Chaim (Halevi) Soloveitchik (חיים סולובייצ'יק) (also known as Reb Chaim Brisker), (1853-July 30, 1918) was a rabbi and Talmudic scholar credited as the founder of the Brisk yeshivas and of an approach to Talmudic study within Judaism. He was from Brest, Belarus (Brisk in Yiddish), then in Imperial Russia, now in Belarus. A member of the Soloveitchik-family rabbinical dynasty, he is most commonly known as Reb Chaim Brisker ("Rabbi Chaim [from] Brisk"). 1853 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... July 30 is the 211th day (212th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 154 days remaining. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Rabbi (Classical Hebrew רִבִּי ribbÄ«;; modern Ashkenazi and Israeli רַבִּי rabbÄ«) 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 knowledge). In the ancient Judean schools the sages were addressed as רִבִּי (Ribbi... The Talmud (תלמוד) is a record of rabbinic discussions on Jewish law, Jewish ethics, customs, legends and stories, which Jewish tradition considers authoritative. ... Brisk yeshivas commonly known as Brisk (a name used by many Yiddish-speaking Jews to refer to the town of Brest-Litovsk, located in what is now Belarus). ... The Talmud (תלמוד) is a record of rabbinic discussions on Jewish law, Jewish ethics, customs, legends and stories, which Jewish tradition considers authoritative. ... Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people. ... Brest (Belarusian: ; Russian: , formerly Брест-Литовск (Brest-Litovsk); in Polish as Brześć Litewski, Brześć nad Bugiem or Brześć BiaÅ‚oruski; Lithuanian: Lietuvos Brasta (literally meaning shallows of Lithuania) is a city (population 290,000 in 2004) in Belarus close to the Polish border where the Western Bug and Mukhavets Rivers meet. ... Yiddish (ייִדיש, Jiddisch) is a Germanic language spoken by about four million Jews throughout the world. ... Imperial Russia is the term used to cover the period of history from the expansion of Russia under Peter the Great, through the expansion of the Russian Empire from the Baltic to the Pacific Ocean, to the deposal of Nicholas II of Russia, the last tsar, at the start of...

He is considered the founder of the "Brisker method" (in Yiddish/Hebrew: Brisker derech), a method of highly exacting and analytical Talmudical study that focuses on precise definition/s and categorization/s of Jewish law as commanded in the Torah with particular emphasis on the legal writings of Maimonides. Yiddish (ייִדיש, Jiddisch) is a Germanic language spoken by about four million Jews throughout the world. ... Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken by more than 7 million people, mainly in Israel, the West Bank, the United States and by Jewish communities around the world. ... Halakha (הלכה in Hebrew or Halakhah, Halacha, Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish law, custom and tradition regulating all aspects of behavior. ... Torah (תורה) is a Hebrew word meaning teaching, instruction, or law. ... Commonly used image indicating one artists conception of Maimonidess appearance Moshe ben Maimon (March 30, 1135–December 13, 1204) was a Jewish rabbi, physician, and philosopher. ...

His primary work was Chidushei Rebbe Chaim Halevi, a volume of insights on Maimonides' Mishnah Torah which often would suggest novel understandings of the Talmud as well. Based on his teachings and lectures, his students wrote down his insights on the Talmud known as Chiddushi HaGRaCh Al Shas. This book is known as "Reb Chaim's stencils" and contains analytical insights into Talmudical topics. The Mishneh Torah or Yad ha-Chazaka is a code of Jewish law by one of the most important Jewish authorities, Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, better known as Maimonides or by the Hebrew abbreviation RaMBaM (usually written Rambam in English). ... The Talmud (תלמוד) is a record of rabbinic discussions on Jewish law, Jewish ethics, customs, legends and stories, which Jewish tradition considers authoritative. ...

He had two famous sons, Rabbi Yitzchak Zev Soloveichik (also known as Rabbi Velvel Soloveitchik) who subsequently moved to Israel and Rabbi Moshe Soloveichik who moved to the United States and subsequently served as a Rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva University in New York and who was in turn succeeded by his own son Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik (1903-1993). A Rosh yeshiva (Hebrew: ראש ישיבה) (plural in Hebrew: Roshei yeshiva, but also referred to in the English form as Rosh yeshivas) is a rabbi who is the academic head, or rosh (ראש), of a yeshiva (ישיבה), a college of higher Talmudic study. ... Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a private university in New York City whose first component was founded in 1886. ... Joseph Ber (Yosef Dov) Soloveitchik (יוסף דב סולובייציק) (1903-1993) was an Orthodox rabbi, Talmudist and modern Jewish philosopher. ...

He had three main students; his son, Rabbi Yitzchak Zev Soloveichik, Rabbi Boruch Ber Leibowitz, and Rabbi Shimon Shkop. To illustrate how the three of them differed in their studies, it has been said that had Reb Chaim said, "This table is a cow," Rabbi Yitzchak Zev Soloveichik would say that the table had the same Talmudic laws as a cow, Rabbi Shimon Shkop would say the molecules in a table could be rearranged into a cow, but Rabbi Boruch Ber Leibowitz would go milk the table.

Quotes

• "If you intend to give a coin to the Jewish National Fund, give it to another idolatry, but not to the Zionists, since this idolatry is worse then any other."
• "The Jewish people have suffered many (spiritual) plagues -- the Sadducees, Karaites, Hellenisers, Shabtai Zevi, The Enlightenment, Reform and many others. But the strongest of them all is Zionism."
• "Who knows, perhaps this entire State of Israel was created as a result of one earnest prayer from one earnest 'Mizrachi'."