Yechiel Michel Feinstein

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Rabbi
Yechiel Michel Feinstein
2014
TitleRosh Yeshiva, Beis Yehuda
Personal
Born
Yechiel Michel Feinstein

27 June 1906
Uzda, Lithuania
Died17 May 2003
Bnei Brak, Israel
ReligionJudaism
SpouseLifsha Soloveitchik
ChildrenChaim
Dovid
Avrohom
daughters
ParentRabbi Avrohom Yitzchok Feinstein
DenominationOrthodox
Alma materMir yeshiva (Poland)
Jewish leader
Predecessornone
SuccessorRabbi Chaim Feinstein
PositionRosh yeshiva
YeshivaBeis Yehuda
Began1952
Ended2003
BuriedHar HaMenuchos
ResidenceBnei Brak, Israel

Yechiel Michel Feinstein (27 June 1906 – 17 May 2003[1]) was a Haredi rabbi and rosh yeshiva in Israel and the United States.

Biography[edit]

Feinstein, the son of Avrohom Yitzchok Feinstein, was born in Uzda, Lithuania,[1][2] then part of the Russian empire. His father died when he was seven and he went to live with his grandfather, Dovid Feinstein, the rabbi of Starobin, Belarus. His uncle was Moshe Feinstein.[1]

He went to Slutsk after his bar mitzvah[3] to study under Isser Zalman Meltzer.[1] When the Bolsheviks seized power Meltzer's yeshiva fled to Kletsk, Poland. During his three years in Kletsk, Feinstein attended the Talmudic lectures of Meltzer and his son-in-law, Aharon Kotler. Then he transferred to the Mir Yeshiva where he studied with Yeruchom Lebovitz[1]

Feinstein studied in Brisk under Yitzchok Zev Soloveitchik. While there he became subject to conscription into the army, so he traveled to Grodno to obtain fake medical forms from a doctor and en route, consulted with Yisrael Meir Kagan (the Chofetz Chaim) in Radin about evading the draft. Feinstein stayed in Grodno for half a year, where he studied under Shimon Shkop. He then returned to Brisk to continue studying under Soloveitchik, spending the summer months at the Mir Yeshiva. When World War II broke out, he traveled to Vilna with other students from the Mir.[1]

From Vilna Feinstein joined the Mir Yeshiva in exile in Japan. He arrived in the United States in 1941 with Aharon Kotler.[1] Feinstein was mashgiach for Joseph B. Soloveitchik in Boston. Less than a year later he joined his uncle, Moshe Feinstein, as the head of Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem in the Lower East Side, Manhattan.[1] He was appointed a member of the Agudas HaRabbonim and assisted the Vaad Hatzolah in rescuing Jews and aiding the war refugees in Europe.[1]

Israel[edit]

In 1946, Feinstein visited Palestine and in August married Lifsha, the daughter of his former teacher Soloveitchik, in Jerusalem. He returned to America and continued as rosh yeshiva until 1952, when he and his family immigrated to Israel and he established Yeshivas Beis Yehuda in Tel Aviv[1] and served as its Rosh Yeshiva.[4]

In 1973 after the death of one of his daughters Feinstein moved to Bnei Brak.[1]

He died on the night of 17 May 2003 (16 Iyar 5763).[1]

He is the author of Chiddushei Hagri”m Feinstein.[5]

Family tree[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Baruchi, S. (21 May 2003). "HaRav Yechiel Michel Feinstein, zt'l". Dei'ah VeDibur. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
  2. ^ "RABBI YECHIEL MICHEL FEINSTEIN (1906-2003)". rabbimeirbaalhaneis.com. Rabbi Meir Baal Hanes Salant Charity. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  3. ^ "Rav Yechiel Michel Feinstein zt"l, On His Ninth Yahrtzeit, Today, 16 Iyar | Matzav.com". Matzav.com. 8 May 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  4. ^ Hoffman, Yair (17 October 2021). "The Tsars, Amalek, and Rav Michel Feinstein Zt"l - VINnews". Vos Iz Neias?. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  5. ^ "ר יחיאל מיכל פיינשטיין". Judaica Spot. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
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