Flatbush
Flatbush, Brooklyn
Flatbush is a community of the Borough of Brooklyn, a part of New York City, consisting of several neighborhoods.The name Flatbush is an Anglicization of the Dutch language Vlacke bos ....
neighborhood of Brooklyn, and bringing in Rabbi Yaakov Drillman of Yeshiva Chaim Berlin as a Rosh Yeshiva.
The Jerusalem branch is headed by Rabbi Shmuel and Rabbi Eitan Yoffen, sons of Rabbi Aaron Yoffen. However, the latter is primarily a high level talmudic professor in the Mir Yeshiva of Jerusalem
Mir yeshiva (Jerusalem)
The Mir yeshiva , known as the Mirrer Yeshiva or The Mir, is an Orthodox Jewish yeshiva in Jerusalem, Israel. With 6,000 students, it is the largest yeshiva in Israel. Many of the students are from the United States and Canada. It is also believed to be the largest yeshiva in the world...
.
Another branch of the yeshiva, the Yeshiva of Far Rockaway
Yeshiva of Far Rockaway
Yeshiva of Far Rockaway is a Haredi yeshiva located on 802 Hicksville Road, Far Rockaway, Queens in New York City. It comprises a high school and beis medrash, or seminary. The school was founded by the current rosh yeshiva, Rabbi Yechiel Yitzchok Perr, and by the late Rabbi Nachman Bulman...
in Far Rockaway, New York, is led by Rabbi Yechiel Perr, the son-in-law of Rabbi Yehuda Leib Nekritz. The yeshiva is named after Rabbi Yoffen's book, Derech Ayson.
Another branch in the footsteps of Novardok is Yeshiva Madreigas HaAdam in Queens, NY, named after the Alter's mussar compendium, headed by Rabbi Yoffen's grandson, Rabbi Moshe Faskowitz.
An additional network of Novardok Yeshivas was founded after World War II in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
by Rabbi Gershon Libman (1905-1997).
Famous alumni
- Dayan Yechezkel Abramsky
- Rabbi Meir Bar-IlanMeir Bar-IlanMeir Berlin, later Hebraized to Meir Bar-Ilan, , born Volozhin, Lithuania, died Jerusalem, Israel) was anOrthodox rabbi and leader of Religious Zionism, the Mizrachi movement in USA and British Mandate of Palestine...
- Chaim GradeChaim GradeChaim Grade was one of the leading Yiddish writers of the twentieth century....
- Rabbi Nachman KahaneNachman Kahane-Biography:Kahana was born in 1937 and raised in Brooklyn, New York where he attended a branch of the Novardok Yeshiva, where he was ordained. His father was Rabbi Yechezkel Shraga Kahane, and his brother was Rabbi Meir Kahane, the founder of the Jewish Defense League and Kach.-Career:He worked...
- Rabbi Yosef Shlomo KahanemanYosef Shlomo KahanemanYosef Shlomo Kahaneman , יוסף שלמה כהנמן, was an Orthodox rabbi and rosh yeshiva of the Ponevezh yeshiva. He was a renowned Torah and Talmudic scholar.- Biography :...
- Rabbi Yaakov Yisrael KanievskyYaakov Yisrael KanievskyYaakov Yisrael Kanievsky, known as The Steipler or The Steipler Gaon , was a rabbi, Talmudic scholar, and posek .-Biography:...
- Rabbi Selig StarrSelig StarrRabbi Selig Starr born Zelig Starobinski was a 20th century talmudic scholar in Poland, Chicago and Jerusalem...
- Rabbi Dr. Irving GreenbergIrving GreenbergIrving Greenberg, also known as Yitz Greenberg, is a Modern Orthodox rabbi, Jewish-American scholar and author. He is known as a strong supporter of Israel and a promoter of greater understanding between Judaism and Christianity....