Conclusion

This concluding chapter examines changes to the role of yeshiva in Jewish society as well as several developments to yeshiva history after the nineteenth century. By the end of the nineteenth century, the changes and conflicts that had struck the Jewish world had affected the yeshiva too. Contemporary discussion of the yeshiva was frequently in the context of the Haskalah and noted its power to effect change. There is no clear answer as to what it was that persuaded young people to abandon traditional Jewish life, but the wholesale attribution of this to the Haskalah is not self-evident. It seems much more likely that the threat to traditional ways came from indifference to Jewish identity rather than from any desire to change that identity. Indifference is naturally hard to identify, and it was easier for conservatives to battle against a concrete enemy, equally eager to do battle, than to engage with an attitude that was so contemptuous of traditional approaches that it did not even bother to argue with them.

The Volozhin Yeshiva in the Second Generation

This chapter details the second generation of the Volozhin yeshiva. R. Hayim died in 1821, and his son R. Yitshak succeeded him as rosh yeshivah. It is often difficult to replace the founder of a successful institution. This is especially the case with charismatic individuals, since their very presence at the helm discourages the emergence of suitable successors. At Volozhin, R. Hayim had attended to all the affairs of the yeshiva himself, and until his last years no one else took administrative decisions. The appointment of a successor could have been problematic. Fortunately, the presence of a natural heir — R. Yitshak — solved the problem: he was considered the obvious person to take up his father's responsibilities. In contrast, as this chapter shows, the appointment of a rosh yeshivah in later generations was often surrounded by controversy.

Study at Volozhin in the Time of R. Naftali Berlin

This chapter discusses the period of relative tranquillity after the leadership struggles of the 1860s. While there do seem to have been shifts in Volozhin's reputation during this time, in general it retained its pre-eminent status. After the 1860s, although the methods of teaching and study remained unchanged there were important developments in the curriculum, though they attracted little attention at the time. Talmud had always been at the centre of the curriculum but now it became the sole text studied (with the exception of the weekly Torah portion): the shiurim on halakhah disappeared, the study of halakhic codes declined drastically, the practical halakhic implications of Talmud study were de-emphasized, and the study of kabbalah ceased. The chapter details these changes.

Introduction

This introductory chapter describes the unique aspects of the yeshivas of nineteenth-century Lithuania. These yeshivas represented a major attempt on the part of traditional Jewry to cope with the challenges of modernity. The Jews of nineteenth-century Lithuania thus defined had several distinguishing characteristics. In religious terms, most were traditional, in the sense that they had withstood the innovations of hasidism; in fact, the strength of the opposition to that movement in Lithuania was such that they came collectively to be known as mitnagedim (opponents) — that is, opponents of hasidism. Economically, they were mostly poorer than Jews in other major areas of Jewish settlement, such as Poland or Bukovina, and lived in more crowded conditions. Until 1764, they benefited from self-government under the Va'ad Medinat Lita (Council of the Land of Lithuania). By the beginning of the eighteenth century this body had ceased to function, but the distinction between the Jews of Lithuania and those of the neighbouring regions continued to exist — not least because the Lithuanian Jews spoke a distinctive dialect of Yiddish. These and other factors ensured that they continued to maintain a separate identity among the Jews of eastern Europe until the First World War.

The Organization and Operation of the Yeshiva

This chapter takes a look at the organization and operation of the yeshiva. The way in which the yeshiva was administered largely reflected the personality and values of its leaders. There was no supervisory body, and the staff had wide leeway in determining goals and procedure, though there were often practical limitations on what could be done. In fact, it was the gap between reality and aspiration that determined much of what went on in the yeshiva. Here, the chapter explores how the yeshiva treat supervision and the assessment of progress. Then it turns to the shiur and the importance of this new study method. Finally, the chapter takes a look at staff–student relationships.

The Kolel Perushim of Kovno and the Institution of the Kolel

This chapter deals with the Kolel Perushim. This was a new type of institution found in Kovno. Like the yeshiva it became an important element in the provision of a traditional Jewish education. A kolel was, and is, an institution that regularly distributes money to a defined group of married men, usually young, who devote all their time to Torah study. Perushim are men who leave their families to study Torah in temporary celibacy, almost always in a place other than where their families live. The Kolel Perushim, then, was a framework for financial support for a group of married students. The chapter traces the founding and early history of the Kolel Perushim. It then explores how the institution operates and any opposition and conflict it encountered. Finally, this chapter takes a look at the kolel established by Yisra'el Brodsky.

The Telz Yeshiva

This chapter takes a look at a third type of yeshiva — the Telz yeshiva. This yeshiva was a reaction to the perceived disintegration of traditional society and the decline in Torah study, but with no new values: its founders wanted to produce Talmud scholars capable of making profound halakhic decisions. Its importance in the history of Lithuanian yeshivas lies in its new organizational patterns: whereas Volozhin and Slobodka modelled themselves on the beit midrash, Telz was more like a modern educational institution. Other yeshivas eventually followed suit to varying degrees, so in that sense Telz marked a final stage in the development of the Lithuanian system. Later changes were very minor.

The Last Years of the Volozhin Yeshiva

This chapter deals with the final developments of the Volozhin yeshiva. By the 1880s and 1890s, the Volozhin yeshiva found itself in difficult circumstances. Its finances were catastrophic, its relations with the Jewish community at large were deteriorating, and it faced many calls for far-reaching structural changes in the institution. There was also an internal split over the question of R. Berlin's successor. These challenges did not significantly change the atmosphere of the yeshiva, though the increasing importance of student societies was a noteworthy development. By surveying these organizations and other aspects of student life in the last years of the Volozhin yeshiva and giving a careful look at the finances of the yeshiva it is possible to come to some important insights into the changing realities of yeshiva life during these critical years.

Life at the Volozhin Yeshiva

This chapter describes life at the Volozhin yeshiva. It begins with the study and daily routine, which reflected the values and goals of the rashei yeshivah. From there, the chapter turns to the yeshiva's annual cycle, as Volozhin offered a curious combination. There were days that were seen as the beginning of a study period (zeman) but no day that was seen as ending a study period. Sabbaths and festivals were breaks in the daily study routine. Additionally, reading Haskalah literature was never permitted at Volozhin, but it happened none the less. However, the extent of such activity varied in different periods, as did the attitudes towards it. The rashei yeshivah opposed the reading of secular literature, though R. Berlin did not issue an outright ban. Finally, the leisure pursuits that were tolerated at Volozhin were those which combined enjoyment with benefits to health or intellectual development.

Origins and Early Years of the Volozhin Yeshiva

This chapter takes a look at how the small town of Volozhin became one of the focal points of the Lithuanian Jewish world because of the yeshiva that was established there. The yeshiva of Volozhin represented a novel type of relationship between the Jewish community and Jewish learning: for most of the nineteenth century the Volozhin yeshiva was the most important institution of Jewish learning in all of eastern Europe, and ultimately it served as a model for the rest of European Jewry. The heads of the yeshiva were regarded as leaders of the Jewish community in the Russian Empire and beyond; thousands of young men studied there, many of whom went on to have a significant impact on the Jewish world. Patterns that were set in Volozhin are essentially maintained in yeshivas around the world till today. There are many curious myths about Volozhin, but the reality was even more interesting. A careful look at the history of the yeshiva reveals not only the yeshiva itself but how a society can change in ways that few could have predicted.