Yosef Dov Soloveitchik (Beis Halevi) - Rabbinate

Rabbinate

In 1865 Yosef Dov became Rabbi of Slutsk. After assuming this position, he went to visit the cheder classes where the young boys received their education. When he observed the impoverished state of many children, he arranged for lunches to be served there, paid for by the community. His son, Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik, once said that while he himself responded to peoples’ needs, his father went further and discovered on his own what their needs were. His pupils in Slutsk included Yosef Rosen, later to gain fame as the Rogatchover Gaon, and Zalman Sender Shapiro.

He was a fierce opponent of the Maskilim, as a result of which he left Slutzk in 1874. He then moved to Warsaw where he lived in poverty. When the rabbi of Brisk, Rabbi Yehoshua Leib Diskin left for the Land of Israel in 1877, Rabbi Soloveitchik was offered the rabbinate of Brisk. He continued to hold that position until his death in 1892, when he was succeeded by his son Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik.