Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik’s candidacy served as a catalyst for his only visit to the Holy Land
With the passing in 1935 of Rav Shlomo Ahronson, the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Tel Aviv, the first Hebrew-speaking city geared up for rabbinical elections. With the institution of the chief rabbinate still in its early stages, the religious establishment, the Zionist leadership, and of course the British colonial government looming in the background, all saw this is an important election that would impact the religious character of the burgeoning Yishuv as well as the city of Tel Aviv, which had a large religious population at the time.
The candidates for the position were Rav Moshe Avigdor Amiel, the rabbi of Antwerp and a student of both Rav Chaim Brisker and Rav Chaim Ozer; the rabbi of Dublin, Rav Yitzchak Isaac HaLevi Herzog; and a young rabbi from Boston and scion of one of the most prestigious rabbinical families in Eastern Europe, Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik.
The latter’s candidacy served as a catalyst for his only visit to the Holy Land. Over the course of his visit, Rav Soloveitchik was invited to deliver a shiur at the Merkaz Harav Yeshivah in Yerushalayim, where it was recalled by then student Rav Moshe Zvi Neria: “I remember Rabbi Soloveitchik’s visit to the Holy Land in 1935, and his superb shiur on Maseches Nedarim at our yeshivah, Merkaz Harav — a shiur that captured the hearts of old and young alike.”
Rav Soloveitchik delivered a shiur at Machon Harry Fischel, as well as at a Melaveh Malkah for former residents of Brisk and alumni of the Volozhin yeshivah.
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