Shemaryahu Yosef Chaim Kanievsky (; January 8, 1928 – March 18, 2022) was an Israeli Haredi rabbi and posek. He was a leading authority in Haredi Jewish society on legal and ethical practice. Known as the Gadol HaDor ("greatest of his generation") and the "Prince of Torah", much of his prominence came through Torah education and advice about Jewish law.
Though Kanievsky held no formal community-wide post, he was the de facto head of the Litvak community of Haredi Judaism, revered as a consummate scholar of Jewish law and tradition, with unimpeachable rulings.
Biography Early years and education Kanievsky was born in Pinsk, then part of Poland, as the eldest son of Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky and Pesha Miriam, sister of Avrohom Yeshaya Karelitz. In 1934, he emigrated with his family to Mandatory Palestine, and they settled in Bnei Brak.
At about fourteen, after one term at his father's Beit Yosef yeshiva, Kanievsky transferred to Lomza Yeshiva in Petah Tikva, then led by Reuven Katz. In a letter dated April 24, 1944, Katz described the sixteen-year-old Kanievsky as an exceptionally diligent student who knew at least three orders of the Talmud and had broad knowledge of the Rishonim and Acharonim. He later named Elazar Shach, Efraim Borodiansky, Eliyahu Dushnitzer and Yechiel Mordechai Gordon among his teachers there. Kanievsky recalled that Gordon encouraged students to interrupt his lectures with questions, bringing new energy to the yeshiva's Talmudic debate.
During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Kanievsky was assigned to guard duty while still a Lomza student.
On 7 Kislev 5712 (December 1951), Kanievsky married Batsheva Esther, daughter of Yosef Shalom Elyashiv. Reuven Katz officiated. The couple lived in Petah Tikva for several months before moving to Bnei Brak, where Kanievsky studied at the institution that became Kollel Chazon Ish.
Later work In the late 1970s, Kanievsky edited the Tevuna commentary on the Jerusalem Talmud by Yitzchak Eizik Krasilschikov.Maariv, Naftali Kraus, The "Jerusalem Talmud" Smuggled from Moscow Arrives in Bnei Brak, November 24, 1978.Maariv, Mordechai Elkan, New Edition of the Jerusalem Talmud: Without Censorship – and with Commentary from Moscow, January 15, 1980.
Death and funeral
Kanievsky died from cardiac arrest at his home on Friday, 15 Adar II 5782 (March 18, 2022).Maariv Online, Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky Passed Away at 94, March 18, 2022.
His funeral was held two days later, on Sunday, 17 Adar II 5782 (March 20, 2022), in Bnei Brak. The funeral procession covered approximately one kilometer, beginning at his home on Rashbam Street and ending at the Shomrei Shabbos cemetery. According to the Israel Police, around 500,000 people attended, while the Bnei Brak Municipality estimated up to 750,000 participants, making it the second-largest funeral in Israel's history.Haaretz, Rabbi Kanievsky's Funeral Ends; Police Estimate Half a Million Attended; YouTube, Half a Million Funeral – From the Other Side with Guy Zohar – March 21, 2022; Srugim, Uriel Barri, The Largest in History? How Many Were at Rabbi Kanievsky's Funeral?, March 21, 2022. The funeral received extensive advance coverage due to concerns about the large turnout and its potential impact on infrastructure and services in Gush Dan.Behadrei Haredim, Yossi Stark, Unusual Coverage of Rabbi Kanievsky's Funeral: How Many Attended?, March 21, 2022; Ynet, Liran Levi, One Kilometer Long, Under Heavy Security, with a Million Expected to Attend: Rabbi Kanievsky's Funeral Procession, March 19, 2022; Ynet, Ynet Staff, Ahead of Kanievsky's Funeral: Fears of a Mass-Casualty Event; Traffic Is Flowing, March 20, 2022.
After his death, a dispute arose among his three sons over his estate. Following mediation conducted by the Beit Din Tzedek of Bnei Brak, an agreement was reached for equal division.Menachem Rehat, Inheritance Dispute Over Rabbi Kanievsky's Estate Valued in the Millions Ends with Equal Division Agreement, Matzav HaRuach Issue 696.
Leadership in the Litvak community
Kanievsky's public involvement began with the founding of the Degel HaTorah party in 1988.Title Rosh Ha'ayin, Moshe Horowitz, Against Greater Israel, October 12, 1988, p. 31; HaHadashot, Amnon Levy, War of the Day, Not Shas, Not Aguda, October 10, 1988, p. 92. Elazar Shach invited him to appear by his side at the party's founding gathering at International Convention Center and included him in his travels to the event in Jerusalem. During an election rally held afterward, Shach requested that Kanievsky be brought from his home before he spoke, and he dedicated part of his speech to praising him and emphasizing the obligation to obey his directives.Shimon Breitkopf and Yisrael Grobais, Mighty in His Kingdom, Mishpacha Issue 1351 – Pesach 5778. Among other things, Shach said about him:
When the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah was formed, Kanievsky was asked to join. After he refused, Shach instructed that he be added alongside his father-in-law, Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, as a "non-member with an opinion," whose views should be considered even if he did not participate in the council's meetings.Council of Torah Sages establishment protocol in Mighty in His Kingdom, Mishpacha Issue 1351 – Pesach 5778.
During the Gulf War, it was stated in his name that no missiles would fall on Bnei Brak, based on a similar statement by his uncle Avrohom Karelitz.Maariv, Menachem Rehat, Psalms Against Missiles, February 22, 1991, p. 96. A similar assurance was issued in his name during the 2012 Gaza War.Ynet, Tali Farkash, Rabbi Kanievsky: Missiles Will Not Fall on Bnei Brak, November 19, 2012.
