Shlomo Nosson Kotler
Shlomo Nosson Kotler (Hebrew: שלמה קוטלר; 1856 – c. 1920) was an Orthodox rabbi and rosh yeshiva (dean), Talmudic scholar, Torah author and posek (halakhic decisor).
Early life
Born in Kovno, Lithuania, Kotler studied in the Telz yeshiva under Eliezer Gordon and Jacob Joseph. He later studied in the yeshiva of Yaakov Charif, who became his rebbe (foremost teacher). He received semikhah (rabbinical ordination) from many great rabbis, among them Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor. Having already served as a Talmudic lecturer in the Łomża yeshiva at the age of twenty, he became one of the first teachers in the Knesses Yisroel yeshiva in Slobodke. A few years later, he accepted the position of Av Beth Din in the city of Uzhvent, near Kovno.
Career
In 1893, Kotler's ailing former teacher Joseph, then the chief rabbi of New York City, invited him to serve as his associate. Kotler served as rabbi of Congregation Tiferes Jerusalem in New York in Joseph's stead for the next three years. In 1896, he joined the newly founded Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) as a rosh yeshiva (dean).
Unsatisfied with the weak Orthodox Jewish life and practice in the United States, Kotler returned to Europe to serve as rabbi in the cities of Kurshan and Luknik. Before World War I, Kotler returned to the United States, settling for seven years in Detroit.
Personal life and death
Towards the end of his life, Kotler emigrated to Palestine, where his daughter lived. Following Kotler's death, his son-in-law Yaakov Moshe Charlap renamed his Jerusalem yeshiva in his memory. His great-grandson Zevulun Charlop was the dean of RIETS many decades later.
Works
Kotler authored numerous Torah articles which were published in the various Torah journals of his day, as well as many sefarim (books), including the two-volumed responsa Kerem Shlomo (Jerusalem, 1936) and the original work Beis Shlomo (St. Louis, 1927). Many of Kotler's unpublished Torah manuscripts and insights have been lost.
References
- YU Torah Online Rosh yeshiva biographies
- Orthodox Judaism in America: A Biographical Dictionary
- v
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- Rosh HaYeshiva Emeritus
- Norman Lamm
- Dean
- Michael Taubes
- Dean Emeritus
- Menachem Penner
- Senior Mashgiach Ruchani
- Yosef Blau
- Mashgichim
- Ely Bacon
- Josh Blass
- Roshei Yeshiva
- Elchanan Adler
- Assaf Bednarsh
- Eliyahu Ben Haim
- J. David Bleich
- Yitzchok Cohen
- Daniel Feldman
- Menachem Genack
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- David Hirsch
- Dovid Horwitz
- Elyakim Koenigsberg
- Dovid Miller
- Yaakov Neuburger
- Hershel Reichman
- Michael Rosensweig
- Hershel Schachter
- Ezra Schwartz
- Eli Baruch Shulman
- Baruch Simon
- Zvi Sobolofsky
- Daniel Stein
- Mayer Twersky
- Jeremy Wieder
- Mordechai Willig
- Former Roshei Yeshiva
- Avraham Eliezer Alperstein
- Nisson Alpert
- Yosef Leib Arnest
- Samuel Belkin
- Yehuda David Bernstein
- Abba Bronspiegel
- Ahron Dovid Burack
- Avigdor Cyperstein
- Solomon Drillman
- Henoch Fishman
- Yitzchok Ginsberg
- Ozer Glickman
- Yerucham Gorelick
- Aharon Kahn
- Michael Katz
- Shlomo Nosson Kotler
- Yaakov Moshe Lessin
- Aharon Lichtenstein
- Zvulun Lieberman
- Dovid Lifshitz
- Moses Meir Matlin
- Shraga Feivel Paretzky
- Yehuda Parnes
- Shlomo Polachek
- Moshe Aharon Poleyeff
- Elazar Meir Preil
- Bernard Revel
- Shimon Romm
- Yonason Sacks
- Melech Schachter
- Moshe Shatzkes
- Shimon Shkop
- Ahron Soloveichik
- Joseph B. Soloveitchik
- Moshe Soloveichik
- Ephraim M. Steinberg
- Moshe Tendler
- Shmuel Volk
- Joseph Weiss
- Shalom Elchanan Yaffe
- Gershon Yankelewitz
- Mendel Zaks