[Avodah] Closing of the Volozhin Yeshiva

[Prof. Levine]

At 06:25 AM 5/20/2009, R. Micha wrote:

>When the documents were made public with the declassification of much
>of the KGB's inherited material from the Czars' era, it turns out this
>wasn't why Volozhin closed. At least, it's not the entire story, although
>it could be part of a "perfect storm" of causes.
>
>Gov't records claim they shut it down, not R' Chaim, and it was because
>the battles over successtion between RCB and RCB (R' Chaim Brisker and R'
>Chaim Berlin) seemed to be dangerously close to Alexander III's fear of
>anarchy. He already suspected the Jews of fomenting chaos to destabilize
>his gov't.
>
>Prof Shaul Stamper rewrote chapter 8 of his "HaYeshiva haLita'it
>beChituvatah" (a/k/a "Lithuanian Yeshivas of the 19th Cent") when the
>records were released to reflect this change in understanding. Because
>this overturned commonly accepted knowledge, the documents are included
>as an appendix to part I (Volozhin).
>
>RNKamenetsky agrees with Stampfer's acceptance of the documents at
>face value.
>
>Li nir'eh it's possible that simply between both factors, it just wasn't
>worth fighting the gov't anymore.

Rabbi Dr. J. J. Schacter discuses this in his Haskalah,Secular 
Studies and the Close of the Yeshiva in Volozhin in 1892 which can be 
downloaded at http://www.yutorah.org/_shiurim/TU2_Schachter.pdf

YL

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