Rabbi

The Steipler Gaon (Rabbi Yaakov Yisroel Kanievsky) דער סטייפלער גאון זצ"ל

Rabbi Yaakov Yisroel Kanievsky, author of "Kehilos Yaakov", named for a Ukrainian town

Rabbi Yaakov Yisroel Kanievsky (1899–1985), the Steipler, was one of the great Torah leaders of Bnei Brak. His "Kehilos Yaakov" is learned in every yeshiva, and thousands of Jews, Chasidish and Litvish, came to him for a bracha and advice.

Contents (3)

From Hornostaipel
Novardok and Bnei Brak
Father of a generation

From Hornostaipel

The name "Steipler" comes from Hornostaipel, a town in Ukraine, where he was born in 1899, son of Rabbi Chaim Peretz Kanievsky ^[1]. A nice detail for a Chasidish site: the name of one of the greatest Litvish gedolim comes from a Ukrainian town in chasidish country.

Novardok and Bnei Brak

As a young man he learned in the Novardok yeshiva ^[1]. He was a brother-in-law of the Chazon Ish, and in 1934 he moved to Eretz Yisroel and settled in Bnei Brak ^[1], where he wrote his monumental "Kehilos Yaakov" on Shas ^[1].

Father of a generation

He was known for his letters: he answered thousands of letters from troubled Jews in his own hand, with simple, warm advice; many are printed in "Karyana D'Igarta". His son was Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky. Over 150,000 attended his levaya in 1985 ^[1].