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 | Rabbi Yaakov Yitzḥak (Yitzchok) ha-Levi Ruderman (הרב יעקב יצחק הלוי רודערמאן [רודרמן] זצוק״ל) was the founder and the first dean (ראש הישיבה) of Ner Israel (1933–1987). He is remembered as one of the greatest scholars of the previous generation. Shortly before immigrating to America, Rabbi Yaakov Yitzḥak (Yitzchok) ha-Levi Ruderman published his magnum opus ספר עבודת לוי (Lithuania, 1930). That volume was so important to him and his students that on his tombstone one line of the inscription states: שלמו עטיו בעבודת לוי קדשי ירושלים. The Sefer Avodath Levi Project to preserve Rabbi Yaakov Yitzḥak (Yitzchok) ha-Levi Ruderman’s legacy has been in progress. You may download its fruition below.  DOWNLOAD AS PROGRAM (Windows version) DOWNLOAD AS ARCHIVE (Windows version. The file in compressed for faster downloads. It can be unpacked by most modern archiving programs, for example, by 7-zip [freeware].)The screenshots of the digital edition (launched on Windows 7): | ||
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 | Rabbi Naftali (Naftoli) H. (Herman) Neuberger (הרב נפתלי [הלוי] נויברגר זצוק״ל) was the first president of Ner Israel (1940–2005), the position now occupied by his grandson Rabbi Boruch (Baruch) Y. (Yehuda) Neuberger (שליט״א). He was a scholar and visionary leader who sacrificed most of his time to the development and financial stability of the Ner Israel Rabbinical College. Indeed, people who studied at Ner Israel can surely say — paraphrasing the famous Talmudic passages (כתובות דף ס״ג ע״א ונדרים דף נ׳ ע״א) — that they owe their Jewish scholarship to him: שלי ושלכם שלו הוא. The PDF file below contains articles about Rabbi Naftali (Naftoli) H. (Herman) Neuberger that were written and published shortly after his death in 2005. (If there is a problem opening the file, download a small PDF viewer — program or archive [the archive is compressed for faster downloads and can also be unpacked by most modern archiving programs, for example, by 7-zip (freeware)].) Articles about Rabbi Naftali (Naftoli) H. (Herman) Neuberger | ||
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 | Rabbi Sheftel M. (Meir) Neuberger (הרב שעפטיל מאיר [הלוי] נויברגר זצוק״ל) continued the presidentship of his late father for more than fifteen years (2005–2021). He was a stately scholar who once lectured at Ner Israel but chose to forgo his rabbinical career in order to spearhead the Ner Israel Rabbinical College to secure its further development and financial stability. He may be best remembered for his leadership and his powerful voice when praying and singing, yet his Torah legacy is no less undeniable, therefore, the official Ner Israel academic journal has published some of his expositions, one of which is available below with elucidation notes. Another PDF file beneath contains commemoration articles on Rabbi Sheftel M. (Meir) Neuberger’s demise. (If there is a problem opening these files, download a small PDF viewer — program or archive [the archive is compressed for faster downloads and can also be unpacked by most modern archiving programs, for example, by 7-zip (freeware)].) קריאת התורה בחנוכה Articles about Rabbi Sheftel M. (Meir) Neuberger | ||
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 | Rabbi Shmuel Yaakov Weinberg (הרב שמואל יעקב וינברג זצוק״ל) inherited Rabbi Ruderman’s mantle and leaded Ner Israel after the latter’s death (1987–1999). Rabbi Weinberg was not only a profound scholar but an eloquent public speaker. Two transcripts of his famous lectures, which in turn were provided by his son-in-law Rabbi Beryl (Berl) Weisbord (שליט״א), are offered below. (Both of them were also translated into Russian and successfully used in outreach programs and on the Internet: link 1, link 2, link 3, link 4, link 5, link 6, and link 7, link 8, link 9, link 10, link 11, link 12 respectively.) An additional project that has been forthcoming is the digital work “הקדמת הרמב״ם ז״ל למשנה תורה” with Rabbi Shmuel Yaakov Weinberg’s commentary. Presently, it has been reviewed for publication by the leadership of the Ner Israel Rabbinical College. One may contact Ner Israel (410-484-7200) to check when it will become available to the general public. The introduction to the digital project is also given below. “Can a Rational Person Believe in the Divinity of the Torah?” “Why Israel Belongs to the Jews” Introduction to the digital project “הקדמת הרמב״ם ז״ל למשנה תורה” The lectures and introduction are presented as PDF files. (If there is a problem opening them, download a small PDF viewer — program or archive [the archive is compressed for faster downloads and can also be unpacked by most modern archiving programs, for example, by 7-zip (freeware)].) | ||
