Elyakim Rosenblatt
{{short description|Orthodox-Jewish rabbi}}
{{Infobox Jewish leader
| honorific-prefix = Rabbi
| name = Elyakim Rosenblatt
| native-name =
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| image = File:Rabbi_Elyakim_Rosenblatt.jpg
| caption =
| synagogue =
| synagogueposition =
| yeshiva = Yeshiva Kesser Torah
| yeshivaposition = Rosh yeshiva
| organisation =
| organisationposition =
| began =
| ended =
| main_work = Ohr Lenisivasi
| predecessor =
| successor =
| rabbi =
| rebbe =
| kohan =
| hazzan =
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| birth_name =
| birth_date = 1933
| birth_place = Brownsville, Brooklyn
| death_date = {{BirthDeathAge | |1933|||2019|3|27}}
| death_place =
| yahrtzeit = 20 Adar II, 5779
| buried = Beth David Cemetery, Elmont, New York
| burial_place =
| nationality =
| denomination = Orthodox Judaism
| residence = Queens, New York
| dynasty =
| parents = Yechiel Michel
Sara
| father =
| mother =
| spouse = Trani Rosenblatt
| children = Batsheva Rothberg (née Roenblatt)
Yaakov
Moshe
| occupation =
| profession =
| alma_mater = Beth Medrash Govoha
Yeshiva Chafetz Chaim
| semicha = Yoreh Yoreh
Yadin Yadin
| signature =
}}
Rabbi Elyakim Getzel Rosenblatt (1933{{snd}}March{{nbsp}}27, 2019) was an American Orthodox rabbi. He was the founder and rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Kesser Torah in Kew Gardens Hills, Queens.
Early life
Rosenblatt was born in 1933 in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn. His maternal grandfather was Yaakov Aizer Dubrow, the rabbi of Kesher Israel in Washington D.C.{{Cite web|url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2818911/jewish/Rabbi-Yaakov-Aizer-Dubrow.htm|title=Rabbi Yaakov Aizer Dubrow - A Pioneer of Chabad in the U.S.|website=www.chabad.org}} He attended Yeshiva Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin for elementary and high school, before going to learn in the Telshe Yeshiva in Cleveland and the Yeshiva Chafetz Chaim in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Due to his wanting to dorm, in 1951, at the age of 18, he went to learn in Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, New Jersey and became a student of Aharon Kotler, whom he served tea to every day. While there, he was appointed the veker (someone who wakes the students up for the shacharis prayer). Among the students that he woke up every day was Shmuel Kamenetsky.{{Cite web |url=https://www.5tjt.com/rav-elyakim-getzel-rosenblatt-ztl-an-appreciation/ |title=Rav Elyakim Getzel Rosenblatt, zt'l: An Appreciation - the 5 Towns Jewish Times |access-date=2020-06-08 |archive-date=2019-05-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190515063226/http://www.5tjt.com/rav-elyakim-getzel-rosenblatt-ztl-an-appreciation/ |url-status=dead }} Shlomo Carlebach was his chavrusa (study-partner) there for some time.{{Cite web|url=https://www.queensjewishlink.com/index.php/local/21-community-corner/by-susie-garber/289-queens-community-mourns-the-passing-of-harav-elyakim-getzel-rosenblatt-rav-of-yeshiva-kesser-torah|title=Queens Community Mourns The Passing Of HaRav Elyakim Getzel Rosenblatt, Rav Of Yeshiva Kesser Torah|first=Susie|last=Garber|website=Queens Jewish Link | Connecting the Queens Jewish Community|date=15 April 2019 }} In 1958, he married Trani Rosenblatt, who would one day be referred to by Rosenblatt as "my partner in Torah". Rosenblatt returned to Yeshiva Chafetz Chaim, then located in Queens, New York, at the age of 27, and became a student of Henoch Leibowitz.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/boruch-dayan-emmes/1703332/levaya-of-harav-elyakim-rosenblatt-zatzal-rosh-yeshiva-of-kesser-torah-in-queens.html|title=Levaya of HaRav Elyakim Rosenblatt ZATZAL, Rosh Yeshiva of Kesser Torah In Queens|first=Y. W.|last=Editor|date=March 28, 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://matzav.com/rav-elyakim-rosenblatt-ztl/|title=Rav Eliyakim Rosenblatt zt"l | Matzav.com}}
Rabbinic career
File:Yeshiva_Kesser_Torah,_Kew_Gardens_Hills,_view_from_the_street.jpg in Kew Gardens Hills, Queens.]]
Rosenblatt remained in Yeshiva Chafetz Chaim, where he became a ninth grade mussar (ethics) rebbi. Among his students from Yeshiva Chafetz Chaim are Dovid Harris. Rosenblatt eventually went on to become a rabbi in Corona, Queens where he and his wife inspired non-religious Jews, teaching Torah and hosting them for Shabbos meals. In the 1970s, his students in Corona urged him to open a yeshiva, so Rosenblatt opened Yeshiva Kesser Torah in the Briarwood section of Queens.{{Cite web|url=https://www.queensjewishlink.com/index.php/local/26-community-corner/2354-remembering-rabbi-elyakim-getzel-rosenblatt-on-his-first-yahrzeit|title=Remembering Rabbi Elyakim Getzel Rosenblatt On His First Yahrzeit|first=Susie|last=Garber|website=Queens Jewish Link | Connecting the Queens Jewish Community|date=25 March 2020 }} The yeshiva was named after a sefer. A dorm was added in 1980. In 1994, a rebbi in the yeshiva suggested that they relocate to Kew Garden Hills, where they would be able to attract more people, and a plot was purchased in the center of Kew Gardens Hills' Jewish community.
His classes in Yeshiva Kesser Torah were geared toward Jews of all backgrounds and professions. Over 500 of his classes are available for free online.{{Cite web|url=https://www.torahanytime.com/|title=TorahAnytime.com|website=www.torahanytime.com}}
Rosenblatt died on March 27, 2019.{{Cite web|url=https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/forest-hills-ny/rabbi-elyakim-rosenblatt-8230621|title=Rabbi Elyakim ROSENBLATT Obituary - Forest Hills, NY|website=Dignity Memorial}} His funeral was held at Yeshiva Kesser Torah that same day, and he was buried at the Beth David Cemetery in Elmont, New York.
Works
Rosenblatt authored four sefarim on the Torah, under the name Ohr Lenisivasi.{{Cite web|url=https://yeshivakessertorah.org/store/|title=Store | Yeshiva Kesser Torah}} A fifth sefer, based on his musar teachings, was published after his death, under the same name. Rosenblatt was known to be very musical. It has been said that Aharon Kotler would ask him and two other students in Beth Medrash Govoha to sing at shalosh seudos (the third Sabbath meal). He composed many songs which are available on his Shaar Haneginah CDs.
External links
- [https://www.torahanytime.com/#/speaker?l=43 Classes by Rabbi Elyakim Rosenblatt on TorahAnytime]
References
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Category:Orthodox rabbis from New York City
Category:21st-century American rabbis
Category:20th-century American rabbis