Henoch Leibowitz

{{Short description|American rabbi (1918–2008)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2024}} {{Infobox Jewish leader | honorific-prefix = Rabbi | name = Alter Chanoch Henoch Hakohen Leibowitz | honorific-suffix = | title = 2nd Rosh Yeshiva (Dean) of Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim: Rabbinical Seminary of America | image = Leibowitz R H.jpg | caption = | denomination = [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] | yeshiva = [[Yeshivas Rabbeinu Yisrael Meir HaKohen]] | yeshivaposition = [[Rosh Yeshiva]] | began = December 7, 1941 | ended = April 15, 2008 | predecessor = [[Dovid Leibowitz|Rabbi Chaim Dovid Hakohen Leibowitz]] | successor = [[David Harris (rabbi)|Rabbi Dovid Harris]] and Rabbi Akiva Grunblatt | semicha = | rabbi = | rank = | other_post = | birth_name = | birth_date = June 2, 1918<ref name=dob /> | birth_place = [[Šalčininkai]], Lithuania | death_date = {{death date and age|2008|4|15|1918|6|2}} | death_place = [[New York City]], US | buried = Mount Judah Cemetery | nationality = American | residence = | parents = [[Dovid Leibowitz|Chaim Dovid Hakohen Leibowitz]] | spouse = | occupation = | profession = [[Rosh yeshiva|Rosh Yeshiva]] | employer = | alma_mater = | signature = | website = }}

'''Alter Chanoch Henoch Hakohen Leibowitz''' (June 2, 1918<ref name=dob>His date of birth is uncertain, but his passport read June 2, 1918.</ref> – April 15, 2008)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.beyondbt.com/2008/04/15/petira-of-alter-chanoch-henoch-leibowitz-ztl/|title=Petira of Alter Chanoch Henoch Hakohen Leibowitz ZT"L|date=April 15, 2008|website=Beyond BT|accessdate=July 24, 2013}}</ref> was an [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] [[rabbi]] who was [[Rosh Yeshiva]] (dean) of [[Yeshivas Rabbeinu Yisrael Meir HaKohen]], which was founded by his father Rabbi [[Dovid Leibowitz|Chaim Dovid Hakohen Leibowitz]] in 1933.

==Biography==

Leibowitz was born in 1918 in [[Šalčininkai]], Lithuania, and was the only son of [[Dovid Leibowitz]]. He came to America in 1926 when his father was hired by [[Mesivta Torah Vodaath]] as a teacher. In 1933, his father left Torah Vodaath and founded [[Yeshivas Rabbeinu Yisrael Meir HaKohen]]. His father's death in 1941 left him in charge of the yeshiva in his early 20s. He built a network of Jewish educational institutions in the United States, Canada and [[Israel]].

New York governor [[David Paterson]] reportedly called Leibowitz “the most honest person in the state of New York”.<ref>{{cite news |title=Kiddush Hashem: The Untold Story of Rav Henoch Leibowitz ZT"L & NY Governor David Paterson |url=https://5townscentral.com/2023/01/11/kiddush-hashem-the-untold-story-of-rav-henoch-leibowitz-ztl-ny-governor-david-paterson/ |access-date=12 June 2023 |work=5 Towns Central |date=11 January 2023}}</ref>

==Notable students== His students include the following rabbis: * [[Dovid Harris]], ''[[rosh yeshiva]]'' (dean) of [[Yeshivas Rabbeinu Yisrael Meir HaKohen|Yeshiva Chafetz Chaim]] * [[Elyakim Rosenblatt]], ''rebbi'' in [[Yeshivas Rabbeinu Yisrael Meir HaKohen|Yeshiva Chafetz Chaim]] and later ''rosh yeshiva'' of [[Yeshiva Kesser Torah]] * [[Menachem Davidowitz]], ''rosh yeshiva'' of [[Talmudic Institute of Upstate New York]] * [[Baruch Chait]], ''rosh yeshiva'' of the Israeli high school [[Maarava Machon Rubin]]

== References == {{Reflist}}

==Sources== *{{cite news | author=Greenwald, Shlomo | title=Rabbi Henoch Leibowitz, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim, dies | url=http://www.jewishpress.com/displaycontent_new.cfm?contentid=31406&contentname=Rabbi%20Henoch%20Leibowitz,%20Rosh%20Yeshiva%20of%20Yeshiva%20Chofetz%20Chai&sectionid=15&mode=a&recnum=0 | work=[[The Jewish Press]] | date=2008-04-18 | accessdate=2008-04-23 | archive-date=2020-02-18 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200218080338/https://www.jewishpress.com/news/on-campus/ow-did-dinosaur-parents-know-when-their-kids-had-a-fever/2020/02/15/?contentid=31406&contentname=RabbiHenochLeibowitz,RoshYeshivaofYeshivaChofetzChai&sectionid=15&mode=a&recnum=0 | url-status=dead }}

== External links == *Video of Rabbi Henoch Leibowitz's second wedding. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2g1ehpw_xk Rabbi Henoch Lebowitz's wedding]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leibowitz, Henoch}} [[Category:1918 births]] [[Category:2008 deaths]] [[Category:Lithuanian emigrants to the United States]] [[Category:American Haredi rabbis]] [[Category:Rosh yeshivas]] [[Category:People from Šalčininkai]] [[Category:Lithuanian Haredi rabbis]]