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 | Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Kulefsky (הרב יעקב משה קולפסקי [קולעפסקי] זצוק״ל) was the head of Ner Israel (1999–2000) after the death of Rabbi Shmuel Yaakov Weinberg. He is renowned for the in-depth analysis of the Talmud, and his classes attracted hundreds of students. In recent years, many of those lectures (preserved on audiotapes) have been summarized and published under his name. One volume (on כתובות) is currently available on the Internet () in the form of scanned pages with textual layers. The quality of those layers is inferior (for instance, try searching for the word זמן of the first chapter’s subtitle [ביאור החיוב בהגיע זמן ולא נישאו] on page 9 — it cannot be found because the textual layer has the word “pr” [sic] in its place). One can compare it (link 1) with the original text carefully retyped and presented here (link 2). It is less known, however, that Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Kulefsky did write expositions himself, and some of them were printed in his lifetime. Below are two of his articles published in תשל״ב and תשמ״א. For the first time, they are faithfully reproduced here as PDF files. (Again, if there is a problem opening this type of file, download a small PDF viewer — program or archive [the archive is compressed for faster downloads and can also be unpacked by most modern archiving programs, for example, by 7-zip (freeware)].) One is also encouraged to use the experimental search engine specially written for Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Kulefsky’s articles.  בענין אין עד נעשה דיין ועדים קרובים לדיינים בעניני פרוזבול Search / חיפוש (in these two articles) | ||
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 | Rabbi Aharon (Aaron) Feldman (הרב אהרן פלדמן שליט״א) has been the dean (ראש הישיבה) of Ner Israel since 2001. He is a native of Baltimore who spent four decades in Israel prior to accepting his current position. Besides being a recognized thinker and lecturer, Rabbi Aharon Feldman is also a prolific author who wrote and edited many important books in Hebrew and English. One of them is “Yad LePeah” (יד לפאה) published in Israel in the late Sixties (תשכ״ז). It consists of the mediæval commentary written by Rabbeinu Asher [Asheri/Osher] (רא״ש) on the Mishnaic treatise Peah (פאה) and the contemporary commentary on the same treatise by Rabbi Aharon Feldman. Shortly after Rabbi Aharon Feldman became the dean, the entire book was made into a digital edition (compatible with Microsoft Windows). In addition to the original text, that version had a powerful search engine and a fully vowelized Mishnaic treatise Peah linked to the commentaries; many errors found in the first edition were also corrected. (Below is the introduction to that digital project.) Yet that CD-edition was never marketed, and the second (revised) printing of Rabbi Aharon Feldman’s book happened only in 2024. The Mishnaic treatise has been added to the publication (similar to the first digital edition), the treatise and mediæval commentary now include an extensive annotation apparatus, and all texts have been again examined for errors — leading to countless corrections and improvements. The book is sold by Rabbi Aharon Feldman (410-653-9433) and his family in Israel, and the digital version of that work is also available (one may contact the aforesaid sellers or the Ner Israel Archive). The mentioned introduction and a sample of the newly printed book are accessible below. Both documents are presented here as PDF files. (If there is a problem opening them, download a small PDF viewer — program or archive [the archive is compressed for faster downloads and can also be unpacked by most modern archiving programs, for example, by 7-zip (freeware)].) | ||
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 Introduction to the digital project “Yad LePeah” (the first digital edition) (PDF) ספר יד לפאה עם פירוש הרא״ש למסכת פאה מכת״י | |||
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 | Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt is an alumnus of Ner Israel. Although he has never lectured there, he is known as the spiritual leader of the Moscow Choral Synagogue, the head of the rabbinical court of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the president of the Conference of European Rabbis. Read how his attempt to translate the Talmud into Russian turned into an extremely unbecoming venture. Of rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt’s treatment of the Talmud Об отношении раввина Пинхаса Гольдшмидта к Талмуду | ||
