1 - Origins and Early Years of the Volozhin Yeshiva

Summary

THE SMALL TOWN OF VOLOZHIN is not very different frommany other Belarusian towns. It has played a very minor role in the history of the region and does not even appear in every atlas. To the casual visitor today it is unimpressive; indeed, it never attracted very many travellers. It is not on a major thoroughfare and not easy to get to. However, for much of the nineteenth century it was one of the focal points of the Lithuanian Jewish world (most of Belarus was regarded by Jews as part of Lithuania), because of the yeshiva that was established there. Even today, in Jewish historical consciousness Volozhin remains a major metropolis—one of the capitals in the Jewish memory map of Europe. This is because the yeshiva of Volozhin represented a novel type of relationship between the Jewish community and Jewish learning: for most of the nineteenth century the Volozhin yeshiva was the most important institution of Jewish learning in all of eastern Europe, and ultimately it served as a model for the rest of European Jewry. The heads of the yeshiva were regarded as leaders of the Jewish community in the Russian empire and beyond; thousands of young men studied there, many of whom went on to have a significant impact on the Jewish world. Patterns that were set in Volozhin are essentially maintained in yeshivas around the world till today—though at the same time much has changed, even if yeshiva students and their social circles are unaware of these changes. There aremany curious myths about Volozhin, but the reality was even more interesting. A careful look at the history of the yeshiva can teach us not only about the yeshiva itself but how a society can change in ways that few could have predicted.

R. Hayim of Volozhin

The structure and development of the Volozhin yeshiva were directly linked to the life and career of its founder, R. Hayim ben Yitshak of Volozhin. He was born in Volozhin in 1749. His father came from a prominent family and was himself a communal leader. His mother was also of distinguished ancestry.