Avraham Jeschajahu Karelitz

This article or the following section is not adequately provided with supporting documents ( e.g. individual evidence ). Information without sufficient evidence could be removed soon. Please help Wikipedia by researching the information and including good evidence.

Avraham Jeschajahu Karelitz

Rabbi Avraham Jeschajahu Karelitz ( Avraham Yeshayahu Karelitz , known as and named after his main work Chazon Ish , also: Hazon Isch ; born 1878 in Kossowa (near Baranavichy ), Russian Empire ; died 1953 in Bnei Berak , Israel ) was an ultra-Orthodox rabbi , Talmudic scholar and from 1933 until his death a leader of the Haredim in Israel.

Life

From his early years Karelitz showed unusual talent; he devoted his life to studying the Torah , but was also well versed in various sciences such as astronomy , anatomy , mathematics and botany . In 1911 he published his first work on Orach Chayim and other parts of the Shulchan Aruch anonymously in Vilnius under the title Chazon Ish ("visionary", the name by which he became known). He went to Vienna and there approached Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski , later went to the British Mandate Palestine , where he settled in Bnei Brak. Even after his marriage he studied the Talmud day and night; he had no children; his wife provided for a living.

His home in Bnei Brak was visited by thousands who needed his advice or were simply inspired and comforted by his presence. Although he had no official position, he was still considered a great authority on Jewish issues; and David Ben-Gurion had visited him once and asked about religious topics (on the question of the service of young women in the Israeli army). Karelitz did not belong to any particular direction within the Charedian Judaism and was nevertheless very much appreciated by followers of various currents. Streets are named after him in many Israeli cities.

Karelitz wrote more than 40 books on religious subjects in Hebrew, in a clear and straightforward style. After moving to Israel, he became an authority on everything related to Jewish law and life. Although he was not a head of a yeshiva , he had a profound influence on religious life and institutions.

Although he was a scholar, he also devoted himself to practical problems. He thought about using milking machines on Shabbat or about cultivating water seedlings during the sabbatical year when no land can be built in Eretz Israel, etc.