Rabbi Avigdor Miller

Rabbi Avigdor Miller (1908-2001) was known as a profound American thinker and lecturer of Orthodox Judaism. He served as a communal rabbi and Mashgiach ruchani for many years. Major General Geoffrey Miller File links The following pages link to this file: Geoffrey Miller (MG) ... Major General Geoffrey Miller File links The following pages link to this file: Geoffrey Miller (MG) ... 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... Orthodox Judaism is the formulation of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmudic texts (The Oral Law). Various Gaonim, Rishonim, and Acharonim expounded upon these same Talmudic texts. ... For the town in Italy, see Rabbi, Italy Rabbi (Sephardic Hebrew רִבִּי ribbī; Ashkenazi Hebrew רֶבִּי rebbī or rebbə; and modern Israeli רַבִּי rabbī) in Judaism, means teacher, or more literally great one. The word Rabbi is derived from the Hebrew root-word RaV, which in biblical Hebrew means great or distinguished (in... Mashgiach ruchani (or Mashgiach, (Hebrew: Spiritual supervisor/guide) is a title that usually refers to a rabbi who has an official position within a yeshiva responsible for the non-academic areas of yeshiva students lives. ...

Biography

Born in Baltimore, Rabbi Miller was taught by Rabbi Yaakov Yosef Herman, a Torah pioneer in America in the early 1900s. Around the same time, Rabbi Herman also taught Rabbi Nosson Wachtfogel, (future Mashgiach of the Lakewood yeshiva), and Rabbi Boruch Kaplan (who later founded the Bais Yaakov school system in America). Rabbi Moshe Bick, known as the "Mezubesher Rav," who arrived in the United States in 1927, was another of Rabbi Miller's early study partners. Rabbi Miller's deep and energetic studying style had a powerful influence on Rabbi Mordechai Gifter (future Telshe Rosh yeshiva in Cleveland). Rabbi Miller attended and graduated from Yeshiva College and RIETS for his B.A. and rabbinical ordination. Nickname: Monument City, Charm City, Mob Town, B-more, Bodymore, Murderland Motto: Get In On It (formerly The City That Reads and The Greatest City in America; BELIEVE is not the official motto but rather a specific campaign) Location of Baltimore in Maryland Coordinates: Country United States State Maryland County... It has been suggested that Pentateuch be merged into this article or section. ... The Lakewood Yeshiva, also known as Beth Medrash Govoha (sometimes spelled Beis Medrash Gevoha), is one of the largest Haredi yeshivas in the world, located in Lakewood, New Jersey. ... Bais Yaakov or Beit Yaakov or Beth Jacob (literally House [of] Jacob in Hebrew) is a loosely-organized group of Orthodox Jewish day schools throughout the world for young Jewish females from religious families. ... Gifter, Mordechai (1915-2001) Rabbi Mordechai Gifter was born 1915 in Richmond, Virginia. ... Telshe yeshiva. ... Rosh yeshiva (Hebrew: ראש ישיבה) (pl. ... Nickname: The Forest City Motto: Progress and Prosperity Location in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, USA Coordinates: Country United States State Ohio County Cuyahoga Founded 1796 Incorporated 1836 Mayor Frank G. Jackson (D) Area    - City 82. ... Yeshiva University is a private university in New York City whose first component was founded in 1886. ... Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary or RIETS (Yeshivat Rabbeinu Yitzchak Elchanan) is the most important yeshiva component of Yeshiva University. ... Semicha (סמיכה -- meaning leaning [of the hands] or סמיכה לרבנות -- rabbinical ordination) is a Hebrew word referring to what may be roughly translated as the ordination (in Hebrew: semichut סמיכות) of a rabbi within Judaism. ...

Slabodka yeshiva

In 1932, at the age of 24, Rabbi Miller traveled to Europe to study at the famous yeshiva in Slabodka in Lithuania. There, he learned under Rabbi Chaim Yitzchok Isaac Sher, son-in-law of Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel. While there, he had a shidduch arranged: Rabbi Shulman of Slabodka, son-in-law of Rabbi Sher, introduced Rabbi Miller to Ettel Lessin, daughter of Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Lessin of Slabodka. The two married in 1935. European redirects here. ... Slabodka yeshiva (Knesset Yisrael), was known colloquially as the mother of yeshivas (rabbinical seminaries). ... Nosson Zvi (Nota Hirsh) Finkel (1849-1927), was born in Lithuania and died in the British Mandate of Palestine. ... Shidduch (or shiduch) (Hebrew: שידוך, pl. ...

