Shmuel Rozovsky

Rozovsky was born in Grodno, where his father Michel Dovid Rozovsky was the chief rabbi.[2] His mother Sara Pearl was the daughter of Avraham Gelburd, the previous rabbi of Grodno.[3]

He studied at the local Sha’ar Hatorah Yeshiva and was student of Shimon Shkop. He also studied with Yisroel Zev Gustman.[2]

In 1935, after the death of his father, to escape being drafted into the Soviet Red Army Rozovsky fled to British-ruled Palestine, where he studied in the Lomzha Yeshivah in Petach Tikvah, married the daughter of Tzvi Pesach Frank (Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem) and taught in the Lomzha Yeshiva.[4]

In 1944, he became Rosh Yeshiva of the newly opened Ponovezh Yeshivah in Bnei Barak.[2] Rozovsky placed a strong emphasis on Talmudic skills, and also stressed personal perfection[5] and Mussar,[1] as well as the need to study other facets of Torah including Chumash with the commentaries of Rashi and Nachmanides.

His Students included:

• Gershon Edelstein of Ponevezh yeshiva (Bnei Brak)
• Asher Arieli of Yeshivas Mir
• Aharon Pfeuffer, Rosh Yeshiva in London and Johannesburg, and authority on kashrut