Remembering Rav Hayyim Volozhiner

Today (14 Sivan) marks the 200th Yahrzeit of Rav Hayyim Volozhiner zt”l.

R. Hayyim (1749-1821) was the leading disciple of the Gaon of Vilna. In 1803 he founded the Volozhin yeshiva, which became the prototype for the great Lithuanian yeshivot of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and their successor yeshivot in our own day. His published writings include the monumental Nefesh ha-Hayyim on Jewish thought, Ruah Hayyim on Avot, and responsa.

In TRADITION 36:4 (Winter 2002) our esteemed board member, Prof. Shnayer Z. Leiman, presented in annotated translation an endearing anecdote about R. Hayyim, entitled “From the Pages of TRADITION: The Wisdom of R. Hayyim of Volozhin.”