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Chaim Kanievsky

Chaim Kanievsky

1928 CE2022 CE · Modern · Karlin (Pinsk)

Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky (1928–2022) was a revered Lithuanian-Belarusian Talmudic scholar and halachic authority who spent most of his life in Bnei Brak, Israel. A son of the Steipler Gaon (R. Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky) and born in Pinsk, Kanievsky became one of the most respected poskim (decisors) of contemporary Haredi Judaism, known for his encyclopedic knowledge of Torah, Talmud, and halacha. He authored numerous works on Talmudic interpretation and practical halacha, and served as a guide to thousands who sought his counsel on matters of Jewish law and practice. His modest demeanor and towering erudition made him a bridge between the yeshiva world and broader Israeli Haredi society until his death.

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Stop 1 of 41928Born

Karlin (Pinsk)קרליןBelarus

What they did here

His father — Rabbi Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky, later the Steipler Gaon — headed the Novardok yeshiva here, and the household steeped him from the outset in Lithuanian yeshiva learning and Novardok mussar. The birthplace, Pinsk, belonged to Poland at his birth in 1928 and now lies in Belarus.

About Karlin (Pinsk)

Seat of the Karliner-Stoliner Hasidic dynasty; Aaron the Great of Karlin and Aaron II (Beit Aharon).

In Karlin (Pinsk) at the same time

Steipler

See other sages who lived in Karlin (Pinsk)

In the same place & time

Sages whose lives overlapped with Chaim Kanievsky’s in the same cities, drawn from their recorded journeys.

The world in their lifetime

Thinkers and teachers of other traditions whose lives overlapped with Chaim Kanievsky’s — a glimpse of the wider world they lived in. Drawn purely from recorded birth and death years.

Works(4)

Kiryat Melechקריית מלך

Bnei Brak · 1970

A comprehensive commentary on the Mishneh Torah of Maimonides, clarifying halachic sources and resolving textual difficulties.

Full text not yet available in our corpus.

Taharot LeCharaimטהרות לחרים

Bnei Brak · 1990

Writings on the laws of purity and impurity (Taharot), addressing complexities in this Mishnaic order.

Full text not yet available in our corpus.

Shut Chaim Kanievskyשו״ת חיים קניבסקי

Bnei Brak · 1985

Responsa collection addressing contemporary halachic questions across all areas of Jewish law.

Full text not yet available in our corpus.

Related figuresElazar Menachem Man ShachYosef Shalom ElyashivShlomo Zalman AuerbachSuggested by shared subject matter, not a documented teaching relationship.