Religionאברהם ישעיהו קרליץ

Avrohom Yeshaya Karelitz

Avraham Yeshayahu Karelitz, known as the Chazon Ish after his series of books, was a Haredi rabbi and halachic authority who settled in the Land of Israel in 1933.

1878 to 1953The Chazon Ish book seriesStandard halachic measurementsMilitary exemption for yeshiva students

Born: 7 November 1878, Kosava
Died: 24 October 1953, Bnei Brak
Occupation: theologian, rabbi, educator

Avrohom Yeshaya Karelitz was born in 1878 in Kosava

Karelitz was born in 1878 in Kosava, in the Grodno Governorate of the Russian Empire, now in Belarus. His father, Shmaryahu Yosef Karelitz, was the town rabbi. His mother, Rashe Leah, was the daughter of the previous town rabbi, Shaul Katzenelnbogen.

He did not attend a cheder or yeshiva and was likely never formally ordained. He learned from his father and a private teacher, and was mostly self-taught. He studied briefly in Brisk and returned home, and in 1905 spent time studying in Vilna with Chaim Ozer Grodzinski.

In 1906 he married Batya Bay in Kvedarna, Lithuania. She ran a fabric shop and supported the household while he studied Torah, taught Gemara and founded a yeshiva with the local rabbi. In 1911 he published anonymously the first book of his Chazon Ish series.

After settling in the Land of Israel in 1933, he dealt with modern halachic problems, set standard halachic measurements and wrote on agricultural laws of the Land of Israel. He opposed Zionism and secured an exemption from military service for yeshiva students in Israel. He died in 1953.