Meshulam Dovid Soloveitchik

Rabbi Dovid Soloveitchik
Title	Rosh Yeshivas Brisk
Personal
Born	Meshulam Dovid Soloveitchik 21 October 1921 Brześć, Interwar Poland
Died	31 January 2021 (aged 99) Jerusalem, Israel
Religion	Judaism
Spouse	Yehudis Shternbuch
Children	Rabbi Rabbi Asher Soloveitchik Rebbetzin Hendel Kaplan
Parents	Yitzchok Zev Soloveitchik and Alte Hindl Auerbach
Denomination	Haredi[1]
Jewish leader
Predecessor	Yitzchok Zev Soloveitchik
Successor	Rabbi [2]
Position	Rosh yeshiva
Yeshiva	Brisk Yeshiva, Jerusalem
Began	12 October 1959
Ended	31 January 2021
Buried	Har Hamenuchot
Residence	Jerusalem
Dynasty	Soloveitchik

Meshulam Dovid Soloveitchik (also known as Reb Dovid or Rav Dovid; 21 October 1921 – 31 January 2021; Hebrew: משולם דוד סולובייצ'יק‎) was a Haredi rabbi and rosh yeshiva of one of the branches of the Brisk yeshivas^[3] in Jerusalem, Israel, attended by select young Talmudists, mainly from the United States.

Early life[]

Meshulam Dovid Soloveitchik was the fifth of twelve children and the third son born to Yitzchok Zev Soloveitchik and Alte Hindl, daughter of Chaim Auerbach (not to be confused with Chaim Yehuda Leib Auerbach).^[4] His exact date of his birth is unknown: some sources state his birth on 19 Tishrei 5682 which would be 21 October 1921,^[5] while others say he was born in 1922.^[6] He was named "Meshulam" after his maternal great grandfather, Meshulam Auerbach (who had also proposed the shidduch between his parents),^[7] and "Dovid" after his maternal grandmother's second husband, Rabbi Dovid Mintz. Growing up in Brest-Litovsk (Brisk) where his father served as rabbi, he attended the local Talmud Torah, Mekor Chaim, but at the age of twelve, his father recognized that he was too advanced for the Talmud Torah and sent him to study in Yeshiva Toras Chesed of Rabbi Moshe Sokolvski [HE], a yeshiva for older students.^[6]

He learned in the Kamenitz Yeshiva by Rabbi Boruch Ber Leibovitz. At 19 years old Soloveitchik emigrated to Mandatory Palestine with his father during World War II, and they settled in Jerusalem. He married Yehudis^[8] the daughter of Asher Sternbuch of London.^[9] He was the brother-in-law of Moishe Sternbuch and Chanoch Ehrentreu

Rosh yeshiva[]

Meshulam Dovid Soloveitchik with students

In the late 1970s, Soloveitchik opened his yeshiva in the Gush Shemonim section of the Givat Moshe neighborhood of Jerusalem.

He did not personally publish any works on the Talmud, but many of his works have been published by his students, especially in the latest Mishor prints of his father's works. He rarely gave approbations to new books.

Soloveitchik was considered by Briskers to be one of the last authentic remnants of a pre-World War II Jewish Lithuania, and is often quoted for his memories of his father's and grandfather's lives and teachings.^{[10][11][12][13]}

Family[]

Soloveitchik's eldest son, Rabbi , who is the son in-law of Rabbi Berel Povarsky, was a maggid shiur (lecturer) in his father's yeshiva.^[14] When Meshulam Dovid died, Yitzchok Zev became the rosh yeshiva.^[2]

Soloveitchik's daughter Hendel^[8] is married to Nechemya Kaplan, rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Shaar HaTalmud in Jerusalem.^[15]

Death[]

He died on 31 January 2021 at the age of 99.^[16] Ten thousand^[17] mourners turned out to attend his funeral. He was buried beside his father (Yitzchok Zev "Velvel" Soloveitchik) on Har Hamenuchos.^[2]

It was announced at the funeral, that in accordance with the wishes of the deceased, his oldest son, Rabbi Yitzchok Zev Soloveitchik will succeed his father as Rosh Yeshiva of Brisk.^[2]

Works[]

• Shiurei Rabbeinu Meshulam Dovid HaLevi (written by students):
  • Nazir
  • Arachin
  • Zevachim Part 1
  • Zevachim Part 2
  • Zevachim Part 3
• Al Hatorah (2 Vol.)
• Drashos Mussar U'Tefila
• מאמר שעת השמד [Speech Against the Impending Draft of Bnei Torah]

Notable students[]

• Rabbi Eliezer Geldzahler (1958-2004), Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Ohr Yisroel in Brooklyn New York.^[18]
• Rabbi Chaim Yosef Goldberg (1948-2016), a renowned philanthropist^[19] in Israel.^[20][21][22]
• Rabbi Yitzchok Lichtenstein, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Torah Vodaas^[23]
• Rabbi Moshe Twersky (1955-2014)^[24] Maggid Shiur in Yeshiva Toras Moshe
• Rabbi Shraga Feivel Zimmerman, av beit din of the Federation of Synagogues in London

Brisker rabbinic dynasty[]

References[]

Sources[]

• rabbi Meshulam Dovid Soloveitchik Stories about his father with reb yonatan shtencel
• Meller, Rabbi Shimon Yosef (2007). The Brisker Rav: The life and times of Maran HaGaon HaRav Yitzchok Ze'ev HaLevi Soloveichik, zt"l. Feldheim Publishers. ISBN 978-1-58330-969-8.