Dovid Leibowitz
|
Rabbi
Chaim Dovid Hakohen Leibowitz
| |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal | |
| Born | May 15, 1887 |
| Died | December 5, 1941 (aged 54) |
| Religion | Judaism |
| Nationality | American |
| Jewish leader | |
| Predecessor | None |
| Successor | Rabbi Henoch Leibowitz |
| Position | 1st Rosh Yeshiva (Dean) |
| Organisation | Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim: Rabbinical Seminary of America |
| Began | 1933 |
| Ended | December 5, 1941 |
Dovid Leibowitz (1887–1941) was a leading rabbi and disciple of prewar Europe's Slabodka yeshiva in Lithuania, who went on to found the Rabbinical Seminary of America, better known today as "Yeshivas Rabbeinu Yisrael Meir HaKohen" or the "Chofetz Chaim yeshiva", as its first rosh yeshiva (dean) in the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn, New York. The Rabbinical Seminary of America was named after his great-uncle, Yisrael Meir Kagan of Raduń Yeshiva, who was known as the "Chofetz Chaim".
Biography
As a teenager he studied in the Radin Yeshiva, where he held private study sessions with his great-uncle, the founder of the Radin Yeshiva, and helped write the last volume of the Mishnah Berurah. He also studied there under Rabbi Naftoli Trop.
In 1908 Leibowitz transferred to the Slabodka yeshiva, where he studied under the Alter of Slabodka, Nosson Tzvi Finkel. In 1915 Leibowitz succeeded his father-in-law as rabbi of Šalčininkai. After six years he returned to Slabodka as a founding member of the Slabodka kollel.
in January of 1927 Leibowitz went to the United States as a fund-raiser for the kollel and was invited to become the first rosh yeshiva of Mesivta Torah Vodaath. Among his students were Gedalia Schorr and Avraham Yaakov Pam. In 1933, Leibowitz founded Yeshivas Rabbeinu Yisrael Meir HaKohen (now located in Kew Gardens Hills, New York).
On Friday December 5, 1941, Leibowitz died of a heart attack. His funeral was held on Sunday December 7, 1941. The yeshiva was headed for the following sixty-seven years by his only son, Henoch Leibowitz.