Elazar Shach - Rabbinical Career

Rabbinical Career

Shach was a revered spiritual mentor of more than 100,000 rigorously Orthodox Jews, and was credited by many with promoting the concept of the "society of learners" in the post-war Haredi world. Under his aegis, the phenomenon of Haredi men studying the Talmud in yeshivas and kollels full-time gained popularity. Although this type of setup was unprecedented in Jewish history, it became the norm in some Haredi communities in Israel and the United States, with some financial backing from Haredi communities, as well as subsidies to young families with many children from the Israeli government. At the same time, however, Shach said on many occasions that the Jewish people consists of both Torah scholars and balabatim (lay people) who support Torah learning. “Everyone is required to serve Hashem,” he said, “but not everyone can do so by means of learning all day.” Shach is also quoted as saying that although the yeshivas are the heart of the Jewish people, it is the ba'alei teshuvah who will be the one's to bring Mashiach. Shach's position as magid shiur in the Novardok yeshiva in Jerusalem came about as a result of the recommendation of Chazon Ish to one of the Yeshiva's founders, Rabbi Bentzion Brook.