Other names Rav Moshe, Reb Moshe Name Moshe Feinstein Spouse(s) Shima Kustanovitch | Role Rabbi | |
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Children Dovid Feinstein, Reuven Feinstein Books Responsa of Rav Moshe Feinstein: Care of the critically ill Similar People | ||
Rabbi Moshe Feinstein - A Story for his Yahrtzeit - Ask the Rabbi Live with Rabbi Mintz
Rav Moshe Feinstein, Klausenberger Rebbe, Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky @ Siyum Hashas
Rav Moses Feinstein (Hebrew: משה פיינשטײַן Moshe Faynshteyn; March 3, 1895 – March 23, 1986) was an Orthodox rabbi, scholar, and posek (an authoritative adjudicator of questions related to Jewish law), who was world-renowned for his expertise in Halakha, extreme gentleness, and compassion, and was regarded by many as the de facto supreme halakhic authority for Orthodox, especially ultra-Orthodox, Jews in North America. In the Orthodox world, he is widely referred to simply as "Reb Moshe", and his halakhic rulings are often referenced in contemporary rabbinic literature.
Contents
- Rabbi Moshe Feinstein A Story for his Yahrtzeit Ask the Rabbi Live with Rabbi Mintz
- Rav Moshe Feinstein Klausenberger Rebbe Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky Siyum Hashas
- Biography
- Notable decisions
- Death
- Prominent students
- Works
- References
He was president of the Union of Orthodox Rabbis, Chairman of the Council of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of the American Center of Agudat Israel, and Head of the yeshiva "Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem" in New York.
Biography
Moshe Feinstein was born, according to the Hebrew calendar, on the 7th day of Adar, 5655 (traditionally the date of birth and death of the Biblical Moshe) in Uzda, near Minsk, Belarus, then part of the Russian Empire. His father, David Feinstein, was the rabbi of Uzdan and a great-grandson of the Vilna Gaon's brother. His mother was a descendant of talmudist Yom Tov Lipman, the Shlah HaKadosh, and Rashi.
He studied with his father, and also in yeshivas located in Slutsk and Shklov. He also had a close relationship with his uncle, Rabbi Yaakov Kantrowitz, rabbi of Timkovitch, whom he greatly revered and considered his mentor. He was appointed rabbi of Lubań, where he served for sixteen years. He married Shima Kustanovich in 1920, and had 4 children (Pesach Chaim, Fay Gittel, Shifra, and David), before leaving Europe. His son, Pesach Chaim, died in Europe, and his son, Reuven, was born in the US. Under increasing pressure from the Soviet regime, he moved with his family to New York City in 1936, where he lived for the rest of his life.
Settling on the Lower East Side, he became the rosh yeshiva of Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem. He later established a branch of the yeshiva in Staten Island, New York, now headed by his son Rabbi Reuven Feinstein. His son Rabbi Dovid Feinstein heads the Manhattan branch.
He was president of the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada, and chaired the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Agudath Israel of America from the 1960s until his death. Rabbi Feinstein also took an active leadership role in Israel's Chinuch Atzmai.
Rabbi Feinstein was revered by many as the Gadol Hador (greatest Torah sage of the generation), including by Rabbis Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky, Yonasan Steif, Elyah Lopian, Aharon Kotler, Yaakov Kamenetsky, and Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, even though several of them were far older than he. Rabbi Feinstein was also recognized by many as the preeminent Torah sage and Posek of his generation, and people from around the world called upon him to answer their most complicated Halachic questions.
Notable decisions
Owing to his prominence as an adjudicator of Jewish law, Rabbi Feinstein was asked the most difficult questions, in which he issued a number of innovative and controversial decisions. Soon after arriving in the United States, he established a reputation for handling business and labor disputes. For instance, he wrote about strikes, seniority, and fair competition. Later, he served as the chief Halakhic authority for the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists, indicative of his expertise in Jewish medical ethics. In the medical arena, he opposed the early, unsuccessful heart transplants, although it is orally reported that in his later years, he allowed a person to receive a heart transplant (after the medical technique of preventing rejection was improved). On such matters, he often consulted with various scientific experts, including his son-in-law Rabbi Dr. Moshe David Tendler, who is a professor of biology and serves as a rosh yeshiva at Yeshiva University.
As a leader of American Orthodoxy, moreover, Rabbi Feinstein issued opinions that clearly distanced his community from Conservative and Reform Judaism. He faced intense opposition from Hasidic Orthodoxy on several controversial decisions, such as rulings on artificial insemination and mechitza. In the case of his position not to prohibit cigarette smoking, though he recommended against it and prohibited second-hand smoke, other Orthodox rabbinic authorities disagreed. It should be noted that all his detractors, while disagreeing with specific rulings, still considered him to be a leading and venerated sage. The first volume of his Igrot Moshe, a voluminous collection of his halachic decisions, was published in 1959. He made noteworthy decisions on the following topics:
Note: Responsa in Igrot Moshe are cited in parentheses
Death
Rabbi Feinstein died on March 23, 1986 (13th of Adar II, 5746). It has been pointed out that the 5746th verse in the Torah reads, "And it came to pass after Moshe had finished writing down the words of this Torah in a book to the very end." (Deuteronomy 31:24). This is taken by some as a fitting epitaph for him.
At the time, he was regarded as Orthodoxy's foremost halkhic authority and Posek. His funeral in Israel was delayed by a day due to mechanical problems to the plane carrying his coffin, which had to return to New York. His funeral in Israel was said to be the largest among Jews since the Mishnaic era, with an estimated attendance of 300,000 people (though others since then may have been bigger. Some sources put Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef's funeral attendance at over 850,000). Among the eulogizers in America were Rabbis Yaakov Yitzchak Ruderman, Dovid Lifshitz, Shraga Moshe Kalmanowitz, Nisson Alpert, Moshe David Tendler, Michel Barenbaum, and Mordecai Tendler, and the Satmar Rebbe. The son of the deceased, Rabbi Reuven, also spoke.
In Israel, Rabbis Elazar Shach, Dovid Povarsky, Yitzchak Yaakov Weiss, Yehuda Tzadka, Rabbi Feinstein's son Reuven, and Rabbi Feinstein's nephew Rabbi Michel Feinstein, all tearfully expressed grief over what they termed a massive loss to the generation.
Rabbi Feinstein was held in such great esteem that Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, who was himself regarded as a Torah giant, Talmid Chacham, and posek, refused to eulogize him, saying "Who am I to eulogize him? I studied his sefarim; I was his talmid (student)."
R' Moshe was buried on Har HaMenuchot in proximity to his teacher, Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer; his friend, Rabbi Aharon Kotler; his son-in-law, Rabbi Moshe Shisgal; the Brisker Rav, Rav Avraham Yofen, and next to the Belzer Rebbe.
Prominent students
Rabbi Feinstein invested much time molding select students to become leaders in Rabbinics and Halacha. Most are considered authorities in many areas of practical Halacha and Rabbinic and Talmudic academics. Some of those students are:
Works
Rabbi Feinstein's greatest renown came from a lifetime of responding to halachic queries posed by Jews in America and worldwide. He authored approximately 2,000 responsa on a wide range of issues affecting Jewish practice in the modern era. Some responsa can also be found in his Talmudic commentary (Dibrot Moshe), some circulate informally, and 1,883 responsa were published in Igrot Moshe. Among Rabbi Feinstein's works:
Some of Rabbi Feinstein's early works, including a commentary on the Talmud Yerushalmi, were lost in Communist Russia, though his first writings are being prepared for publication by the Feinstein Foundation.