In 2013, when the Jerusalem Faction ran in the 2013 Israeli municipal elections in three cities against Degel HaTorah, Kanievsky attended a council meeting to publicly support Degel HaTorah. During this time, he harshly criticized supporters and voters of the Bnei Torah party, calling them "empty and reckless dissenters."Bhadrei Haredim, Sari Roth, "Rabbi A.Y.L. and Rabbi Chaim Publish Letters Against 'Bnei Torah,'" October 21, 2013. After the elections, he advised many to separate from Bnei Torah supporters in educational institutions and communities.
After his father-in-law died Kanievsky's involvement in the leadership of the Litvak community increased, and he supported the leadership actions of Aharon Leib Shteinman. During Elyashiv's last illness, a handwritten letter by Kanievsky was published in Yated Ne'eman, stating:
After Shteinman's death in December 2017, Kanievsky's role in leading the Litvak Haredi community affiliated with Degel HaTorah increased. Alongside him in leadership stood Gershon Edelstein, head of Ponevezh Yeshiva, who led the party's Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah. From Adar 5778, Yated Ne'eman referred to him as "Rabban Shel Kol Bnei HaGolah" (meaning "Leader of all the Children of the Diaspora," a title reserved for the highest leader). In October 2018, before the 2018 Israeli municipal elections, he again participated in a Council of Torah Sages meeting.Yerucham Shmuelovitz, "The Council of Torah Sages of Degel HaTorah Convened – No Support for Meir Rubinstein," at LaDa'at website.
Rulings and opinions
Kanievsky took great effort to uphold the rulings and positions of Avrohom Karelitz, including: not relying on the heter mechira during the Shmita, prohibiting the use of electricity and water supplied through Shabbat desecration, not relying on city eruvs due to the difficulty of monitoring them from week to week, reading the Book of Esther in Bnei Brak also on Shushan Purim out of doubt, and more.Yitzchak Silman, "The Chazon Ish and Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky: United in Life and Death," JDN, March 9, 2023.
To many visitors, Kanievsky instructed growing a beard and placing payot in front of the ears,Kikar HaShabbat, Yisrael Cohen, "Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky: 'Move the Sidelocks Forward – and You Will Heal.' prohibiting men from wearing watches due to the prohibition of cross-dressing in halakha,Kikar HaShabbat, Yisrael Cohen, "Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky: Wearing a Watch is Forbidden Due to 'Cross-Dressing.' wearing long-sleeved shirts,Dirshu, Yaakov A. Lustigman, "Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky: 'Start Wearing Long-Sleeved Shirts, and Everything Will Be Fine.' writing Torah compositions,YouTube, "Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky to His Student: Publish Fat Books, Not Such Thin Ones." and more.
He frequently advised people with various health issues to study Torah related to the nature of their ailment, either by its name or its content.Naama Green, "With Segulah: Segulot from Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky," Hidabroot, May 10, 2016.
Another prominent practice of his was encouraging early marriage around the age of eighteen, a practice followed by many of his grandchildren.Bhadrei Haredim, Moshe Weisberg, "Historic Precedent: The Greats of Israel in Favor of Early Marriage • The Full Letter," July 15, 2015.
In 2012, Kanievsky ruled that it is forbidden to possess or use a smartphone without individual permission from a posek, and that owners are not allowed to sell their phones, but should instead burn them. In 2015, he instructed United Hatzalah paramedics that in the event of a terrorist attack, they should not treat the terrorists before the victims, even if the terrorist is more seriously injured, and they may even leave the terrorist to die.
In 2016, Kanievsky declared that medical cannabis was kosher for Passover as long as the possession of the cannabis is not in violation of the law of the land.
In 2011, he interpreted Arab Spring uprisings as evidence that the Messiah may be near. In 2015, following the 2014 Jerusalem synagogue attack, he repeatedly referred to the imminent arrival of the Messiah, and urged diaspora Jews to make aliyah (immigrate to Israel), reportedly resulting in the arrival of a substantial number of French Jews. In February 2020, shortly before the Israeli legislative elections, it was reported by one rabbi that Kanievsky had stated that the coming of the Messiah was possibly imminent.
In 2017, Kanievsky ruled that reporting instances of sexual child abuse to the police is mandatory, consistent with halakha (Jewish law). Covid-19
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel (March 2020) and despite the Ministry of Health’s directive to close all educational institutions, Kanievsky instructed that yeshivas and Talmud Torahs remain open, saying the neglect of Torah was more dangerous.Sarugim, "Despite the Coronavirus at the Ponevezh Yeshiva, They Study as Usual," March 15, 2020.Bhadrei Haredim, Moshe Weisberg, "First Report: The Order Continues; Rabbi Chaim to Yeshivas: 'Continue Learning,'" March 15, 2020. Kanievsky told his followers that the best ways to defeat the virus were to avoid lashon hara (gossiping about one's peers), to strengthen humility, and to place the needs of others before their own. As a result of the discussion, he was visited, on March 15, by senior police officials who, with great respect, wanted to ask him of the importance of following the orders of medical professionals with regard to the outbreak.
On March 29, after the ultra-Orthodox community was hit hard by the virus, with Bnei Brak having a high percentage of coronavirus cases in Israel, relative to its population, Kanievsky ruled that one who does not follow the Israeli Health Ministry's guidelines on COVID-19 is in the position of a rodef, i.e., one who pursues another with intent to kill, a murderer.Kikar HaShabbat, David Cohen, "Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky Ordered Praying Individually: 'Pikuach Nefesh,'" March 29, 2020. He also ruled that telephones may be answered on Shabbat to get COVID-19 test results, and that minyanim must not meet at all during the pandemic – a stricter requirement than the Health Ministry's rules, which at the time allowed congregations to meet outdoors as long as participants are at least two meters (6 feet) distant from each other.