Amashgiach ruchani (Hebrew:משגיח רוחני; pl.,mashgichim ruchani'im), sometimesmashgiach for short, is a spiritual supervisor or guide. They are usually arabbi who has an official position within ayeshiva and is responsible for the non-academic areas of yeshiva students' lives.[1]
The position of mashgiach ruchani arose with the establishment of the modern "Lithuanian-style"musar yeshivas. The prototype of this new type of rabbinical leader and educator was RabbiNosson Tzvi Finkel (1849-1927) known as the Alter (elder) of the Slabodka yeshiva,Yeshivas Knesses Yisrael (Slabodka), in Lithuania.
The role of the mashgiach ruchani was strongest in the era beforeWorld War II, when often the mashgichim were responsible for maintaining the yeshiva financially, recruiting and interviewing new students, and hiring staff, something akin to academicdeans. Afterthe Holocaust, the influence and position of the mashgiach decreased, and the roles of therosh yeshivas have grown at the expense of those of the mashgichim. A modern mashgiach/mashgicha is somewhat equivalent to the secularcounselor position. The need for having mashgichim within the modern yeshivas was tied in with the rise of the modernmusar movement (teaching of Jewish ethics), inspired by the 19th-century rabbiIsrael Salanter.[citation needed].
Some yeshivas may refer to a mashgiach/mashgicha ruchani as amenahel ruchani (the wordmenahel means 'principal', as in the principal of a school, or 'supervisor'.)
Chabad yeshivas have a similar position referred to asmashpia, meaning a person who provides (spiritual) influence.[citation needed]
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