Matisyahu Chaim Salomon (November 28, 1937 – January 2, 2024) was an English-born American rabbi, author and public speaker.Rabbi Matisyahu Salomon at Kiryat Sefer He served as the mashgiach ruchani (spiritual supervisor) of Beth Medrash Govoha, one of the world's largest yeshivas, located in Lakewood, New Jersey, United States. An opponent of unrestrained internet access in the Orthodox Jewish community, he spearheaded a campaign to have internet filters installed on all computers and smartphones.
Early life and education Matisyahu Chaim Salomon was born in London, England to Yaakov and Ettel. After receiving his primary education in London, he moved with his family to Gateshead in the early 1940s, where he studied in a yeshiva and kollel. His study partner for 16 years was Chaim Kaufman, who went on to found the Gateshead Yeshiva L'Zeirim.(January 2, 2024) "BD'E — Harav Matisyahu Salomon, Zt"l, Mashgiach of Bais Medrash Govoha of Lakewood" , Hamodia. Retrieved January 7, 2024. Salomon studied under Elyah Lopian, the former rosh yeshiva of Etz Chaim Yeshiva for less than a year. He considered Lopian to be his main rebbe (mentor).(January 2, 2024) "Baruch Dayan Ha'Emes: BMG Mashgiach Rav Mattisyahu Salomon ZT"L, Yeshiva World News. Retrieved January 7, 2024. Lopian, who had studied under Simcha Zissel Ziv, sparked in Salomon a life-long interest in following the Kelm Talmud Torah mussar school of philosophy.Hoffman, Yair (January 6, 2024) "Rav Mattisyahu Solomon zt"l: What Every Seminary Girl Should Know About What We Lost", Vos Iz Neias?. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
Career Salomon started out as assistant mashgiach ruchani (spiritual supervisor) in the Gateshead Yeshiva, working under . He later took over as the senior mashgiach at Gateshead, a position Salomon would hold for almost 30 years.Newman, David (May 28, 2012) "Borderline Views: The Internet and the Haredi Community", The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved January 4, 2024. In the fall of 1997, he was invited by Nosson Meir Wachtfogel to come to the United States in order to assume the position of mashgiach ruchani of Beth Medrash Govoha, one of the world's largest yeshivas located in Lakewood, New Jersey.Hirsch, Rona S. (November 19, 1999) "Page Masters: A Renowned Educator Joins Local Orthodox Jews as they Celebrate Their Annual Cycle of Torah Study" Baltimore Jewish Times. Retrieved January 4, 2024. Salomon was succeeded at Gateshead by Mordechai Yosef Karnowsky. Around this time, Salomon began to take a leadership position in the Vaad L'Hatzolas Nidchei Yisroel, an advocacy organization seeing to the spiritual needs of Jews in Russia, Georgia and Azerbaijan.Pardes, Avrohom (March 30, 2011) "Lehachzir Atara Leyoshna – Bringing Torah to Those Who Suffered Golus For Us!: An Interview with Rav Matisyahu Salomon and the Leadership of Vaad L'Hatzolas Nidchei Yisroel" , Yated Ne'eman. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
Salomon was a lecturer on topics relating to Jewish religious growth and communal issues in the yeshiva world.(February 26, 2009) "Harav Matisyahu Salomon to Address New York Area Rabbeim Tonight" , matzav.com. Retrieved January 3, 2024. On May 3, 2009, Salomon comforted the mourners of a 9-year-old boy who was struck and killed by an errant baseball, reminding them that the boy had already achieved the afterlife, and we "are not here for this world".Bradshaw, Jennifer; Riley, Michael; Riley, Joshua (May 3, 2009) "Boy, 9, Dies After Being Hit by Ball Asbury Park Press. Retrieved January 3, 2024. One week later, Salomon gave the keynote address at the 46th annual Agudath Israel of America National Siyum Mishnayos, which honored students' achievements in the study of Mishnah., vidyid.com. Retrieved January 3, 2024. On September 15, 2009, he was one of the main speakers at a (inauguration of a Torah scroll) ceremony in Lakewood which was attended by over 6,000 people.(November 19, 2009) Rav Matisyahu Salomon's Dream , matzav.com. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
While Salomon preferred that cases pertaining to sexual abuse in the Orthodox community be handled by a beth din (rabbinical court) rather than the secular justice system—in order to "protect human dignity" and because "we are guided by the Torah"Patberg, Zach (September 12, 2009) "Culture Clash: Secular Law and the Torah: Orthodox Community Deals with Sex Abuse" Asbury Park Press. Retrieved January 3, 2024.—he closed down the beth din in 2009 due to pressure from child advocates, victims' relatives and mental health professionals.Patberg, Zach (November 28, 2009) "Orthodox End Silence on Sex Abuse" Asbury Park Press. Retrieved January 4, 2024. Salomon was not opposed to whistleblowing blogs focused on the Orthodox community, so long as the bloggers avoided the use of profanity and sarcasm.Mietkiewicz, Mark (February 8, 2007) "Is Blogging a Sin?" Canadian Jewish News. Retrieved January 3, 2024. But he was opposed to unfettered internet access, due to the perceived risk of harm to the mores of the Orthodox Jewish community. Instead, he advocated for the installation of internet filters on all computers and smartphones. In May 2012 he organized, together with the Skulener Rebbe, a mass gathering of over 60,000 people at both Citi Field and the adjacent Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York in order to bring attention to the dangers of using the internet.Otterman, Sharon (May 17, 2012) "Orthodox Jews To Hold Big Meeting on Internet Risks", The New York Times. Retrieved September 2, 2012. For similar reasons, Salomon discouraged the adoption of kosher versions of forbidden foods such as cheeseburgers, pork and shellfish.Brody, Shlomo M. (April 29, 2022) "Impossible Pork" The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved January 3, 2024. In 2015 he signed a letter, along with Shmuel Kamenetsky and Malkiel Kotler, imploring school principals to admit unvaccinated children into the classroom.Lemels, Yosef (December 2, 2018) "The Vaccination Debacle" The Commentator University Wire. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
Personal life and death Salomon was married to Miriam, a descendant of Jacob Joshua Falk,Wincorn, Mordechai (December 5, 2016) A Tribute to Rebbetzin Miriam Salmon, a'h" , Hamodia. Retrieved January 4, 2024. from 1960 until her death in 2016. They had ten children. He died in Lakewood on January 2, 2024, at age 86, and was buried in Jerusalem's Har HaMenuchot cemetery.(January 3, 2024) "Rabbi Matisyahu Chaim Salomon, BMG Mashgiach, Passes Away", Arutz Sheva. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
Works A number of books have been published in Hebrew based on Salomon's public (mussar discourses) and shiurim (lectures) under the title Matnas Chaim:
Teitelbaum, Elise (April 28, 2022) "Converging Paths" , The Voice of Lakewood. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
The Jewish Observer published an interview with Salomon on the Jewish approach to marriage.Rabbi Matisyahu Salomon on Marriage , Jewish Observer
References
External links "Audio: Rav Mattisyahu Salomon Shmues About Girls Going to College", The Lakewood View "Rabbi Matisyahu Salomon" (lectures) TorahAnytime.com