Chelsea

In 1938, partly due to the escalating instability in Continental Europe, Rabbi Miller sought to return to the United States with his wife and two children. Fortunately, the American consul in Kovno at the time was a Baltimore acquaintance of Rabbi Miller's, a public high-school classmate, who speedily arranged his passage. Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands and peninsulae. ... The title Consul has been used for official representatives of a state, outside its (metropolitan) territory, looking after its interests (a task normally largely transferred to the formal diplomacy) and, especially, those of its subjects, individuals as well as enterprises. ... Location Ethnographic region Aukštaitija County Kaunas County Municipality Kaunas city municipality Elderate Number of elderates 11 Coordinates General information Capital of Kaunas County Kaunas city municipality Kaunas district municipality Population (rank) 361,274 in 2005 (2nd) First mentioned 1361 Granted city rights 1408 Kaunas ( (help· info), approximate English transcription...

Upon his return, Rabbi Miller became the rabbi of a synagogue in Chelsea, Massachusetts. Initially, the community was taken aback by Rabbi Miller's audacious and intense volume of Torah presentations, attempting to restrain his unconventional approach. However, within a few years the community had radically changed their minds, and indeed beseeched Rabbi Miller to stay longer. Lesko synagogue, Poland A synagogue (Hebrew: בית כנסת ; beit knesset, house of assembly; Yiddish: שול, shul; Ladino אסנוגה esnoga) is a Jewish place of religious worship. ... Chelsea City Hall The City of Chelsea is located in Suffolk County, Massachusetts directly across the Mystic River from the City of Boston. ... Official language(s) English Capital Boston Largest city Boston Area  Ranked 44th  - Total 10,555 sq mi (27,360 km²)  - Width 183 miles (295 km)  - Length 113 miles (182 km)  - % water 13. ...

Mesivta Chaim Berlin

In 1944, Rabbi Yitzchok Hutner, founder and Rosh yeshiva of Mesivta Rabbi Chaim Berlin, persuaded Rabbi Miller to become its Mashgiach, where he served until 1964. In 1945, Rabbi Miller also assumed the pulpit of the Young Israel of Rugby in Brooklyn, New York City. In 1975, with neighborhood demographics changing, Rabbi Miller established the "Bais Yisroel of Rugby Torah Center" on Ocean Parkway in Flatbush, which served as his main vehicle of Torah propagation until his death. Yitzchok (Isaac) Hutner (1906 - 1980) was an Orthodox rabbi born in Warsaw, Poland, to a family with both Ger Hasidim and non-Hasidic Lithuanian Jews in their origins. ... Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin (also known as Mesivta Rabbi Chaim Berlin) (MYRCB) or as Chaim Berlin, is a major Orthodox Judaism yeshiva located in Brooklyn, New York. ... Young Israel is a branch of Modern Orthodox Judaism. ... Brooklyn (named for the Dutch city Breukelen) is one of the five boroughs of New York City. ... Nickname: Big Apple, City that never Sleeps Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area    - City 1,214. ... Ocean Parkway is a broad boulevard and associated neighborhood in the west central portion of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. ... Flatbush is a community of the Borough of Brooklyn, a part of New York City, consisting of several neighborhoods. ...

Yeshiva Gedola Bais Yisroel

In 1986, Rabbi Shmuel Miller, Rabbi Avigdor's son, launched Yeshiva Gedola Beis Yisroel in Flatbush, where his father served as Mashgiach and Rosh yeshiva. Rabbi Avigdor was also a revered and honored lecturer at many yeshivas and Beis Yaakov schools throughout the years, cherished and privileged by his students.

