| Mir Yeshiva | |
|---|---|
ישיבת מיר | |
 Mir Yeshiva inJerusalem in September 2012 | |
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| Information | |
| Religious affiliation | Orthodox |
| Established | 1944 |
| Founder | Eliezer Yehuda Finkel (Reb Leizer Yudel) |
| Dean | Eliezer Yehuda Finkel |
| Enrollment | 9,600 |
TheMir Yeshiva (Hebrew:ישיבת מיר,Yeshivat Mir), known also asThe Mir, is anOrthodoxJewishyeshiva inBeit Yisrael,Jerusalem. With over 9,000 single and married students,[1] it is the largest yeshiva in the world.[2][3][4] Most students are from Israel and the United States, with many from other parts of the world such as Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Switzerland, Argentina, Australia, Russia, Canada and Panama.
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The yeshiva was founded in the small town ofMir (now inBelarus) in 1814,[5] 1815[6][7][8][9] or 1817[10] by RabbiShmuel Tiktinsky. After his death, his oldest son, Rabbi Avraham Tiktinsky, was appointedRosh Yeshiva. After a number of years, Avraham died and his younger brother, RabbiChaim Leib Tiktinsky, succeeded him. Rabbi Chaim Leib would remain as Rosh Yeshiva for many decades. He was succeeded by his son, RabbiAvrohom Tiktinsky, who brought RabbiEliyahu Boruch Kamai into the yeshiva. In 1903, Rabbi Kamai's daughter married RabbiEliezer Yehuda Finkel, son of RabbiNosson Tzvi Finkel of Slabodka, who in time became the Rosh Yeshiva of the Mir. The yeshiva remained in that location until 1914.
With the outbreak ofWorld War I, the yeshiva moved toPoltava (now inUkraine). In 1921, the yeshiva moved back to its original facilities in Mir, where it remained until,Nazi Germany and theSoviet Unioninvaded Poland in 1939.
Although many of the foreign-born students left when the Soviet army invaded from the east, the yeshiva continued to operate—albeit on a reduced scale—until the approaching German armies caused the leaders of the yeshiva to move the entire community toKeidan,Lithuania. The yeshiva moveden masse on October 15 toVilna in order to get out from under Russian rule and into then-free Lithuania. Russia had announced that it was returning Vilna to Lithuania. Until that was completed, they could go to Vilna by crossing a border.
Around this time, RabbiEliezer Yehuda Finkel traveled toMandatory Palestine toobtain visas for his students and re-establish the Mir Yeshiva inEretz Yisrael, but these plans were interrupted by theoutbreak of World War II in Europe. In 1944, Rabbi Finkel opened a branch of the yeshiva inJerusalem with ten students, among them Rabbi Yudel Shapiro (later Rosh Kollel Chazon Ish), Rabbi Chaim Brim (later Rosh Yeshiva of Rizhn-Boyan), and Rabbi Chaim Greineman.[11]
DuringWorld War II, as theWehrmacht continued to push to theEastern Front, the yeshiva students fled toJapanese-controlledShanghai under theWang Jingwei regime, where they remained until the end of the war. The story of the escape to the Far East of Mir Yeshiva along withthousands of other Jewish refugees fromNazi-occupied Europe, thanks largely to visas issued by the Dutch consul,Jan Zwartendijk, and the Japanese consul-general to Lithuania,Chiune Sugihara, has been the subject of several books and movies, including thePBS documentary filmConspiracy of Kindness.[12] After the war, most of the Jewish refugees from theShanghai Ghetto left forMandatory Palestine and theUnited States. Among them were survivors from the Mir Yeshiva, many of whom rejoined the yeshiva in Jerusalem. Rabbi Finkel's son, Rabbi Chaim Zev Finkel (commonly called Chazap), served as mashgiach.[13][circular reference]
When Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Finkel died on July 19, 1965, his son, RabbiBeinish Finkel and his brother-in-law, RabbiChaim Leib Shmuelevitz became joint Mirrer Rosh Yeshivas. Reb Chaim was considered the main Rosh Yeshiva and when he died, his son-in-law, RabbiNachum Partzovitz, replaced him. RabbiBeinish Finkel became Rosh Yeshiva after Reb Nachum died. With RabbiBeinish Finkel's death in 1990, the reins were taken over by RabbiBeinish Finkel's sons-in-law, with the Rosh Yeshiva, RabbiNosson Tzvi Finkel, at the helm. AfterNosson Tzvi Finkel's death on November 8, 2011, his eldest son, RabbiEliezer Yehuda Finkel, was named as his successor.[14]
Under RabbiNosson Tzvi Finkel, the yeshiva's enrollment grew into the thousands. The large enrollment was divided intochaburas, or learning groups. Eachchabura consists of the same type of student – e.g. American, European, Israeli,Hasidic, and non-Hasidic. Thesechaburas sit in designated areas in the Mir's various study halls (the three biggest being Merkazi, Beis Yeshaya, Beis Shalom), as well as in the same area in the dining room. Eachchabura is subdivided byshiur (class), with eachmaggid shiur (lecturer) teaching a group of students.[3] The largestshiur in the yeshiva (which is also the biggest in the yeshiva world) is that of RabbiAsher Arieli, who givesshiurim inYiddish to over 1000 students.[citation needed]
The yeshiva has a branch inModi'in Illit primarily for Israelis, which also includes akollel.Mir Brachfeld was headed by RabbiAryeh Finkel (grandson of RabbiEliezer Yehuda Finkel and son of Rabbi Chaim Zev Finkel[13]) until his passing on Aug. 9, 2016. His oldest son, Rabbi Binyomin Finkel, took over as Rosh Yeshiva.
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31°47′18.5″N35°13′26″E / 31.788472°N 35.22389°E /31.788472; 35.22389
