Sunday, May 13, 2012

הרה"ג ר' משה שמעון זיוויטץ אין לייכטע מאמענטען



  פרי יחזקאל

"Rabbi Moshe Shimon Sivitz (Zivitz) Chief Rabbi of Pittsburgh, PA Rav Sivitz was born in Zhitovyan (Kovno), Lithuania and studied in the Yeshivos of Slovan and Chelm, where he became a close disciple of Rav Eliezer Gordon, the Telzer rosh yeshiva. He also received semicha (ordained) from Rav Gordon and additional semicha from Rav Yitzchok Elchonon Spector, the Kovner Rav. The Rav's first pulpit was in Phikelin, Lithuania in 1885 but soon after moved to the United States. Before becoming the Chief Rabbi of Pittsburgh the Rav spent two years in Baltimore. Rav Sivitz, known as an outspoken critic against the Reform movement, organized the first talmud torah (day school) in Pittsburgh. The Rav was held in high esteem by many Rabbonim in Europe among them Rav Yisroel Meir Kagan, the Chofetz Chaim, who wrote the approbation to his commentary on Talmud Yerushalmi (Jerusalem Talmud). As a side, the Rav delivered the keynote eulogy at Chief Rabbi Yaakov Yosef Joseph's funeral."

10 comments:

Al Jolson said...

When I was still doing silent pictures, I remember one of the positions that we needed to fill. That was the guy who wrote the subtitles, so the audience could figure out what was happening.

Yiddish said...

He was against preaching in English and continued to sermonize in Yiddish.

hyman said...

very intresting! do you have some backround about this movie? who are the people in it? why did they make it? etc

Lukshen said...

I want to share a film clip of Rabbi Sivitz. His son Sam made it with the Warner Bros. The Bros owned a silent movie house in New Castle Pa outside of Pittsburgh. We believe that Sam made the movie with them. He died of TB at a young age and never fulfilled his dream to make movies. In the clip you will see Rabbi Sivitz and four of his sons; Will, Nathan, Ben and Jake.

jake said...

lukshen who are you quoting from?

tomoshaver said...

the ridvaz in his Haskoma writes on the Rabbi
Oitzer shel Yiras Shomaim.....

Anonymous said...

Please put more information up about the family

k said...

http://kevarim.com/rabbi-moshe-shimon-sivitz-zivitz/

schneur said...

Oh if they had banned silent films back then ! Alas there were no Mets and no gedolim nusach Hungaria !Look what came from these films !

Pittsburgher said...

http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=36602&st=&pgnum=353