Yehezkel Abramsky

Yehezkel Abramsky (Hebrew: יחזקאל אברמסקי) (7 February 1886 – 19 September 1976), also affectionately referred to as Reb Chatzkel Abramsky, was a prominent and influential Lithuanian Jewish Orthodox rabbi and scholar, born and raised in the Russian Empire, who later headed the London Beth Din rabbinical court for 17 years,[1] before retiring to Jerusalem in 1951.[2]

Yehezkel Abramsky
Second from the right (partially obscured)
TitleRabbi
Personal
Born(1886-02-07)7 February 1886
Svislach District, Grodno Governorate, Russian Empire
Died19 September 1976(1976-09-19) (aged 90)
Jerusalem, Israel
ReligionJudaism
NationalityRussian
SpouseHendl Reizel
ChildrenChimen Abramsky
DenominationOrthodox Judaism
PositionRosh yeshiva
YeshivaSlabodka yeshiva
PositionSenior Dayan
OrganisationLondon Beth Din
Yahrtzeit24 Elul 5736
BuriedHar HaMenuchot

Rabbinate and scholarship

Yehezkel Abramsky was born in Dashkovichy, Grodno Governorate, Russian Empire (in present-day Belarus) was the third child and eldest son of Mordechai Zalman Abramsky, a local timber merchant, and his wife, Freydel Goldin of Grodno.[3] His parents were deeply religious but the village lacked enough Jews to support a prayer service so Yehezkel studied at home before moving on to study in the yeshivas of Telz, Mir, Slabodka and particularly Brisk under Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik. At the age of 17 he became a rabbi, serving, in turn, the communities of Smolyan, Smalyavichy, and Slutsk.[4]

Following the Russian Revolution, he was at the forefront of opposition to the Communist government's attempts to repress the Jewish religion and culture. During this time he would serve as both the Rabbi of Slutsk and Smolensk.[5] As a result, the Soviet government refused Abramsky permission to leave and take up the rabbinate of Petah Tikva in Palestine in both 1926 and 1928. In 1926, while serving as the rabbi of Slutsk, he joined (together with Rabbi Shlomo Yosef Zevin) the Vaad Harabbonim of the U.S.S.R.[6]

In 1928, he started a Hebrew magazine, Yagdil Torah (lit. "Make [the] Torah Great"), but the Soviet authorities closed it after the first two issues had appeared. In 1929, he was arrested and sentenced to five years' hard labor in Siberia, where he is said to have composed Talmudic commentaries on translucent cigarette papers.[3][7] However, in 1931 he was released due to intervention by the German government under Chancellor Brüning, who exchanged him for six communists they held.[1]

London Beth Din
Main article: London Beth Din

He arrived in London towards the end of 1931, where he was appointed rabbi of the Machzike Hadath community in London's East End.[8][9] In 1934, Chief Rabbi Joseph H. Hertz persuaded him to become Rosh Beth Din of the London Beth Din, a post he held until he retired to Jerusalem in 1951.[10] The appointment of an East European chareidi rabbi to the London Beth Din was a departure for the United Synagogue, and started a tradition which continues to the present day. The prestige of the London Beth Din as a world-ranking halachic authority was greatly enhanced through the appointment of Rabbi Abramsky as Rosh Beth Din. Although other renowned talmidei chachamim served both during and since his time—such as Dayan Aryeh Leib Grosnass (Lev Aryeh) and Dayan Avrohom Rapoport (Be'er Avrohom), it was Dayan Abramsky above all who established the policies and customs that are followed by the London Beth Din to this day.[11]

Following his retirement from the London Beth Din, he settled in Jerusalem.[2] While living there he also served as a rosh yeshiva of Slabodka yeshiva in Bnei Brak.[12]

Rabbi Abramsky died in Jerusalem[13] on 19 September 1976 (24 Elul 5736). His funeral was attended by over 40,000 people, making it one of the largest ever seen in the city. He was interred on Har HaMenuchot.[1]

Family

In 1909 he married Hendl Reizel, daughter of Rabbi Yisroel Yehonasan Yerushamski (or Yershamiski), the rabbi of Orla and of Thumen, and son-in-law, through his second marriage, of "the Ridbaz," Rabbi Yaakov Dovid Wilovsky.[1][14]

Descendants

He had four sons including Professor Chimen Abramsky, and was the grandfather of Professor Samson Abramsky and Jenny Abramsky.[1][15][16]

Awards

Works
  • Hazon Yehezkel ("The Vision of Yehezkel"), a 24-volume commentary on the Tosefta (based on the Vienna Codex). The commentary, written between 1925 and 1975, is highly acclaimed by both rabbis and academic scholars.[1][3][18]

See also

References
  1. Sasha Abramsky, The House of Twenty Thousand Books, Halban London, 2014, pp. 57-71 & passim.
  2. Raz, Simcha (2008). A Tzaddik in Our Time: The Life of Rabbi Aryeh Levin. Feldheim Publishers. ISBN 978-1-59826-249-0.
  3. "Yehezkel Abramsky". jewishlivesproject.com. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  4. Medding, Peter Y.; Goldstein, Israel (2008). Sephardic Jewry and Mizrahi Jews : Vol # XXII: Vol # XXII. Oxford University Press. p. 302. ISBN 978-0199712502. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
  5. Berniker, Bernard (1978). Great Rabbis: 46 Portraits in Pen & Ink. Feldheim. ISBN 978-0-87306-144-5.
  6. 'Toldois Chabad B'Russya Ha'Sovietis' S.B.Levine, New York 1989, ISBN 0-8266-5331-6
  7. Sasha Abramsky, The House of Twenty Thousand Books, (Halban, 2014) New York Review of Books ed. 2015 p.50.
  8. Bernard Homa (1953), A fortress in Anglo-Jewry, Shapiro-Vallentine
  9. Fainhandler, Yiśraʼel Pesaḥ (2001). Beloved Neighbors: Insights from the Weekly Parsha on Dealing with Neighbors and Friends. Feldheim Publishers.
  10. Slifkin, Natan; Slifkin, Nosson (2006). Man and Beast: Our Relationships with Animals in Jewish Law and Thought. Zoo Torah. ISBN 978-1-933143-06-4.
  11. "About the London Beth Din". Archived from the original on 24 July 2008. Retrieved 26 January 2007.
  12. RavFrand List - Rabbi Frand on Parshas Ki Savo - 5756 - Torah.org
  13. "הפרדס, תשרי תשל"ז, שער פנימי, "הגאון מרן יחזקאל אברמסקי זצ"ל"".
  14. Preschel, Tovia. "New Biography of Rabbi Yehezkel Abramsky ZTL". toviapreschel.com. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  15. Abramsky, Sasha (27 August 2015). "How the Atheist Son of a Jewish Rabbi Created One of the Greatest Libraries of Socialist Literature". The Nation. ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  16. Summerskill, Ben (3 February 2002). "Observer Profile: Jenny Abramsky". theguardian.com. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  17. "Israel Prize Official Site - Recipients in 1956 (in Hebrew)".
  18. Frand, Yissocher (2001). Rabbi Frand on the Parashah: Insights, Stories and Observations ... on the Weekly Torah Reading. Mesorah Publications. ISBN 978-1-57819-594-7.

Further reading
  • Raphael Loewe, ‘Abramsky, Yehezkel (1886–1976)’, rev., Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 1 December, 2006
  • Bergman, Asher and Wallach, Shalom Meir, Haggadah of the Roshei Yeshiva vol 2. ISBN 978-1-57819-142-0
  • Sasha Abramsky, The House of Twenty Thousand Books, Halban London, 2014. ISBN 978-1-905559-64-0
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