Guide to the Aaron David Burack Papers 1894-1958

Guide to the Aaron David Burack Papers
1894-1958

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Yeshiva University Archives | Mendel Gottesman Library | 500 W. 185th St., New York, NY 10033 | Phone: (646) 592-4058 | Email: archives@yu.edu

Collection Overview

Creator: Burack, Aaron D., (Aaron David), 1892-1960
Title: Aaron David Burack papers
Inclusive Dates:1894-1958
Bulk Dates:1922-1958
Size: 4.5 linear feet
Number of Boxes:9 manuscript boxes
Abstract:Rabbi Aaron David Burack (1892-1960) was a leading Rosh Yeshiva (Dean) at Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) and a central figure in the Orthodox Rabbinate and the Mizrachi movement. The collection consists of the personal papers, correspondence, speech notes, and halakhic writings of Rabbi Aaron David Burack. Ranging from the 1910s to the late 1950s, the material documents Rabbi Burack's career as a rabbi, speaker and public figure.
Languages:Materials are in Hebrew, Yiddish, and English.
Call No: 1990.004

About This Guide

Finding aid encoded January, 2009

Finding aid encoded in English.

Biographical Note

Rabbi Aaron David Burack (1892-1960) was a Lithuanian-born rabbi and scholar. He was a leading Rosh Yeshiva (Dean) at Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) and a central figure in the Orthodox Rabbinate and the Mizrachi movement. He studied under a number of prominent Talmudic scholars in the Eastern European yeshivas of Telshe and Slobodka. After emigrating to the United States in 1913, he received his rabbinic ordination from RIETS. He served as rabbi of Congregation Ohel Moshe Chevra Thilim in Brooklyn, New York and the rabbi of HIAS (Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society). He returned to RIETS as a Rosh Yeshiva, remaining there for close to forty years.

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of the personal papers, correspondence, speech notes, and halakhic writings of Rabbi Aaron David Burack. Ranging from the 1910s to the late 1950s, the material documents Rabbi Burack's career as a rabbi, speaker and public figure. Among his personal papers is Rabbi Burack's certificate of semikhah (ordination), signed by Rabbi Elyah Meir Bloch, Rabbi Yosef Yehudah Leb Bloch and Judah Leib Gordin in 1922-1923. Also included is a last will and testament written by Rabbi Burack before surgery in 1924. The collection contains Burack's letters to Rabbi Elyah Meir Bloch, Rabbi Yosef Yehudah Leb Bloch and Dr. Pinkhos Churgin, and from his father in law, Rabbi Eliyahu Inselbuch, and Rabbi Reuven Katz, the chief rabbi of Petah-Tikva (1954). Also among his personal papers are several diaries written by Burack between 1927 and 1958 regarding his trips to Israel. Burack published several volumes of a book on Jewish law and homiletics, titled Pirhe Aharon. The collection contains two binders that partially filled with manuscripts of Volumes I and III of Pirhe Aharon . The bulk of the collection is comprised of Rabbi Burack's speech notes from 1916 to the 1950s. His speeches covered a variety of topics, including Jewish law and the Land of Israel. The collection contains a number of speeches given at synagogues like Young Israel and Etz Hayim - Volozhin in New York. Also included are drafts of eulogies given by Burack for Rabbi Insulbuch, Rabbi Eliezer Meir Preil, Nathan Straus and Efraim Kaplan of the Tageblatt (1930s-1940s). Rabbi Burack delivered speeches for and about various Jewish communal organizations, and these notes are well represented in the collection. The collection contains a draft of a radio address in Yiddish on the Jewish National Fund, a speech for a RIETS graduation, a speech for the UJA, and speeches for HIAS dinners.

Other miscellaneous material in the collection include invitations to Yeshiva openings, a notebook in Yiddish belonging to Burack's son Bernard, a letter about obtaining kosher wine during Prohibition (1923-29), lecture notes by Rabbi Burack on Jewish topics and halakhic material by other scholars such as Rabbi Yehuda Leb Bloch and Rabbi Eliyah Meir Bloch.

Index Terms

This collection has been indexed under the following terms:

Persons:
Bloch, Elijah Meyer, ca. 1894-1955
Bloch, Joseph Leib, 1860-1930
Churgin, Pinkhos, 1894-
Gordin, Yehudah Leyb ben Me'ir Avraham Aba
Inselbuch, Eliyahu
Kaplan, Efraim
Katz, Reuven, 1880-1963
Preil, Eliezer Meir
Straus, Nathan, 1848-1931
Organizations:
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (1880-1909)
Jewish National Fund
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary
United Jewish Appeal
Titles:
Sefer Pirḥe Aharon
Subjects:
Eulogies
Jewish law
Jewish sermons
Rabbis -- New York (State) -- New York
Rabbis -- Ordination
Wills
Places:
Israel -- Description and travel
Document Types:
Certificates
Correspondence
Diaries
Invitation Cards
Lecture notes
Legal documents
Manuscripts
Notebooks
Speeches
Transcriptions (radio programs)

Conditions Governing Access and Use

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is available to researchers deemed to be qualified by the Archivist.

Conditions Governing Use

Restrictions may apply concerning the use, photoduplication, or publication of materials in this collection. Please contact the Curator of Special Collections for information regarding Yeshiva University's reproduction policies and fees.