Reb yaakov kamenetsky biography of william
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"You are not even bar mitzvah yet", he remarked.
Yaakov Kamenetsky
Rabbi
Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky, was a prominent rosh yeshiva, posek and Talmudist in the post-World World War II American Jewish community. He also studied in the yeshivos of Slutzk, Krinik and Moltsh.
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At the age of eleven, he left home to learn in the yeshiva of Minsk.
Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky also studied in the famed Kelm Talmud Torah, famous for its focus on task and ability to avoid distraction. The family then moved to the village of Dolhinov where Rabbi Yaakov grew up and attended the local cheder. They include: Rabbis Mordechai Kamenetzky, Dean of the Yeshiva of South Shore, Shalom Kamenetsky, Rosh Yeshivas Philadelphia, Avraham Kamenetsky, R"Master in Yeshivas Beis Yisrael in Jerusalem, Yosef Kamenetsky, Rosh Kollel in Moscow, Zvi Kamenetzky, Dean of the Dwek Ohr HaEmet Sephardic Academy of Toronto, and Yitzchak Shurin, Dean of Midreshet Rachel-Shappell"son
Achievements
His other sons are: Rabbis Binyamin (since 1923), founder of the Yeshiva of South Shore in Long Island, New York, Nathan Kamenetsky and the late Avraham(1930–2013).
Connections
- Friend:
- Rabbi Aharon Kotler
Shortly afterwards his family moved to the village of Dolhinov where he grew up. While in North America he was offered and he accepted rabbinical positions in Seattle and Toronto. In 1937 Rabbi Yaakov travelled to North America to collect funds for the Slabodka Kollel. His younger cousin, Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak Ruderman, also grew up in Dolhinov. For the rest of his life Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky was a beacon of light and a pillar of truth to the entire Torah world.
From 1948 to 1968 he headed Mesivta Torah Vodaath in Brooklyn, New New York Along with Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, he led American Jewry in issues of halachic and spiritual guidance until 1986, when both men died.
Rabbi Kamenetsky was renowned as "Chakima Doctorate"Yehudai", the wise man of the Jews.
Aside from his extensive Torah scholarship, he was known for his ever-present warm smile and his expertise in Hebrew grammar.
In 1919 Rabbi Yaakov married Ita Ettel, the daughter of the Slabodka Mashgiach Rabbi Ber Hirsh Heller. He studied in the Famous Kollel of Slabodka until 1926. Rabbi Kamenetsky"s first wife was Rebbetzin Ita Ettil Kamenetsky, who died on July 9, 1954.
In 1958, Rabbi Kamenetsky married Mistress Chana Urman of Toronto.
Rabbi Kamenetsky"s son, Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky heads the Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia, chairs the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah.
A second daughter, Rivka, was married to the late Rabbi Hirsch Diskind(1922–2013), the long-time Dean of Bais Yaakov of Baltimore.).
Due to a decree by the Russian Tzar, his father Reb Binyamin, a timber-dealer and owner of a large flour mill, lost his entire business in one night. Along with Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, he led American Jewry in issues of halachic and spiritual guidance until 1986, when both men passed away within a few weeks of each other. The study hours were so long that when Rabbi Yaakov's mother would pack his lunch she would put in an oil lamp to be used when darkness fell and the boys continued learning.
May their memory be a blessing to all. In 1905 Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky traveled to Slobodka, a suburb of Kovno Lithuania, to learn under Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel, who is known as the Alter of Slobodka.