Eliezer Menachem Schach (also known as Eliezer Menachem Man Schach, or Shach) (January 22, 1898 - November 2, 2001), was an an Orthodox rabbi and the leader of Israel's mitnagdim (non-Hasidic Haredi Ashkenazi Jews) from the 1970s until his death. January 22 is the 22nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1898 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... November 2 is the 306th day of the year (307th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 59 days remaining. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... Orthodox Judaism is the stream of Judaism which adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmud (The Oral Law) and later codified in the Shulkhan Arukh (Code of Jewish Law). It is governed by these works and the Rabbinical commentary... Rabbi (Classical Hebrew רִבִּי ribbī;; modern Ashkenazi and 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 knowledge). In the ancient Judean schools the sages were addressed as רִבִּי (Ribbi... Mitnagdim (also: misnagdim) is a Hebrew word (מתנגדים) meaning opponents; this term was used to refer to European religious Jews who opposed Hasidic Judaism. ... Hasidic Judaism (from the Hebrew: Chasidut חסידות, meaning pious, from the Hebrew root word chesed חסד meaning loving kindness) is a Haredi Jewish religious movement. ... Haredi or Charedi Judaism, often also called ultra-Orthodox Judaism, is the most theologically conservative form of Orthodox Judaism. ... Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim (אַשְׁכֲּנָזִי אַשְׁכֲּנָזִים Standard Hebrew, Aškanazi,Aškanazim, Tiberian Hebrew, ʾAškănāzî, ʾAškănāzîm, pronounced sing. ...

Life in Europe

Schach was born in Wabolnick (Vabalninkas), a rural village in northern Lithuania to a family of merchants. He was a child prodigy, and was sent to study in Ponevezh at age seven. At thirteen, Schach "graduated" to the Slabodka yeshiva, where he caught the attention of its dean, Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer. Schach soon became one of Meltzer's favorite pupils, and when he left Sabodka to create his own yeshiva in Slutsk, Schach went with him. Slabodka yeshiva (Knesset Yisrael), was known colloquially as the mother of yeshivas (rabbinical seminaries). ... Slutsk (Belarusian: Слу́цак, Слуцк; Polish Słuck; Russian: Слуцк) is a town in Belarus, located on the Sluc river, 105 km south of Minsk. ...

Meltzer became both Schach's father figure as well as his patron, even arranging his marriage with his neice, Guttel.

After his marriage, Schach became involved in teaching and yeshiva administration. The Slutsk yeshiva relocated to Kletsk in Poland after the Russian Revolution of 1917. Schach taught in the yeshiva, then run by Meltzer's son-in-law, Rabbi Aharon Kotler, and also worked as the dean of a yeshiva run by the Karlin hasidim. The Russian Revolution of 1917 was a political movement in Russia which reached its peak in 1917 with the overthrow of the Provisional Government that had replaced the Russian Czarist system, and led to the establishment of the Soviet Union, which lasted until its collapse in 1991. ... Aharon (or Ahroyn, Aaron, Aron) Kotler (1890s - 1962) was a prominent leader of Orthodox Judaism in Lithuania, and later the United States of America. ... Karlin is a Hasidic Dynasty originating with Rebbe Aaron Perlow of Karlin in present-day Belarus. ...

Escape to Palestine

Shortly before the start of World War Two, several Misnagdic yeshivas began considering evacuating their rabbis, students and families. Kotler eventually left for America, passing through Siberia and Shanghai. Schach instead opted to go to Palestine with his family. German soldiers at the Battle of Stalingrad World War II was the most extensive and costly armed conflict in the history of the world, involving the great majority of the worlds nations, being fought simultaneously in several major theatres, and costing tens of millions of lives. ... Siberia Siberia (Russian: , common English transliterations: Sibir’, Sibir; from the Tatar for “sleeping land”) is a vast region of Russia and northern Kazakhstan constituting almost all of northern Asia. ... Shanghai (Chinese: 上海; Pinyin: ; Shanghainese IPA: ; Lumazi: Zanhe) , situated on the banks of the Yangtze River Delta, is Chinas largest city. ... Map of the territory under the British Mandate of Palestine. ...

Shortly after arriving in Palestine, Schach worked in several Religious Zionist yeshivas, something that detractors later considered a "black mark" on his reputation. Several years after the re-establishment of the Ponevezh yeshiva in Bnei Brak, Schach was asked to be one of its deans. Schach remained in the position until his death. The Religious Zionist Movement, or Religious Zionism is an ideology combining Zionism and Judaism, which offers Zionism based on the principles of Jewish religion and heritage. ... Mentioned as one of the cities in the portion of the Tribe of Dan (Yehoshua 19:45), Bnei Brak is famous in the Talmud (Sanhedrin 32b) as the seat of Rabbi Akivas court, and in the Pesach Haggada as the site of the all-night Pesach Seder of Rabbi...

Family

Schach had three children, all born in Kletsk in the 1920s: Miriam Raisel, Devorah, and Ephraim. Miriam Raisel died as a teenager in 1939 of pneumonia. Devorah married a Torah scholar in Israel and had several children. Ephraim was unsatisfied with the haredi lifestyle and eventually became a member of the Religious Zionist camp. He served in the Israeli Defense Forces, received a doctorate in history and philosophy, and presently works as a supervisor for the Ministry of Education. Pneumonia is an illness of the lungs and respiratory system in which the microscopic, air-filled sacs (alveoli) responsible for absorbing oxygen from the atmosphere become inflamed and flooded with fluid. ... The Religious Zionist Movement, or Religious Zionism is an ideology combining Zionism and Judaism, which offers Zionism based on the principles of Jewish religion and heritage. ... The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) (Hebrew: צבא ההגנה לישראל Tsva Ha-Haganah Le-Yisrael ([Army] Force [for] the Defense of Israel), often abbreviated צהל Tsahal, alternative English spelling Tzahal, is the name of Israels armed forces (army, air force and navy). ... History studies the past in human terms. ... These five broad types of question are called analytical or logical, epistemological, ethical, metaphysical, and aesthetic respectively. ...

Guttel Schach died in 1969 from complications relating to diabetes. 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday For other uses, see Number 1969. ... This article is about the disease that features high blood sugar. ...

Sources

• From child genius to ultra-Orthodox leader, 1898-2001, by Shahar Ilan, Haaretz, 2001.

Haaretz (Hebrew: הארץ ▶(?), The Land) is an Israeli newspaper, founded in 1919. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ...

External Links

• Collection of Haaretz links relating to Schach

• Obituary from The Guardian (cache), by Lawrence Joffe, Guardian, 2001.