Remembering Rabbi Lichtenstein zt"l: One of the Greatest Torah Scholars of Our Generation

Today (1st of Iyar) marks ten years since the passing of one of the greatest Torah scholars of the last generation, whose teachings you may not have been sufficiently familiar with: Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein of blessed memory, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion. Rabbi Lichtenstein was among the leading Torah figures in the Religious Zionist community in recent generations, one of the prominent leaders of the Zionist yeshiva world, and an educator who raised thousands of students both in Israel and abroad. On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of his passing, I am sharing an article I prepared for "Olam Katan" that retells the story of Rabbi Lichtenstein's life, a story that weaves together deep Torah study, openness to secular knowledge, rare humility, and human simplicity.

His Childhood and Immigration to Israel

The young Aharon was born in Paris in 1933 to parents originally from Poland and Lithuania. During World War II, shortly after the Nazi occupation, the family fled to the United States, where he grew up and was educated. Rabbi Lichtenstein later recalled that already at the age of five, while traveling with his mother on the bus, they would study Chumash with Rashi commentary on the way. As he grew a little older, young Aharon would study Mishnayot at night before going to sleep. His parents, who wanted him to sleep, would turn off the lights, but he would cover himself with a blanket, turn on a flashlight, and continue learning Mishnayot in the dark.

From a young age, he stood out for his academic talents, studying at Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin under Rabbi Yitzchok Hutner, and later at Yeshiva Rabbi Isaac Elchanan (Yeshiva University) under his primary teacher, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, from whom he also received rabbinic ordination. In parallel with his Torah studies, he completed a bachelor's degree in English literature at Yeshiva University and later earned a Ph.D. at Harvard University, researching the thought of English philosopher Henry More, all while maintaining a rigorous daily schedule of seven to eight hours of Talmud study. He later married Dr. Tovah Soloveitchik, the daughter of his mentor Rabbi Soloveitchik. Together they had six children, including Rabbi Moshe Lichtenstein, who continues his father's path at Yeshivat Har Etzion.

In 1971, following an invitation from Rabbi Yehuda Amital, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion, Rabbi Lichtenstein immigrated to Israel and joined the leadership of the yeshiva in Alon Shvut, a position he held for over four decades. At the same time, he served as rector of Herzog College and as head of a kollel in Jerusalem.

Love for the People and the Land

When Rabbi Lichtenstein decided to move to Israel, many did not understand his decision. At that time, he was a head of a kollel at Yeshiva University and a lecturer in literature at a women's college. People said to him, "What is there in Israel? Nothing." He replied, "You may think you are playing in a grand and magnificent football stadium and that I am moving to a small soccer field, but the truth is that you are sitting in the bleachers, while I will be on the field. The Land of Israel is where things truly happen, and everything else is merely the stands. I prefer to be inside."

"Rabbi Lichtenstein loved the Land of Israel," recounts Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Rimon, a student of Rabbi Lichtenstein and a leading figure in Religious Zionism. "Once he lamented that sometimes those born in Israel do not feel its sanctity and affection as deeply as those who made aliyah. He cited the Talmud in Tractate Ketubot, which states that someone born in Israel is greater than one born abroad, but someone who made aliyah from abroad is greater than both. Rabbi Lichtenstein explained that one who grew up abroad and moved to Israel understands and feels the longing and yearning for the land." Whenever Rabbi Lichtenstein returned from abroad to Israel, during the last fifteen minutes of the flight before landing, he would recite Psalms, feeling he was about to enter the sanctity of the Land of Israel (according to his son, Rabbi Meir Lichtenstein).

The same special love extended to the People of Israel. During the week when the Six-Day War broke out, Rabbi Lichtenstein recounted that a rabbinic ordination ceremony was scheduled at Yeshiva University. He approached the heads of the yeshiva and said, "We cannot hold a celebratory ordination ceremony while our soldiers are dying." Rabbi Lichtenstein acted out of deep pain for the Jewish people, so profound that even fifty years later, when recalling the event, he cried uncontrollably.

Approach to Learning and Torah Influence

Rabbi Lichtenstein was known for his rare combination of classic Brisker analytical methodology with intellectual and humanistic openness. He refined the Brisker method of Talmud study, emphasizing conceptual and principled understanding of topics and meticulous methodological precision. His lectures were renowned for their depth and clarity, and some were published by his students in the "Shiurei HaRav Aharon Lichtenstein" series, earning him the Rabbi Kook Prize for Torah Literature and the Israel Prize. He emphasized the values of morality, tolerance, and social responsibility, viewing Torah study not merely as an intellectual pursuit but as a comprehensive way of life. He encouraged his students to serve in the IDF but stressed the importance of adhering to law and morality even in complex situations.

Greatness in Torah

Complete mastery of all areas of Torah—the Mishnah, the Talmud, and the writings of the Rishonim—along with the ability to decide halachic rulings, is found only among a few select individuals in each generation, and Rabbi Lichtenstein was one of them. He demonstrated his vast knowledge by simultaneously teaching multiple complex tractates in great depth: a lecture on Tractate Bava Metzia, another on Tractate Chullin, a third on matters of Kodashim, and more. Those familiar with the world of Torah learning understand how rare and impressive this is.

