Mayer E. Twersky (born October 17, 1960) is an Orthodox rabbi and one of the roshei yeshiva at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) of Yeshiva University. He holds the Leib Merkin Distinguished Professorial Chair in Talmud and Jewish Philosophy.[1]

Twersky is from the chassidic dynasty of Chernobyl and is the younger son of Isadore Twersky. His brother, Moshe Twersky, was murdered in the 2014 Jerusalem synagogue massacre. He is a 5th cousin of Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski. Other cousins include the Grand Rabbis of Chernobyl. He is also a grandson of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik.[citation needed]

Twersky attended the Maimonides School, which his grandfather founded,[2] through high school. He then attended Harvard College, while studying Talmud privately with his grandfather. Following college, he studied for rabbinic ordination at RIETS. He eventually became a teacher in the Yeshiva University High School for Boys and later a lecturer in RIETS.

He has written articles in Hebrew for RIETS's annual Torah journal, and English articles in Tradition[3][4][5] and in the Orthodox Union's magazine Jewish Action[6] on subjects introducing the place of women in contemporary Orthodox Judaism.[5][6]

Twersky is the Grand Rabbi of the Talne Hasidim.[citation needed]

As of 2011 Twersky was on the board of the website TorahWeb,[7] which frequently publishes his short English articles.[8]

The current shamash of the Rebbe is Daniel Goldstein. Goldstein spent two years studying in Yeshivat Sha'alvim before coming to Yeshiva University and serving as the Rebbe's shamash. Past shamashim include Yair Caplan, Jonah Steinmetz, Etan Schnall, Yitzi Genack, and Yosef Schwartz.[citation needed]


References edit

  1. ^ "Roshei Yeshiva". Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. Archived from the original on February 25, 2011. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
  2. ^ "Our History". Maimonides School. Archived from the original on April 24, 2011. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
  3. ^ Mayer Twersky. "Halakhic Axiology within the Sefer Ha-Hinnukh". Tradition. Rabbinic Council of America. Archived from the original on July 28, 2011. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
  4. ^ Mayer Twersky. "A Glimpse of the Rav". Tradition. Rabbinic Council of America. Archived from the original on July 28, 2011. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
  5. ^ a b Mayer Twersky. "Halakhic Values and Halakhic Decisions: Rav Soloveitchik's Pesak Regarding Women's Prayer Groups". Tradition. Rabbinic Council of America. Archived from the original on July 28, 2011. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
  6. ^ a b Mayer Twersky. "The Moon's Lost Light". Jewish Action. Orthodox Union. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
  7. ^ "About Us". TorahWeb.org. Archived from the original on May 14, 2011. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
  8. ^ "Rabbi Mayer Twersky". TorahWeb.org. Retrieved November 9, 2016.

Online speeches and articles edit