Slabodka Yeshiva (Knesses Yisroel) סלאבאדקער ישיבה (כנסת ישראל)

The Alter of Slabodka

Slabodka was a suburb of Kovno, Lithuania. In 1882 Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel, "the Alter of Slabodka", merged his kollelim with a local yeshiva, and so the Slabodka Yeshiva was born, known as "Knesses Yisroel" ^[1]. The Alter brought mussar into the yeshiva, stressing the greatness of man, "gadlus ha'adam" ^[1].

Chevron and Bnei Brak

In 1924, because of harsh decrees against the yeshivas in Lithuania, a large part of the yeshiva moved to Chevron in Eretz Yisroel, which grew into the Hebron Yeshiva ^[1]. Later Rabbi Yitzchok Isaac Sher re-established the yeshiva in Bnei Brak as Slabodka Yeshiva Bnei Brak ^[1].

Its students

Slabodka produced a whole generation of roshei yeshiva who built yeshivas around the world, among them Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman, a disciple of the Alter and founder of Ner Yisroel in Baltimore ^[2].