Nissim Karelitz

Nissim Karelitz was born in 1926 in Vilnius

Karelitz was born in 1926 in Kosava, then in Poland and now in Belarus. His mother was a sister of Rabbi Avrohom Yeshaya Karelitz, the Chazon Ish. He came to the Land of Israel with his parents as a child.

He studied at the Tiferet Tzion and Lomza yeshivas, and later at the Ponevezh Yeshiva on the advice of the Chazon Ish. He also learned with his uncles, the Chazon Ish and the Steipler. He married Leah, daughter of Rabbi Tzvi Kopshitz of Jerusalem, and they had 11 children.

He taught at yeshivas in Bnei Brak and succeeded his father as head of Kollel Chazon Ish. In 1968 he founded the Beit Din Tzedek of Bnei Brak, which handled marriage, financial disputes and conversions. He led it until 2012 and was also rabbi of the Ramat Aharon neighborhood and a member of the Council of Torah Sages.

He took part in the 1992 reunion agreement between Degel HaTorah and Agudat Yisrael. He died in Bnei Brak on October 21, 2019, and about 100,000 people attended his funeral.