Avraham Eliezer Alperstein
 | This article includes alist of references,related reading,orexternal links,but its sources remain unclear because it lacksinline citations.(December 2021) |
Avraham Eliezer Alperstein | |
|---|---|
 Rabbi Avraham Eliezer Alperstein | |
| Born | c.1853 Kobrin,Grodno Province, Belarus |
| Died | January 28, 1917(aged 64) New York City,United States |
| Nationality | American |
Avraham Eliezer Alperstein(c.1853 – January 28, 1917) was anOrthodoxRabbi,Rosh yeshiva,publisher,communal leader and exceptional Talmudic scholar. He published the first ever section ofTalmudin the United States.
Studying under theRidbazand theBeis HaLeviin his youth and then inVilnaandKovno,Rabbi Alperstein obtained an extraordinary knowledge of both theTalmud Bavliand theTalmud Yerushalmi.He receivedSemichafrom Rabbi Mordechai Meltzer (Rabbi ofLida), and Rabbi Aryeh Leib Shachnovitz (Rabbi ofBielsk).
Upon gaining semicha, Rabbi Alperstein briefly served as rabbi of theKamenitzershulin Vilna before becoming rabbi of nearbyNovhorod-Siverskyi.A few years later he accepted a position as rabbi of the Zevach Tzedek shul in the vibrant Jewish community ofSlabodka.
Rabbi Alperstein immigrated to the United States in 1881, becoming rabbi of Khal Adath Jeshurun in New York. In 1884, he went toChicagoto take another rabbinic pulpit, serving there for 15 years as rabbi of various shuls including Congregation Oheb Shalom Bnai Marienpol, Anshei Kovno, and theSuvalkershul. While in the city, he published his commentary toTractate Bikkurimof the Jerusalem Talmud. The work boasted two notable approbations, one from theBeis HaLeviofBriskand the other from RabbiJacob Josephof New York. Moving in 1899 toSt. Paul,Rabbi Alperstein returned to New York in 1901 to become rabbi of the Yagustava shul on Rutgers Street.
RIETS
[edit]Upon his return to New York, Rabbi Alperstein was delighted to learn that his colleagues Rabbis Moshe Matlin and Yehuda David Bernstein had opened a Lithuanian-styleyeshivanamed in honour of the distinguished RabbiYitzchak Elchanan Spektorof Kovno. Desiring to assist the yeshiva, Rabbi Alperstein's abilities as a dynamic public speaker inYiddishproved useful as he campaigned throughout theShteiblachof theLower East Sidefor funds forRIETS.
In 1903, when RIETS felt it had outgrown its premises at the Kalvarier shul, Rabbi Alperstein arranged for the yeshiva to transfer to his own Yagustava shul. By 1905, the year he became rabbi at Congregation Mishkon Yisroel, approximately 100 students were engaged in Torah study in RIETS, under the tutelage of several rabbis including Rabbi Alperstein.
Rabbi Alperstein was highly active in the areas ofKashrutand Jewish education. He was one of the founders of theAgudath Harabbonim,serving as its vice-president and directing the New York branch. He died on January 28, 1917, and was buried in Mount Judah Cemetery, New York. His wife founded the 'Beth Abraham Home for the Incurably Sick' in the Bronx in his memory, which today is theBeth Abraham Hospital,part of theMontefiore Medical Center.
Writings
[edit]- Sefer HaRaal uPri Genusar(Chicago, 1888) - a triple commentary on Maseches Bikkurim of the Talmud Yerushalmi, the first ever section ofTalmudpublished in America
- unpublishedresponsa,as well as writings onTractate Berachotof the Jerusalem Talmud and TractateNiddahof the Babylonian Talmud
- several Torah articles in theJerusalemrabbinic journalHa-Measef
References
[edit]- RIETS Rosh Yeshiva Gallery biography[permanent dead link]
- Toldot Anshei Shembiography (Hebrew)
- Goldman, Yosef.Hebrew Printing in America, 1735-1926, A History and Annotated Bibliography(YGBooks 2006).ISBN1-59975-685-4.
- Sherman, Moshe D.Orthodox Judaism in America: A Biographical Dictionary and Sourcebook(Greenwood Press 2006).ISBN0-313-24316-6.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
