Elya Svei
Elya Svei (March 19, 1924 (Taanis Esther 5684) – March 26, 2009 (Rosh Chodesh Nisan 5769)) was an American Haredi Jewish rabbi and co-rosh yeshiva (with Shmuel Kamenetsky) of the Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia. He was born in Kaunas and died in Philadelphia.
Elya Svei | |
|---|---|
 Elya Svei (left) with Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman and Shmuel Kamenetsky in 1997 | |
| Personal | |
| Born | Eliyahu Svei March 19, 1924 Kaunas, Lithuania |
| Died | March 26, 2009 (aged 85) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Religion | Judaism |
| Buried | Jerusalem, Israel |
Biography
Elya Svei was born in Kaunas, Lithuania, where his father Shmuel Leib Svei was a rabbi. When he was nine years old, he moved to the United States to join his father, who was fundraising there.[1] In the United States he attended Yeshiva Torah Vodaath, graduating its Hebrew Parochial High School division in 1941.[2]
Svei was a student of Aharon Kotler.[3] He was a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah and chairman of the Rabbinic Administrative Board of Torah Umesorah until he resigned from both in June 2002, reportedly due to an ideological dispute with his colleagues.[4]
Svei was a founder of Sinai Academy in Brooklyn,[5] a middle school and high school catering to the children of primarily non-observant Russian Jewish immigrants.
References
- Sholom Friedmann (January 24, 2018). "Our Journey". Ami Magazine. No. 352. pp. 100–101.
- Eller, Norman (1941). The Scroll (PDF). Torah Vodaath Archives: Yeshiva Torah Vodaath Hebrew Parochial High School. pp. 20 (p. 23 in PDF).
- "Rabbi Elya Svei Passes Away". Arutz Sheva. March 26, 2009. Retrieved March 27, 2009.
- Cattan, Nacha (July 6, 2002). "Orthodox Sage Surprises Top Council by Resigning: Move Caps Rabbi Elya Svei's Controversial Career at Agudath Israel". Forward. Retrieved November 2, 2009.
- "Sinai Academy to Present the First Annual Rav Elya Svei zt"l Memorial Award". matzav.com. June 18, 2009. Retrieved November 5, 2009.