Rabbi Moshe Feinstein | |
|---|---|
 At his desk inMesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem | |
| Born | (1895-03-03)March 3, 1895 Uzda,Minsk Governorate, Russian Empire |
| Died | March 23, 1986(1986-03-23) (aged 91) New York City, U.S. |
| Resting place | Har HaMenuchot,West Jerusalem 31°48′00″N35°11′00″E / 31.8°N 35.183333°E /31.8; 35.183333 |
| Other names | Rav Moshe,Reb Moshe |
| Occupations | Rabbi,Posek |
| Employer | Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem |
| Known for | Igros Moshe, various rulings in Jewish law |
| Spouse | Shima Kustanovitch |
| Children | 5, includingDovid andReuven |
Moshe Feinstein (Yiddish:משה פֿײַנשטײן;Lithuanian pronunciation:Moishe Fainshtein; English:Moses Feinstein;[1] March 3, 1895 – March 23, 1986) was a Russian-born AmericanOrthodox Jewishrabbi, scholar, andposek (authority onhalakha—Jewish law). He has been called the most famous Orthodox Jewish legal authority of the 20th century[2] and his rulings are often referenced in contemporaryrabbinic literature. Feinstein served as president of theUnion of Orthodox Rabbis, chairman of the Council of theMoetzes Gedolei HaTorah of theAgudath Israel of America, and head ofMesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem in New York.
Feinstein is commonly called"Reb Moshe"[3][4] (or"Rav Moshe").[5][6]
Moshe Feinstein was born, according to theHebrew calendar, onAdar 7, 5655, inUzda,Minsk Governorate, in theRussian Empire (now in Belarus). His father, David Feinstein, was the rabbi of Uzda and a great-grandson of theVilna Gaon's brother. David Feinstein's father, Yechiel Michel Feinstein, was aKoidanover Chassid.[7] His mother was a descendant of talmudistYom-Tov Lipmann Heller, theShlah HaKadosh, andRashi. He studied with his father and inyeshivas inSlutsk, underPesach Pruskin, andShklov. He also had a close relationship with his uncle,Yaakov Kantrowitz, rabbi ofTimkovichi, whom he greatly revered and considered his mentor. For the rest of his life, Feinstein considered Pruskin hisrebbe.[8]
Feinstein was appointed rabbi ofLyuban, where he served for 16 years. He married Shima Kustanovich in 1920 and had four children (Pesach Chaim, Fay Gittel, Shifra, and David) before leaving Europe.[9] Pesach Chaim died in Europe, and another son,Reuven, was born in the United States. Under increasing pressure from theSoviet regime, in January 1937 he moved with his family to New York City,[10] where he lived for the rest of his life.
Settling on theLower East Side, Feinstein became therosh yeshiva ofMesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem. He later established a branch of the yeshiva in Staten Island, New York, now headed by his son Reuven. His sonDovid headed theManhattan branch.
Feinstein was president of theUnion of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada and chaired theMoetzes Gedolei HaTorah ofAgudath Israel of America from the 1960s until his death. Feinstein also took an active leadership role in Israel'sChinuch Atzmai.
Feinstein was recognized by many as the preeminenthalakhic authority (posek) of his generation, ruling on issues of Jewish law as they pertain to modern times.[11] People around the world called upon him to answer their most complicated halachic questions.[12]
Owing to his prominence as anadjudicator of Jewish law, Feinstein was often asked to rule on very difficult questions, whereupon he often employed a number of innovative and controversial theories to reach his decisions. Soon after arriving in the United States, he established a reputation for handling business and labor disputes, writing about strikes, seniority, and fair competition. He later served as the chief halakhic authority for theAssociation of Orthodox Jewish Scientists, an indication of his expertise in Jewish medical ethics. In the medical arena, he opposed the early, unsuccessful heart transplants, although it has been reported off-the-record that in his later years, he allowed a person to receive a heart transplant after the medical technique of preventing rejection improved. On such matters, he often consulted with various scientific experts, including his son-in-lawMoshe David Tendler, a professor ofbiology who served as a rosh yeshiva atYeshiva University.[13]
As one of the prominent leaders of American Orthodoxy, Feinstein issued opinions that clearly distanced his community fromConservative andReform Judaism.[a] He faced intense opposition fromHasidic Orthodoxy on several controversial decisions, such as rulings on artificial insemination andmechitza. Feinstein did not prohibitcigarette smoking, though he recommended against it and prohibited secondhand smoke; other Orthodox rabbinic authorities disagreed. Even while disagreeing with specific rulings, his detractors still considered him a leading interpreter of Jewish law. The first volume of hisIgrot Moshe, a voluminous collection of his halakhic decisions, was published in 1959.[14]
Feinstein died on March 23, 1986 (13th ofAdar II, 5746). Over 20,000 people gathered to hear him eulogized in New York before he was flown toIsrael for burial.[15] His funeral was delayed by a day due to mechanical problems with the plane carrying his coffin, which had to return to New York. The funeral was said to be attended by between 200,000 and 250,000 people.[16]
Feinstein was buried onHar HaMenuchot near his teacher,Isser Zalman Meltzer.[4]
Feinstein's students include:
Feinstein wrote approximately 2,000responsa on a wide range of issues affecting Jewish practice in the modern era. Some responsa can be found in his Talmudic commentary (Dibrot Moshe), some circulate informally, and 1,883 responsa were published inIgrot Moshe. Among Feinstein's works are:
Some of Feinstein's early works, including a commentary on theJerusalem Talmud, were lost in Communist Russia, though the Feinstein Foundation is preparing his first writings for publication.
Feinstein is known for writing, in a number of places, that certain statements by prominentrishonim that he found theologically objectionable were not in fact written by thoserishonim, but rather inserted into the text by erring students.[b] According to Rabbi Dovid Cohen ofBrooklyn, Feinstein attributed such comments to students as a way of politely rejecting statements byrishonim while still retaining full reverence for them as religious leaders of earlier generations.[19]
Reb Moshe .. body .. to Jerusalem ... funeral at ... Har Ha-Menuchot
Rabbi Feinstein – known affectionately in the Orthodox world as "Rav Moshe"...
As soon as Rabbi Moshe Feinstein ... turned to Rav Moshe and ...
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