Reuven Grozovsky

Refael Reuvain Grozovsky (Belarusian: Рафаэль Гразоўскі; 1886, Minsk, Belarus – 1958, United States) was a leading Orthodox rabbi, Jewish religious leader and rosh yeshiva ("dean") known for his Talmudic analytical style.

He was the son of Rabbi Shimshon Grozovsky, the leading dayan (Halachic judge) of Minsk. He attended Yeshiva Knesses Yisrael, known as the Slabodka yeshiva, and studied under Rabbis Moshe Mordechai Epstein and Nosson Tzvi Finkel. In 1919, Rabbi Grozovsky married the daughter of Rabbi Baruch Ber Lebowitz, whose analytical method of textual study continues to be extremely influential in modern-day yeshivas. After his marriage, Rabbi Grozovsky moved to the Vilna suburb of Lukishuk. Later, he moved with his father-in-law to Kaminetz and continued to learn at the yeshiva there under the tutelage of his father-in-law, whom he considered his main teacher. Rabbi Grozovsky had two sons and two daughters. He eventually became the dean of the Kaminetz Yeshiva.

Rabbi Grozovsky was known to lead a simple and sparse life. Sometimes he and his wife had to borrow money from his students. They also shared a cramped apartment with his wife's parents, both because of his modest way of life and in order to learn as much as possible from his famous father-in-law.

During World War II, Rabbi Grozovsky escaped Europe and the Holocaust with a group of his students and arrived on the west coast of the United States. He then journeyed to New York City where he joined Rabbis Aharon Kotler and Avraham Kalmanowitz in leading the Vaad Hatzalah's efforts to save Jews from the Nazi Holocaust, including lobbying and fundraising. In the process, he also brought 110 members of the Kaminetz community to safety in America.

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