Character and personality

Rabbi Miller was a master orator, having superb command of the English language. His personal magnetism drew students, young and old, from all Jewish backgrounds. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

Rabbi Miller also trained himself to physically demand very little. For more than sixty years, he slept on a board. As a student in Slabodka, he wore a coat during the summer to conceal the multitude of overlapping patches that were his trousers.

Though having learned in public school (there were no formal yeshivas in Baltimore at the time), he only spoke Yiddish at home, never speaking in English to his family. Yeshiva or yeshivah (Hebrew: ישיבה pl. ... Yiddish (Yid. ...

Over the span of 50 years Rabbi Miller produced over 2,500 tapes in the English language, and some in the Yiddish language. He gave most of his lectures in his modest synagogue in Flatbush, dealing with Torah education and self-help, of which several hundred thousand copies were sold. His tapes can be purchased through the Yeshiva he established, and at many Jewish book stores, or borrowed from Rabbi Miller tape libraries. Rabbi Miller was also the author of several books about Jewish history, Jewish thought, creationism, and other subjects. His tapes remain very popular after his death. Though the term self-help can refer to any case whereby an individual or a group betters themselves economically, intellectually or emotionally, the connotations of the phrase have come to apply particularly to psychological or psychotherapeutic nostrums, often purveyed through the popular genre of the self-help book. ... Jewish history is the history of the Jewish people, faith (Judaism) and culture. ... The Creation of Light by Gustave Doré. In many religious traditions, creationism is ideological support of the belief that humanity, life, the Earth, or the universe as a whole was specially created by a supreme being (often referred to specifically as God[1]) or by other forms of supernatural intervention. ...

Rabbi Miller was also a staunch opponent of Zionism, both religious and secular. Poster promoting a film about Jewish settlement in Palestine, 1930s: Toward a New Life (in Romanian),The Promised Land (in Hungarian), the small caption (bottom) reads First Palestinian film with sound Zionism is a political movement that supports a homeland for the Jewish people in the Land of Israel, where...

Quotes

Rabbi Miller has been noted for his ability to summarize great ideas into easily digestible soundbites. He once memorably said, "Learning Mussar teaches one how to live, but learning Bava Kamma is living." The Hebrew term mussar, while literally derived from a word meaning tradition, usually refers to Jewish ethics in general, or (and more commonly) refers to the Jewish ethics education movement that developed in the 19th century Orthodox Jewish European community. ... Baba Kamma is the first of a series of three tractates in the Talmud, in the order Nezikin, dealing with damages. ...

Death

Rabbi Miller was taken to Maimonides Medical Center during Chol HaMoed on Pesach 2001. Though his physical health was deteriorating, his mental acuity remained intact until the end. Rabbi Miller died on Friday morning, April 20, 2001. The Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York was founded in 1911 as the New Utrecht Infirmary. ... Chol HaMoed is a Hebrew phrase which means weekdays of the festival and refers to the intermediate days of one of the following Jewish Holidays: Passover, or Sukkot During Chol HaMoed the usual Yom Tov restrictions are relaxed, but not entirely eliminated. ... Passover, also known as Pesach or Pesah (פסח pesaḥ), is a Jewish holiday (lasting seven days in Israel and among some liberal Diaspora Jews, and eight days among other Diaspora Jews) that commemorates the exodus and freedom of the Israelites from Egypt; it is also observed by...

Funeral

At the funeral on Sunday, Rabbi Miller was eulogised by Rabbi Yosef Rosenblum, the Rosh yeshiva of Shaarei Yosher; Rabbi Shmuel Berenbaum, Rosh yeshiva of Mir and Rabbi Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg, Rosh yeshiva of Torah Ore, who happened to be in America on a visit from Jerusalem. His son-in-law Rabbi Shmuel Brog and son Rabbi Shmuel also eulogised. Mir yeshiva (or Mirrer yeshiva) (Hebrew: ), commonly known as the Mir, is the name of two major Haredi yeshivas, one in Jerusalem, Israel, and the other, in Brooklyn, New York. ... Rabbi Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg After being honored with holding the baby at a brit milah in 2004. ... Rabbi Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg After being honored with holding the baby at a brit milah in 2004. ... Jerusalem (Hebrew:  , Yerushaláyim or Yerushalaim; Arabic:  , al-Quds (the Holy); official Arabic in Israel: أورشليم القدس, Urshalim-al-Quds (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names) is the capital and largest city[1] of the State of Israel with a population of 724,000 (as of May 24, 2006[2...

