Religionיעקב ישראל קניבסקי

Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky

Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky, known as the Steipler, was a Haredi rabbi, Talmudic scholar and rosh yeshiva, and the author of the Kehilos Yaakov commentary on the Talmud.

1899 to 1985The Kehilos Yaakov Talmud commentaryHeading the Beis Yosef yeshivaLeadership of Lithuanian Haredi Jewry

Born: 17 June 1899, Hornostaipil
Died: 10 August 1985, Bnei Brak
Occupation: rabbi
Education: Novardok Yeshiva

Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky was born in 1899 in Hornostaipil

Kanievsky was born in 1899 in Hornostaipil, Ukraine, to Chaim Peretz Kanievsky, a rabbi, and his wife Bracha. His nickname, the Steipler, comes from the name of that town.

He studied at the Novardok Yeshiva from 1911 and moved with it to Homel in 1914 during World War I. He was then drafted into the Russian army and later discharged.

In 1922 he crossed into Poland and joined the Novardok yeshiva in Białystok, where he studied under Avraham Yoffen and published his first book, Sha'arei Tevunah. He married Pesha Miriam Karelitz, sister of the Chazon Ish. From 1927 to 1934 he taught at the Beis Yosef Novardok yeshiva in Pinsk.

In 1934 he immigrated to the Land of Israel, settled in Bnei Brak and became head of the Beis Yosef yeshiva there. He was seen as a spiritual leader of the Lithuanian Haredi public, alongside Rabbi Elazar Menachem Man Shach. In the 1984 elections he supported Shas.

He died in 1985 and was buried in Bnei Brak near the grave of the Chazon Ish. His son Chaim Kanievsky was also a rabbi. Streets, a neighborhood and yeshivas were named after him.