Chaim Leib Shmuelevitz

Chaim Leib Halevi Shmuelevitz, (; 1902–1979) — also spelled Shmulevitz — was a member of the faculty of the Mirrer Yeshiva for more than 40 years, in Poland, Shanghai and Jerusalem, serving as Rosh yeshiva during its sojourn in Shanghai from 1941 to 1947, and again in the Mirrer Yeshiva in Jerusalem from 1965 to 1979. He taught, guided, and inspired thousands of disciples throughout his lifetime, by word and deed, with legendary diligence and intensity in Torah study.

Early years Shmuelevitz was born on the second day of Rosh Hashana 5663 (3 October 1902) in Kovno, Lithuania, after the shtetl in which he grew up. The Mirrer rosh yeshiva, Eliezer Yehuda Finkel, set his sights on Shmuelevitz as his eventual spiritual heir. He set the seal on this future appointment by offering his student the hand of his daughter in marriage.

Shmuelevitz married Chana Miriam, the rosh yeshiva's daughter, on the last day of Hanukkah, 3 Tevet 5690 (3 January 1930). A few years later, at the relatively young age of 31, Shmuelevitz was appointed as a maggid shiur, delivering regular lectures. Shmuelevitz's lectures were modeled on the study strategy of his mentor, Shkop, personalized in a style of his own. The hallmark of his lectures was depth combined with breadth; it was not uncommon for him to cite 20 or 30 different sources from far-flung corners of the Talmud and its commentaries during a single class. These classes attracted a wide audience, including some of the most advanced students in Mir.

World War II With the outbreak of World War II, Mir Yeshiva was forced into exile. The students and faculty fled from Mir to Vilna, where they stayed for about two months, after which they moved to Keidan, where they managed to set up the yeshiva once more in 1940. After being ordered out of Keidan seven months later by the Communist authorities, the yeshiva divided into four groups, each numbering between eighty and one hundred students. Shmuelevitz's classes continued virtually without interruption throughout the early period of World War II, while when the yeshiva was continually in transit. In late 1940, hundreds of Mir yeshiva students obtained visas from Chiune Sugihara to travel via Siberia and Vladivostok to Japan.

The yeshiva stayed in Kobe, Japan, for about six months, and then relocated to Shanghai for the next five years. Although living conditions were extremely difficult, the yeshiva prospered. As Eliezer Yehuda Finkel had gone to Palestine to obtain visas for the yeshiva and was forced to remain there, Shmuelevitz and the mashgiach, Yechezkel Levenstein, assumed responsibility for the day-to-day running of the yeshiva.

Shanghai

Somehow, Rav Shmuelevitz became responsible for the financial needs of all Jewish learning institutions in the city, not just his own. These included contingents of the famed yeshivas of Kamenetz, Kletzk, Lubavitch, and Lublin. His son Rafael Halevi Shmuelevitz (1937 - 2016) was a co-Rosh Yeshiva of Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem. His daughter Rivka, who died in 2019, was married to Yitzchok Ezrachi.

Final days

A few days after Sukkot 1978, Shmuelevitz was rushed to the hospital and, for the next two months, was gravely ill. Moshe Feinstein said, "The world rested upon Reb Chaim's shoulders." Jews worldwide prayed for his recovery. Two months later on the third of Tevet, Shmuelevitz died at the age of 76. Nearly 100,000 mourners attended his funeral. He is buried on Har HaMenuchot.

During his lifetime, Shmuelevitz committed to paper his every lecture and public address, leaving behind at his death thousands of handwritten pages, including chiddushim on every tractate of the Talmud.

Audio lectures MP3 classes given by Shmuelevitz

Publications

Sichos Mussar – Ethical discourses, reprinted as Sichos Mussar: Reb Chaim's Discourses: The Shmuessen of the Mirrer Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Chaim Shmulevitz. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1989. .