- Aharon Kotler
Infobox Rebbe
title =
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full name =Aharon Kotler
place of birth=Svislovitz ,Poland
place of death=New York City
date of birth = 1891 (5651)
date of death =death date and age|1962|11|29|1891|1|1 (2 Kislev 5723)| Rabbi Aharon (or Ahroyn, Aaron, Aron) Kotler (1891 - 1962) was a prominent leader ofOrthodox Judaism in Lithuania, and later the United States of America, where he built one of the firstyeshiva s in the US.Early life
Rabbi Kotler was born inSvislovitz ,Poland in 1891. He studied in theSlabodka yeshiva inLithuania under the "Alter (elder) of Slabodka", Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel, and RabbiMoshe Mordechai Epstein . After learning there, he joined his father-in-law, RabbiIsser Zalman Meltzer , to run theyeshiva ofSlutsk .World war II and move to the USA
When the communists took over, the yeshivah moved from
Slutsk toKletsk in Poland. With the outbreak ofWorld War II , Rabbi Kotler and the yeshivah relocated to Vilna, then the major refuge of most "yeshivoth" from the occupied areas. Rabbi Kotler went to the United States viaSiberia , but many of his students did not survive the war. He was brought to America in 1941 by theVaad Hatzalah rescue organization and guided it during theHolocaust .In 1943, Rabbi Kotler founded
Bais Medrash Gevoha inLakewood, New Jersey . After his sudden death in 1962, he was succeeded by his son RabbiShneur Kotler asrosh yeshiva of theLakewood yeshiva . Today, this important institution is run by his grandson, RabbiAryeh Malkiel Kotler , and three of his grandsons-in-law, RabbisYerucham Olshin , Yisrael Neuman, andDovid Tzvi Schustal . Over the years it has grown into the largest institution of its kind in America with over five thousand college and advanced-level students.Rabbi Kotler also helped establish
Chinuch Atzmai , the independent religious school system in Israel and was the chairman of theMoetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Agudath Israel. He also chaired the Rabbinical administration board ofTorah Umesorah and was on the presidium of theAgudas HaRabbonim of the U.S. andCanada .Upon the death of his father-in-law, Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer, he also inherited his father-in-law's position of rosh yeshiva of
Etz Chaim Yeshiva of Jerusalem. In an unusual arrangement, he held this position while continuing to live in America, and visiting Jerusalem occasionally. Today, his grandson, RabbiZevulun Schwartzman , heads a kollel located at Etz Chaim Yeshiva.Influence
Rabbi Kotler was the main proponent of a classic approach to
Torah study that was new to the shores of the USA. In his view, Torah study and the culture built around it had suffered badly from the persecutions of World War II and the decline of character of the generations. This led him to encourage young men to devote themselves to full-time Torah study with financial support from the community. After marriage,yeshiva students could move on to a post-graduatekollel program.Together with Rabbis
Moshe Feinstein ,Yaakov Kamenetsky ,Joseph Soloveitchik and others, Rabbi Kotler was considered one of the primary leaders of the Orthodox community in the U.S. during the post-war years.In the summer of 1937, at the third convention of the rabbinical leaders of
Agudath Israel held inMarienbad , Rabbi Kotler (together with RabbiElchonon Wasserman , Rabbi Rottenberg from Antwerp, and rabbis fromCzechoslovakia andHungary ) was adamant in rejecting any proposal for a "Jewish State " on either side of the Jordan River, even if it were established as a religious state. Nevertheless, on a vote, the majority decided in favour of a Jewish state.Rabbi Kotler died in
New York City onNovember 29 ,1962 .Recently a biographical study of Rabbi Kotler's life and teachings was written by his student Rabbi Yitzchok Dershowitz.
External links
* [http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/kotler.html Jewish virtual library about Aharon Kotler (1895-1963)]
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