Rabbi Lichtenstein possessed extraordinary analytical ability and comprehensive knowledge of the entire Torah. On any topic he was asked, he could respond with profound insight, broad scope, a systematic organization of the subject, presenting the opinions of the Rishonim, and offering deep analytical analysis. His knowledge was not superficial but combined with deep understanding. This ability was coupled with an incredible memory. Often, when asked about a topic he was not currently studying, he would respond as if he had just learned it. Many rabbis who consulted him were astonished by his total mastery, as Rabbi Eliyahu Blumenzweig, one of his students and a head of the Hesder Yeshiva in Yerucham, once said: "I understand that the rabbi studies diligently, has a good memory, has talent and reasoning skills, but when did he have time to ‘type’ everything into his mind?"

"When our master Rabbi Lichtenstein first arrived at the beit midrash," recounts Rabbi Amichai Gordin, his student and head of Yeshivat Har Etzion for youth, "he struggled to find his place. A standard lectern was not enough; he needed access to the entire Talmud. After some deliberation, the rabbi settled near the Torah reading platform in the center of the beit midrash. There he found space for the Talmud volumes. Forty years later, when he had to move from the second floor to the first floor for health reasons, he had only one condition: 'I need space for the Talmud.' He took a measuring tape, measured carefully, and when he saw there was enough room, he said, 'We can move.'"

Breaking the Fast with a Talmudic Topic

Rabbi Lichtenstein was totally immersed in Torah study. Every morning upon arriving at the beit midrash, he would immediately dive into learning, remaining absorbed until the end of the afternoon study session, barely taking breaks except to deliver lectures or for a very brief seven-minute lunch.

Rabbi Rimon recounts another incident illustrating Rabbi Lichtenstein's thirst for Torah study, which took place after the Tisha B'Av fast. When a student approached him asking to speak, the rabbi replied, "I cannot right now." Those around him assumed he meant he needed to break his fast with food, but to their surprise, he returned to his place and resumed Torah study. While most people hunger for food after a fast, Rabbi Lichtenstein hungered for Torah, from which he had refrained during the day of mourning. On Yom Kippur night as well, he would deliver an all-night lecture on Tractate Yoma, continuing until the last student had left. In later years, the lecture shortened slightly, but still lasted into the early morning hours.

Total Devotion to Teaching

Rabbi Lichtenstein was deeply committed to delivering his many lectures under all circumstances. Even when ill, he insisted on coming to teach, except in the rarest cases. Upon returning from trips abroad, he would inform his students: "I am scheduled to land, God willing, at 7:00 AM. I hope to begin the lecture at 8:30 AM as usual. If the flight is delayed, I will be slightly late." He followed this practice even after long-haul flights, going straight from the airport to the lecture hall.

Similarly, on municipal election days, he would clarify to students that "Election Day is not a day off. Go vote in your city and return immediately to the yeshiva." He insisted on delivering the regular shiur even on election days. Even Israel’s wars did not stop Rabbi Lichtenstein from teaching. During the Gulf War, when road travel was completely restricted, he surprised the students by arriving from Jerusalem to teach, explaining later: "At first, I did not want to leave because it was prohibited. Later, they announced that traveling for essential emergency work was allowed. I thought to myself, is teaching Torah not an emergency?"

Six Days You Shall Labor

Rabbi Lichtenstein greatly valued Friday shiurim. He would say that the Torah commands, "Six days you shall labor and on the seventh day you shall rest," not "five days you shall labor." Once he arrived at a shiur with his young child, and during the lesson a bad odor spread. The rabbi paused mid-sentence, left to change his child's diaper, and returned, picking up exactly where he had left off, discussing the positions of Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yehuda. "He continued mid-sentence because that was precisely where he was," explains Rabbi Gordin. "He was utterly in love with Torah." Rabbi Gordin recalled that he studied under Rabbi Lichtenstein for ten years and only once heard him utter mundane speech, at the start of a lesson when he mentioned a student who had fallen in battle.

Another telling story: on the day of the tragic terrorist attack at Mercaz HaRav Yeshiva in Jerusalem, where eight students were murdered, Rabbi Lichtenstein was scheduled to teach at a Gush Etzion alumni gathering. "The lecture was supposed to end at nine o'clock," Rabbi Gordin recalls, "but the rabbi continued teaching. At nine, at nine-ten, at nine-twenty, he continued. When he said 'this concludes the first part; now for the second,' I realized he was not about to finish. I handed him a note, and he concluded the lecture within a minute. Afterward, he apologized, explaining, 'Because of the attack, I was not focused.' While others might not have been able to teach at all, Rabbi Lichtenstein immersed himself even more deeply in Torah."

Rabbi Lichtenstein’s Passing

Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein passed away on the first of Iyar 5775 (April 20, 2015) and was buried at Har HaMenuchot in Jerusalem. He left behind a vast educational and Torah legacy, thousands of students who love and study Torah, and many books and articles in both Hebrew and English. His unique personality continues to inspire many as a model of Torah scholarship, morality, and humility. Even a decade after his passing, his students and admirers continue to delve into his teachings and pass on his legacy to future generations. His Torah remains available in his books and recorded lectures, open to all who wish to study and be inspired.

Special thanks to Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Rimon and Rabbi Amichai Gordin, students of Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein of blessed memory, who shared with me personal stories, life experiences, and material that served as the foundation for this portrait.