Religionאריה לוין

Aryeh Levin

Aryeh Levin was an Orthodox rabbi in Jerusalem, known as the "Father of Prisoners" for visiting Jewish underground prisoners during the British Mandate.

1885 to 1969Chaplain to underground prisonersVisiting the sick and lepersFounding the Beit Aryeh yeshiva

Born: 22 March 1885, Białystok
Died: 28 March 1969, Jerusalem
Occupation: rabbi

Aryeh Levin was born in 1885 in Białystok

Aryeh Levin was born in 1885 in Orla, near Białystok, in the Russian Empire. His parents were Binyamin Beinish, a forester, and Ethel. He studied at yeshivas in Slonim, Slutsk, Brisk and Volozhin.

In 1905 he moved to the Land of Israel and soon settled in Jerusalem. There he married Tzipora Hanna, daughter of Rabbi David Shapira. He was ordained by rabbis including Shmuel Salant and Abraham Isaac Kook.

From 1917 he served as a supervisor at the Etz Chaim Talmud Torah in Jerusalem. In 1931 Rabbi Kook appointed him the official Jewish prison chaplain, a role he had filled informally since 1927, and he took no pay. He prayed with underground prisoners, carried messages to their families and tried to prevent death sentences.

He also visited the sick, especially patients without family, and lepers. After Israel was founded he set up the Beit Aryeh yeshiva. He died in 1969 and was buried in the Sanhedria cemetery, and streets in several cities were named for him.