Saturday, February 20, 2021

Shmuel Brudny

Charlie Smith FDTB:


'''Rabbi Shmuel Brudny''' was a prominent [[Orthodox Jewish]] rabbi in New York in the mid-twentieth century. He served as a ''[[maggid shiur]]'' in the [[Mir yeshiva (Brooklyn)|Mir Yeshiva]] in Brooklyn.

== Early life ==

Rabbi Brudny was born in August of 1915 to Rabbi Elya and Basya Brudny in [[Smarhon']], [[Russian Empire|Russia]] (now in Belarus), during World War I.<ref></ref><ref name=Yated></ref> As a child, he studied in the local [[cheder]] before going to study in the Ashminer Yeshiva (a branch of the [[Novardok Yeshiva]]), and at the age of fourteen, got accepted into the famed [[Rameilles Yeshiva]] of Vilna, which then under the leadership of Rabbi [[Shlomo Heiman]] and Rabbi Meir Bassin.<ref name=FJJ></ref> He remained in Rameilles for three years before transferring to the world-famous [[Mir Yeshiva (Belarus)|Mir Yeshiva]] in 1932. In the Mir Yeshiva as well, he was recognized as a genius of a student, and referred to as "''der iluy fun Smargan''" ([[Yiddish]] for "the genius from Smarhon'). He was therefore given privileged treatment; besides for getting extra money from the [[rosh yeshiva]] (yeshiva dean), Rabbi [[First Eliezer Yehudah Finkel|Eliezer Yehudah Finkel]], the rosh yeshiva also asked his own son-in-law, Rabbi [[Chaim Shmuelevitz]], to keep an eye on Shmuel Brudny to make sure he was doing well.<ref name=Yated/><ref name=FJJ/>

=== World War II ===

During World War II, the yeshiva was forced to flee to [[Vilna]] in Lithuania and later had to go into a hiding in the small town of [[Kėdainiai]]. With much outside help, notably from Rabbi [[Avraham Kalmanowitz]] as well as Japanese consul [[Chiune Sugihara]], the Mir Yeshiva managed to leave Lithuania before the [[Nazi occupation of Lithuania|Nazi occupation]] and via Russia and Japan, resettled in Japanese-occupied Shanghai. When Rabbi Shlomo Heiman heard about the Mir Yeshiva's escape, he asked if the ''Smarganer iluy'' was among them. When he was told that Shmuel was indeed among those who escaped, he declared that he would be "a ''gadol b'Yisrael'' (leader of the Jews) one day."<ref name=Yated/> During they yeshiva's tenure in Shanghai, Shmuel studied [[b'chavrusa]] with Rabbi [[Chaim Shmuelevitz]] and slept in the same room as Rabbi [[Leib Malin]].<ref name=FJJ/> He was also known for his diligence in his Torah study, which he increased after hearing that most his family was murdered by the Nazis.<ref name=Yated/>

After World War II, the yeshiva emigrated to the United States.

== United States ==

Rabbi Brudny was among the first groups of students of the Mir Yeshiva to arrive in America, and was by default one of the first students in the [[Mir yeshiva (Brooklyn)|Mir Yeshiva]] in the United States, which was founded by Rabbi Avraham Kalmanowich and located at first in [[Far Rockaway, NY|Far Rockaway]].<ref name=FJJ/> The yeshiva later moved to the [[Bedford-Stuyvesant]] neighborhood of Brooklyn and Rabbi Brudny was appointed by Rabbi Kalmanowitz to give one of the most advanced ''[[shiurim]]'' (classes) in the yeshiva. <ref name=Dinner></ref><ref name=FJJ/>

A short time after his arrival in the United States, Rabbi [[Dovid Kronglass]], the [[mashgiach ruchani]] of [[Yeshivas Ner Yisroel]], suggested that he'd be a good match for Rochel Leshinsky, a daughter the Leshinsky family which resided in [[Williamsburg, Brooklyn]] but originated in [[Mir, Belarus|Mir]].<ref name=Dinner/> Rabbi [[Yechezkel Levenstein]] attended the wedding and recited all seven [[Sheva Brachot|wedding blessings]] under the ''[[chuppah]]'' (wedding canopy).<ref name=FJJ/>

=== ''Maggid shiur'' ===

Rabbi Brudny gave one of the most advanced ''shiurim'' in the yeshiva, second only to the class of Rabbi Efraim Mordechai Ginsburg. Among his first students there were Rabbi [[Brevda#Shlomo Brevda|Shlomo Brevda]] and Rabbi Yisrael Kalmanowitz.<ref name=Dinner/> Later students of his included Rabbi Dovid Trenk and Rabbi [[Yeshiva Darchei Torah (Far Rockaway)|Yaakov Bender]].<ref name=FJJ/><ref></ref> The ''shiur'' was the largest class in the Mir Yeshiva, sometimes with as many as ninety students. During this time, he became known for his patience and sensitivity with his students.<ref name=Yated/> He was also known for his humbleness, and despite being one of the heads of the yeshiva, he sat in the back of the ''[[beis midrash]]''.<ref name=FJJ/>

== Death and legacy ==

Rabbi Brudny died on February 15, 1981.<ref></ref> His son, Rabbi Elya Brudny, is currently a ''[[maggid shiur]]'' in the Mir Yeshiva as well one of the leaders of [[List of Orthodox Jewish communities in the United States|American Orthodoxy]], serving on the [[Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah]] of [[Agudath Israel of America]].<ref></ref> Another son, Rabbi Abba Brudny, served for twenty-five as the principal of the [[Rabbi Jacob Joseph School|Yeshiva Rabbi Jacob Joseph]] in Edison, New Jersey before taking the position of ''rosh kollel'' (''[[kollel]]'' head) of the Edison Community Kollel. His daughter Basya married Rabbi Menachem Ben Menachem, a grandson of Rabbi [[Isser Zalman Meltzer]] who serves as the rosh yeshiva of the [[Tifrach]] Yeshiva.<ref name=FJJ/>

== Notes and references ==



[[Category:Orthodox rabbis from New York City]]
[[Category:Belarusian Haredi rabbis]]
[[Category:20th-century rabbis]]
[[Category:Mir rosh yeshivas]]
[[Category:Rosh yeshivas]]
[[Category:People from Smarhon’]]


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