Torah Reborn: Rabbi Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman and the Miracle of Ponevezh

A Visionary from Lithuania to the Land of Israel

More than 55 years have passed since the death of Rabbi Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman (1888–1969), the revered Rosh Yeshiva of Ponevezh and a towering figure in the post-Holocaust Torah world. Born in Lithuania, Rabbi Kahaneman served as the head of the Ponevezh Yeshiva in Lithuania prior to World War II and later became the founder and first head of the reestablished institution in Bnei Brak. He also served on the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah (Council of Torah Sages).

Despite enduring unimaginable personal tragedy—his wife and nine of his ten children perished in the Holocaust—he did not surrender to despair. Escaping war-torn Europe with his son Avraham, he immigrated to Israel and rebuilt what was lost, naming the new yeshiva in memory of the Lithuanian town and its Torah world that had been destroyed.

Prophecy, Survival, and Rebirth

A few years before the war, Rabbi Kahaneman visited the Chafetz Chaim and asked him, with growing unease about the state of Europe, “What will become of us, Rebbe?” The Chafetz Chaim responded with the words of the prophet Ovadiah: “On Mount Zion there will be a remnant, and it will be holy.” That verse would soon become a beacon guiding Rabbi Kahaneman through the storm to come.

When the war broke out, Rabbi Kahaneman and the Rav of Kovno were urged to leave Europe to help preserve the yeshiva world. The Kovno Rav was tragically murdered by the Nazis, while Rabbi Kahaneman miraculously escaped. Upon his arrival in Israel, he began the audacious task of rebuilding Torah from the ashes.

In the summer of 1941, he laid the cornerstone for the Ponevezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak. When the yeshiva officially opened in 1943, it had just seven students, including future leaders like Rabbi Yaakov Edelstein and his brother, Rabbi Gershon Edelstein. By 1948, the student body had grown to 140.

Torah and Chesed: A Sacred Partnership

Rabbi Kahaneman was not only a builder of Torah; he was also a pioneer of chesed (acts of kindness). He founded Yarchei Kallah, a learning program that made Torah accessible even to those not in yeshivot, and established institutions for children who had survived the Holocaust.

When the financial burden of maintaining both the yeshiva and his orphanage became overwhelming, his son Avraham approached him and said: “Father, we must decide either the yeshiva or the orphanage. We can’t sustain both. Eventually everything will collapse, Heaven forbid.”

Rabbi Kahaneman answered with passion: “Avreimele, after the destruction of Torah in Europe, I know how crucial it is to build yeshivot. But I must tell you what the Chafetz Chaim said to me: ‘You want to establish a yeshiva? First establish a chesed institution.’ Torah without chesed will not endure. The Torah begins with kindness and ends with kindness. If I close the orphanage, I am closing the foundation of the yeshiva itself.”

A Soul Stirred by Miracles

In the aftermath of the Six-Day War, Rabbi Kahaneman published a powerful essay reflecting on the spiritual magnitude of the times. In it, he wrote:

“Dear brothers! Can we afford to be petty in such a lofty and exalted moment? Should we remain in spiritual smallness during an era so filled with Divine wonders? We are surrounded by miracles so tangible even the blind can feel them. The victories, the salvations, the signs and wonders that occurred in the Holy Land and in the Holy City defy articulation. Perhaps one like me, who traveled through Jewish communities in exile, can better sense the magnitude of these events and ponder their profound meaning.”
(Beit Yaakov, Issue 100, Elul 5727)

A Legacy that Endures

Rabbi Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman passed away on the 20th of Elul, 1969, but his legacy lives on in every student who learns in Ponevezh and every Jew touched by his vision. He showed the world that even in the face of utter destruction, Torah and kindness together could spark a miraculous rebirth.