Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik of Brisk (Reb Chaim Brisker) רבי חיים בריסקער זצ"ל

From Volozhin to Brisk

Reb Chaim was born in 1853 in Volozhin, son of the "Beis HaLevi", Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik. He taught in the Volozhin yeshiva and later succeeded his father as Rav of Brisk ^[1].

The Brisker derech

His innovation was a new way of learning: not only "what does it say" but "what is the definition", whether a law is a law about the person or about the object, and so on ^[1]. The approach spread through almost every Lithuanian yeshiva, and "Reb Chaim's chakira" is heard in shiurim to this day.

Chesed in Brisk

In Brisk he was known for great kindness to the poor. His novellae on the Rambam, "Chiddushei Rabbeinu Chaim HaLevi", were published after his passing. He passed away in 1918 in Warsaw ^[1].