Yechiel Michel Feinstein

Rabbi Yechiel Michel Feinstein (1906-2003) was a Haredi rosh yeshiva in Israel and the United States. He was born on June 27, 1906, the son of Rabbi Avrohom Yitzchok Feinstein in the town of Uzda, near Minsk, Belarus, then part of the Russian empire. Yechiel Michel was orphaned at the age of seven and went to live with and learn from his grandfather, Rabbi Dovid Feinstein. It was there that Yechiel Michel developed a close relationship with his uncle, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein. [ [http://www.aishdas.org/avodah/vol04/v04n106.shtml#05 Avodah V4 #106 ] ]

From a young age, he was recognized as a prodigy, and so he was sent to Slutsk after his bar mitzvah to study under Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer. Rabbi Meltzer likened the intelligence of his young student to that of the celebrated Rabbi Naftoli Trop.

When the Bolsheviks revolted, the Yeshiva was forced to flee from Belorussia to Lithuania. It was during this period that R' Yechiel Michel attended the famed Talmudic lectures of Rabbi Meltzer and his son-in-law, Rabbi Aharon Kotler. Three years later, R' Yechiel Michel transferred to Mir yeshiva (Poland), where he became a student of Rabbi Yeruchom Lebovitz, the leading teacher of Mussar. During this time, R' Yechiel Michel befriended Rabbi Dovid Povarsky, who later became the dean of Ponevezh Yeshiva, Rabbi Yonah Karpilow of Minsk, who was killed in the Holocaust and post-humously published Yonas Eilem. At this time, Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz and Rabbi Aryeh Leib Malin also studied in the Mir yeshiva. Despite being surrounding by such luminaries in Torah, R' Yechiel Michel was nonetheless thought of as the genius of his yeshiva.

At the behest of his former teacher, Rabbi Meltzer, R' Yechiel Michel went to Brisk to study under the illustrious Brisker Rov. It did not take long for R' Yechiel Michel to earn his reputation as the genius in the Brisk yeshiva. However, during this time, he became eligible for conscription into the army, so he consulted with Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan about evading the army; upon their meeting the latter was impressed by R' Yechiel Michel's broad knowledge of Nezikin, Nashim, and Kodoshim. On this journey, he stayed in Grodno for half a year, where he learned from Rabbi Shimon Shkop. He afterwards returned to Brisk to continue his studying under the Brisker Rov who was very fond of him. During his tutelage in under the Brisker Rav, he would spend the summer months and the month of Elul at Yeshivas Mir. When World War II broke out, he traveled to Vilna with other students from the Mir Yeshiva to hear lectures from the Brisker Rav. Whilist in Vilna, R' Yechiel Michel was lavishly praised by the leading posek of the generation, Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzensky.

From Vilna he joined the Mir Yeshiva in exile in Japan, while helping other refugees escape the horrors of the Holocaust. Eventually, R' Yechiel Michel arrived in the United States of America in 1941 with Rabbi Aharon Kotler. While the latter opened a yeshiva in Lakewood, New Jersey (Beth Medrash Govoha), R' Yechiel Michel opened a yeshiva for students of the Mir in Boston. Less than a year later, his uncle, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, summoned R' Yechiel Michel to serve at his side as the head of Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem in the Lower East Side, Manhattan. During this time, he gained fame for his Talmudic lectures. R' Yechiel Michel was appointed a member of the Agudas HaRabbonim and played a crucial role in helping save refugees from the Holocaust in Europe.

In 1946, R' Yechiel Michel arrived in Palestine. He immediately reunited with his former teacher the Brisker Rav in Jerusalem, and married the Brisker Rav's daughter, Lifsha. His other mentor, Rabbi Meltzer, officiated at the wedding. Following his marriage, he continued serving in the capacity of rosh yeshiva in America until 1952. In 1952 he immigrated to Israel once again, establishing Yeshivas Beis Yehuda in Tel Aviv. He consulted regularly with the Chazon Ish in Bnei Brak on important issues.

In 1973, a daughter of R' Yechiel Michel died, which prompted R' Yechiel Michel to move to Bnei Brak. In 1984, he inaugurated the new yeshiva building, where he gave more than 17 intricate lectures per week. In 2003, he died. He is survived by his son Rabbi Dovid Feinstein and son-in-law Rabbi Tzvi Kaplan, each of whom is the rosh yeshiva of his own Brisk yeshiva in Israel.

Works

His only written works to have been publicly published are his novallae to the Talmudic tractate Kerisos which are printed in the back fo the new editions of his father-in-law's novallae to that tractate. Other works of his are retained privately. Recently his family has published his works on Kelim, Mikvaos,and other Mesechtas.

Family Tree

ources

* [http://chareidi.shemayisrael.com/archives5763/bechukosai/BCK63arfeinst.htm HaRav Yechiel Michel Feinstein, zt'l]