- Avraham Yitzchak Bloch
Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Bloch (1891-1941) was the
Chief Rabbi andRosh Yeshiva of theTelz Yeshiva inLithuania , and one of the greatest pre-Holocaust Rabbinic figures.Rabbi Bloch was born in 1891 and was the second son of Rabbi
Yosef Leib Bloch , theChief Rabbi andRosh Yeshiva of Telz. He represented the third generation of family leadership in Telz, as his grandfather RabbiEliezer Gordon was also Chief Rabbi and Rosh Yeshiva in Telz.Rabbi Bloch was educated by both his father and grandfather and on account of his brilliance and intellectual ability, was appointed to the faculty of the
Telz Yeshiva when he was only thirty five years old.Telzer Rav and Rosh Yeshiva
Upon the death of Rabbi
Yosef Leib Bloch in 1929, it was widely assumed that Rabbi Yosef Leib's oldest son, RabbiZalman Bloch would succeed his father asChief Rabbi andRosh Yeshiva of Telz, as was the custom in many communities. At the funeral of Rabbi Yosef Leib, however, Rabbi Zalman Bloch announced that the positions should be filled by his younger brother, Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak.At the young age of 38, Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Bloch succeeded his father in the dual role of
Chief Rabbi andRosh Yeshiva of Telz, which was one the largest and most prestigiousyeshiva s in Europe.Serving in these capacities, Rabbi Bloch understood the diverse points of view of community members, while, simultaneously, upholding the Torah perspective. Sensitive to the material as well as the spiritual needs of his students, he traveled to the United States in 1928 on a successful fundraising campaign.
Rabbi Bloch continued to develop the educational methodology pioneered by his father. This method is known as the "Telzer Derekh", a unique analytical approach to
Torah study.Rabbi Bloch was also a member of the
Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of theAgudath Israel and participated at the thirdKnessia Gedolah of theAgudath Israel atMarienbad ,Austria in 1937.World War II
In 1940, the town of Telz was invaded by Soviet forces. Shortly thereafter, the
yeshiva was forced to surrender its main building for use as a Red Army barracks. Theyeshiva students, however, remained in Telz, where they rented accommodation from local townsfolk. This, however, also changed, when the Soviets forbade the renting out of rooms toyeshiva students. Rabbi Bloch responded by dispersing theyeshiva to five surrounding towns and arranging for members of the faculty to travel from town to town and deliver classes to the students.On Tuesday
July 15 1941 (20th Tammuz), Nazi forces and local Lithuanian sympathizers massacred the male population of Telz, including Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Bloch and the faculty of theyeshiva .Three of Rabbi Bloch's daughters survived the Holocaust. One married Rabbi
Baruch Sorotzkin who joined theTelz Yeshiva in Cleveland and later served as theRosh Yeshiva . Another married Rabbi Aizik Ausband, a student of Telz in Lithuania who is also aRosh Yeshiva at theTelz Yeshiva in Cleveland. The other daughter resides in Israel.Published works
Rabbi Bloch was both a prolific writer and speaker, however, many of his writings were lost during the Holocaust. Some writings, however, were saved and some of Rabbi Bloch's students who escaped the Holocaust had notes of his lectures. Subsequently, Rabbi Bloch's family published:
*"Shiurei HaGrai Bloch" on the Talmudic Tractates of Chullin and Yevamos.
*"Shiurei Daas" - A collection of essays on a variety of topics viewed from the unique Telz method of analysis.
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