Michael Rosensweig (born December 22, 1956) is a Rosh Yeshiva at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary of Yeshiva University and the Rosh Kollel of the Beren Kollel Elyon.[1][2][3][4]

Rabbi Dr.
Michael Rosensweig
Rosensweig in 2020
Personal
BornDecember 22, 1956
ReligionJudaism
NationalityAmerican
SpouseSmadar Rosensweig
DenominationModern Orthodoxy
Alma materYeshivat Har Etzion, Yeshiva University, Bernard Revel Graduate School
PositionRosh Yeshiva
YeshivaRIETS
ResidenceKew Gardens, Queens
SemikhahRabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary

Biography

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In 1973, at the young age of 16, Rabbi Rosensweig traveled to Israel to study under Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein at Yeshivat Har Etzion for a year and a half.[4][5] He then studied under Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik at Yeshiva University for six years.[5] He received his Semicha from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary and was a distinguished fellow at RIETS's post-semicha Gruss Kollel Elyon.[2] He also studied with Rabbi Yerucham Bobrofksy, a disciple of Rabbi Baruch Ber Leibowitz, at Yeshiva High School of Queens.[5]

Rosensweig graduated summa cum laude from Yeshiva College in 1980.[6][2][7] He received his M.A. and Ph.D. in Medieval Jewish History from the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies, where he was mentored by Haym Soloveitchik, for whom he wrote both his M.A. thesis and doctoral dissertation.[1][2][6] His dissertation is titled Debt Collection in Absentia: Halakhah in a Mobile and Commercial Age.[8] Rosensweig is one of the only doctoral students mentored by Soloveitchik.[9]

Talmudic Methodology

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Inspired by his teachers Rabbi Soloveitchik and Rabbi Lichtenstein, Rabbi Rosensweig employs a unique expanded form of the conceptual Brisker methodology in explaining Talmudic topics, with intense focus on the opinions of Rambam. To develop a broader and more nuanced perspective on issues and the topic as a whole, Rabbi Rosensweig meticulously presents the varying approaches of the Rishonim and Acharonim on the sugya, highlighting their underlying conceptual assumptions as well as pointing to consistencies in their views in other areas. He also seeks to accentuate the broader Torah values expressed by Halachic institutions.[5][10]

Appointment as Rosh Yeshiva and Rosh Kollel

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In 1985, Rosensweig was appointed Rosh Yeshiva at RIETS, where he currently holds the Nathan and Perel Schupf Chair of Talmud.[1][2] In 1997, he was appointed Rosh Kollel of the prestigious Beren Institute for Advanced Talmudic Studies (Beren Kollel Elyon) at RIETS.[1][11]

In 2013, Rosensweig was invited to become the Rosh HaYeshiva at Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh in Israel.

Personal life

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His father was Rabbi Dr. Bernard (Berel) Rosensweig (1926-2021), a professor of Jewish History at Yeshiva University.[12] He was a student of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik and Rabbi Avraham Aharon Price.[5]

He is the great-grandson of Rabbi Yehudah Yudel Rosenberg (1860-1935) on his mother’s side.[5]

In 1983, Rabbi Rosensweig married Smadar Rosensweig, a current professor at Yeshiva University's Stern College.[13] She is a daughter of David and Yaffa Eliach.[14][15]

Rav Rosensweig resides in Kew Gardens, Queens with his wife, Smadar.[1] They have seven children.[1]

His son, Rabbi Itamar Rosensweig, is a maggid shiur at RIETS and a dayan on the Beth Din of America.[16]

Works

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Books

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  • Mimini Mikhael - Essays on Yom Kippur and Teshuvah[17]

English Articles

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Hebrew Articles

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Notable Students

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Rabbi Dr. Michael Rosensweig". Koren Publishers. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
  2. ^ a b c d e "YUTorah - Rabbi Michael Rosensweig". www.yutorah.org. 2023-09-10. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
  3. ^ Rosensweig, Michael (1992). "Elu Va-Elu Divre Elokim Hayyim: Halakhic Pluralism and Theories of Controversy". Tradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought. 26 (3): 4–23. ISSN 0041-0608. JSTOR 23260661.
  4. ^ a b "Rav Michael Rosensweig | Yeshivat Har Etzion". www.etzion.org.il. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Rabbi Michael Rosensweig: The Majesty of Torah Study [Teshuva 4/5]". 18Forty Podcast. 22 August 2023.
  6. ^ a b Staff, JLNJ (2018-03-22). "Rabbi Dr. Michael Rosensweig to Speak at Rinat". The Jewish Link. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
  7. ^ yunews (2012-03-13). "Roshei Yeshiva Reunion". Yeshiva University News. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
  8. ^ Rosensweig, Michael (1996). "Debt collection in absentia: Halakhah in a mobile and commercial age". Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies: Doctoral Dissertations.
  9. ^ YU Torah Online Bio
  10. ^ "YUTorah Online - Q and A with Rav Rosensweig @ Gush (Rabbi Michael Rosensweig)". www.yutorah.org. Retrieved 2022-06-09.
  11. ^ YU Torah Online Bio
  12. ^ "Rabbi Dr. Bernard Rosensweig, Longtime YU Professor, Passes Away at 94". The Commentator. 2021-03-31. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
  13. ^ "Smadar-Rosensweig". Yeshiva University. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
  14. ^ "https://twitter.com/YeshivaLink/status/1443951172268736513?s=20". Twitter. Retrieved 2023-04-21. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  15. ^ Ancestry Library Edition[verification needed]
  16. ^ "Rabbi Rosensweig - Congregation Ahavath Torah". www.ahavathtorah.org. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
  17. ^ Rosensweig, Michael (2023). Mimini Mikhael - Essays on Yom Kippur and Teshuvah. Maggid. ISBN 9781592646456.
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