Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky - Rosh Yeshiva of Torah Vodaath

Rabbi Yaakov ben Binyamin Kamenetsky (1986), Rosh Yeshiva of Torah Vodaath. He authored "Emes LeYaakov." Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky (1891-1986) was a renowned rabbi, Rosh Yeshiva, posek, and Talmudic scholar in the American Jewish community after World War II.

Yahrzeit - 29 Adar

Resting place - Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky was born in the village of Kalushkove in Lithuania in 1891. By decree of the Russian tsar, his father, Reb Binyamin, a timber merchant and owner of a large flour mill, lost his entire business overnight. The family then moved to the village of Dolhinov, where Rabbi Yaakov grew up and attended the local cheder. The study hours were so long that when Rabbi Yaakov's mother brought him lunch, she would bring along an oil lamp for him to use once it grew dark and the boys continued learning. Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky also studied at the famous Kelm Talmud Torah, known for its emphasis on focus and freedom from distraction.

At the age of eleven, he left home to study at the yeshiva in Minsk. After he passed the entrance exam, the Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Shlomo Glovenchitz, still hesitated over whether to accept him because of his young age. "You're not even bar mitzvah yet," he remarked. With childlike innocence, young Yaakov replied, "Well, I came here to learn, not to be the tenth man for a minyan."

In Minsk, many of Yaakov's friends lived in the Kamenetsky home, including the future Rabbi Reuven Grozovsky and the future Rabbi Aharon Kotler. In 1905, Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky went to Slobodka, a suburb of Kovno, Lithuania, to study under Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel, known as the Alter of Slobodka. He also studied in the yeshivas of Slutsk, Krinik, and Molitz. During World War I, he took refuge in Lomza, at the yeshiva of Rabbi Yechiel Michel Gordon.

In 1919, Rabbi Yaakov married Ita Ettel, daughter of Rabbi Ber Hirsh Heller, the Mashgiach of Slobodka. He studied at the famous Slobodka Kollel until 1926. In 1926, Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky was appointed chief rabbi of the Lithuanian town of Tzitevian. In 1937, Rabbi Yaakov traveled to North America to raise funds for the Slobodka Kollel. While in North America, he was offered, and accepted, rabbinic positions in Seattle and Toronto.

In 1945, he accepted an offer from Rabbi Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz of Yeshiva Torah Vodaath in New York to become Rosh Yeshiva there. In 1968, Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky retired from the position of Rosh Yeshiva and moved to Monsey, New York.

For the rest of his life, Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky was a beacon of light and a pillar of truth for the entire Torah world. Together with Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, he led American Jewry in matters of halachic and spiritual guidance until 1986, when both passed away within weeks of each other.

Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky took a tremendous interest in the welfare of families in Israel and in the Rabbi Meir Baal HaNess Salant charity fund. Rabbi Feinstein signed the historic 1979 Kol Korei on behalf of Rabbi Meir Baal HaNess Salant, together with such Torah giants as Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, Rabbi Yaakov Yisroel Kanievsky "the Steipler," Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, Rabbi Elazar Simcha Wasserman, Rabbi Dovid Povarsky, Rabbi Yechiel Michel Feinstein, Rabbi Moshe Shmuel Shapiro, Rabbi Shmuel Birnbaum, and many, many others. May their memory be a blessing to us all.

May the merit of the tzadik Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky protect us all, amen!

(https://dailyzohar.com/tzadikim/292-RABBI-YAAKOV-KAMENETSKY)