Manchester Rosh Yeshivah

The description, "legend in his own time" has become an overused cliché, but it is barely adequate to describe Rabbi Yehudah Zev Segal. All his life, wherever he was, he inspired love, awe, and superlatives. Raised in Manchester, he attended the local Jewish school, an institution with a pitifully inadequate curriculum, yet his insatiable thirst for learning made him an outstanding, world-class Torah scholar. Even in the great pre-War Mirrer Yeshivah, he was a marvel of diligence and uninterrupted growth in Torah and personal development. Despite his many accomplishments, he always strove for more. Always lucid, always striving, always selfless, always guiding others to learn and grow and develop new ways to bring the Jewish people closer to their maker, this was the day-in-day-out story of this incomparable tzaddik and Torah genius. The Rosh Yeshivah was the acknowledged fount of spirituality for countless people. Especially in the last decades of his life, people would leave their businesses and study halls to go to Manchester for the Days of Awe and repentance. The malls and the phone lines to northern England were crowded with messages and queries from people seeking a blessing, a prayer, guidance. Today's worldwide passion for the cause of Shmiras HaLashon, the struggle to elevate speech and banish gossip, is only one of his many legacies. In this book, we see how he grew, how he lived, how he brought aspiration, knowledge, and direction to countless others. Filled with the recollections of those who knew him or were indelibly touched by him, this volume is a repository of interesting stories and fascinating insights. This work has been deftly crafted by Rabbi Shimon Finkelman, who demonstrates once again the skill and taste that permeate his many previous works, in collaboration with Rabbi Yosef Weiss, a close talmid of the Rosh Yeshivah. This is a memorable, valuable book, a book that will leave its readers with a glimpse of greatness and an urge to rise.
by Rabbi Shimon Finkelman / Rabbi Yosef Weiss