Simcha Zissel Ziv - Early Life

Early Life

Rabbi Simcha Zissel Ziv was born as Simcha Mordechai Ziskind Broida in 1824 in Kelmė, Lithuania. His father, Reb Yisroel, belonged to the well-known Lithuanian Braude family. His mother, Chaya, was a descendant of Rabbi Zvi Ashkenazi, the Chacham Tzvi. Chaya's family name was Ziv, and her son took on his mother's family name when he moved to Grobin in 1880.

Rabbi Ziv married Chaya Leah, the daughter of Reb Mordechai of Vidzh, a small town near Kelm. Following his marriage he travelled to Kovno, where he studied under his foremost mentor, Rabbi Yisrael Salanter, the founder of the Musar movement, at the Nevyozer Kloiz. Among the other outstanding students were Rabbi Yitzchak Blazer, Rabbi Naftali Amsterdam, Rabbi Eliezer Gordon, Rabbi Yerucham Perlman and Rabbi Jacob Joseph. Rabbi Ziv established himself as one of Rabbi Salanter’s closest disciples and Rabbi Ziv devoted his life to furthering Rabbi Salanter’s teachings.

During this time, Rabbi Salanter sent Rabbi Ziv to Zhagory, to strengthen the Beis HaMusar (Musar study house), which had been established there. He also delivered lectures in the town of Kretinga.

At the time, Kalman Zev Wissotzky (who later became famous as a tea magnate) was another of Rabbi Salanter’s students living in Zhagory. Wissotzky had studied in the Volozhin Yeshiva and had become very wealthy and had many connections within government circles. He was a great supporter and benefactor of many Jewish causes. When Wissotsky decided to move to Moscow, Rabbi Salanter instructed Rabbi Ziv to accompany him, out of concern that the move to Moscow might have a negative effect on Wissotzky’s spirituality. Rabbi Ziv then moved to Moscow, where he lived for two years.

Following his time in Moscow, Rabbi Ziv moved to St. Petersburg, then the largest city in Czarist Russia. After spending almost a year there, the communal leaders brought Rabbi Ziv a signed document appointing him as their Rabbi. He was unwilling to accept the position, however, and proposed that his friend from the yeshiva in Kovno – Rabbi Yitzchak Blazer – be appointed to the position.