- Ahron Soloveichik
Rabbi Ahron (Aaron) Soloveichik [It is common to find his name spelled other ways, but his preference was for "Ahron" rather than Aharon, Aaron, or Aron, and for "Soloveichik" without the letter "t", which many other members of his extended family preferred to include. His choice of this spelling can be seen on the cover of his book, "The Warmth and the Light" [ISBN 0-9630936-2-2] , which was published in his lifetime.] ;(May 1 ,1917 -October 4 2001 ) was a renowned scholar of Talmud,Halakha and aRosh Yeshiva ; known especially within circles ofOrthodox Judaism .Biography
The youngest of five children, Soloveichik was born to Rabbi
Moshe Soloveichik inKhislavichi , Russia, at which time his father was the rabbi of that town. The late Rav Joseph Ber Soloveitchik was his older brother. [http://www.arigoldman.com/articles/soloveitchik.html] His family first moved toPoland in 1920, and then immigrated to the United States in 1930. After he graduated from Yeshiva College and received his "Semicha " (Rabbinic ordination), he went to law school atNew York University (NYU) and graduated with a law degree in 1946. He then spent the next 20 years teaching atyeshiva s inNew York .Rabbi Soloveichik first teaching position was in
Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem then headed by RabbiMoshe Feinstein . Shortly thereafter Soloveichik was appointed by RabbiYitzchak Hutner to give the highest daily lecture inYeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin . Soloveichik's final position in New York was atYeshiva University , where he instituted a popular weeklyhashkafa class in addition to giving one of the advanced daily Talmud classes. It was during this time that Soloveichik was honored as Lecturer of the year at YU, the first Rabbi to be so honored. In 1966, he came toChicago to head theHebrew Theological College inSkokie . After differing with the administration there on certain key issues, he left this post in 1974 and began his own Yeshiva as the "Rosh Yeshiva " ofBrisk Yeshiva, Skokie inChicago , an American incarnation of theBrisk yeshivas and methods .Soloveichik taught
Torah for 58 years, the last 34 of which were in Chicago. He was known for being a humble, kind man yet one with an iron will and unquestionable integrity. Although the stroke he suffered in 1983 left him partially paralyzed and often in need of a wheelchair, he continued his duties at Yeshivas Brisk in Chicago and flew to New York every week to deliver a Talmudic lecture atYeshiva University (a position he accepted after his older brother became ill and was unable to continue lecturing).His wife Ella was a writer and teacher. The couple raised six children all of whom are Rabbis or women married to Rabbis: Moshe of Chicago, Eliyahu of New York, Yosef and Chaim of
Israel , Rochel Leah Marcus ofToronto , and Tovah Segal ofNewton, Massachusetts . He was buried beside his wife Rebanit Ella Soloveichik and near his Grandson Yisroel Yosef Soloveichik on theMount of Olives inJerusalem .Works
His Works include "
Logic of the Heart, Logic of the Mind " and "The Warmth and the Light ". One of the ideas he wrote about is the idea that women are spiritually superior to men. [http://www.faqs.org/faqs/judaism/FAQ/04-Observance/section-54.html] He was opposed to theVietnam War and theOslo Accords Fact|date=January 2007.Other works in Hebrew include commentaries on the works of Maimonides and the laws of mourning which was dedicated in memory of his grandson who passed away at a young age after a long battle with cancer.Brisk family tree
External links
* [http://www.famousrabbis.com/rebaharon.htm Famous Rabbis]
* [http://www.beit-abravanel.com/Responses%20on%20the%20Anusim%20Matter.htm Rabbi Soloveichik Response ( Teshuva ) on Matter of Bnei Anusim - Marranos]Notes
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.