Rabbi Yaakov Perlow, the Novominsker Rebbe, head of Agudath Israel and a pupil, remembered Rabbi Miller’s first days as Mashgiach at Mesivta Rabbi Chaim Berlin. Rabbi Simcha Bunim Cohen, a grandson of Rabbi Miller, noted that Rabbi Miller's descendants married into the esteemed families of Torah scholars such as Rabbi Shmuel Ehrenfeld, the "Mattesdorfer Rav"; Rabbi Reuven Grozovsky; Rabbi Aaron Kotler and Rabbi Baruch Sorotzkin, Rosh yeshiva of Telshe. An estimated 30,000 people attended Rabbi Miller's funeral ^[1]. now. ... Agudath Israel of America or Agudas Yisroel of America or Agudas Yisrael of America or simply the Agudah (agudah is Hebrew for gathering or union ), is an Orthodox Jewish communal organization affiliated with the international Agudath Israel movement. ... Mattersburg (former Mattersdorf, Hungarian: Nagymarton) is a town in Burgenland, Austria in the rural vineyard region of the country. ... Refael Reuvain Grozovsky (b. ... Aharon (or Ahron, Aaron, Aron) Kotler (1890s - 1962) was a prominent leader of Orthodox Judaism in Lithuania, and later the United States of America. ... Rabbi Raphoel Baruch Sorotzkin (1917-1979) was the Rosh Yeshiva of the Telz Yeshiva in Cleveland and among American Jewrys foremost religious leaders. ...

Rabbi Miller was taken to Eretz yisroel where a funeral was held at the Mirrer Yeshiva in Jerusalem where a crowd of 25000 poeple attended. He was eulogised by Horav Nossen Tzvi Finkel, the Mirrer Rosh Hayeshiva and others. Rabbi Mattisyahu Solomon was in Israel at the time and he also delivered a moving eulogy. Burial was on Har Hazasim in chelka Tashach.

Rabbi Miller was survived by his wife Ettel, his sons Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Shmuel, and his daughters Shainey, wife of Rabbi Shmuel Elchanan Brog; Libby, wife of Rabbi Yeruchem Leshinsky; and Devora, wife of Rabbi Herschel Kanarek, Rosh yeshiva in Peekskill. Peekskill is a city located in Westchester County, New York. ...

After his death, his followers in Williamsburg, Brooklyn founded a synagogue in his name - נטעי אביגדור "Nitei Avigdor", including a tape library. The founder and Rabbi of the shul is Rabbi Avrohom Shlomo Yabo, a close student of Rabbi Miller's, who also gives lectures based on Rabbi Miller's teachings.

Bibliography

Rabbi Miller's prolific writings, which have influenced generations of students, include:

• Rejoice O Youth! (1962)
• Sing You Righteous
• Praise My Soul
• Awake My Glory
• The Universe Testifies
• Behold A People
• Torah Nation
• Exalted People
• The Beginning (1987)
• A Nation is Born (1991)
• A Kingdom of Priests (1994)
• Journey into Greatness (1997)
• A Fortunate Nation (2001)
• Career of Happiness
• Lev Avigdor (לב אביגדור), a mussar sefer

More of his manuscripts are currently of being edited and prepared for printing. The Hebrew term mussar, while literally derived from a word meaning tradition, usually refers to Jewish ethics in general, or (and more commonly) refers to the Jewish ethics education movement that developed in the 19th century Orthodox Jewish European community. ... Sefer (Heb. ...

Footnotes

1. ^ A Giant Departs - The Death of Rav Avigdor Miller, ZT"L. Retrieved on 16 January 2006.

January 16 is the 16th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

• Remembering Rabbi Avigdor Miller. Retrieved on 16 January 2006.
• RAV AVIGDOR MILLER ZT"L (biography). Retrieved on 16 January 2006.
• Jewish Press obituary. Retrieved on 19 July 2006.