Maury Litwack, the director of state political affairs at the Orthodox Union, has over fourteen years of public policy and political experience. In his role at the Orthodox Union, Maury develops and implements state-by-state advocacy plans for the OU’s many communities around the country. Prior to working with the Orthodox Union, Maury served as a […]
Poignant recollections of the OU Kosher posek for nearly three decades, composed by Rabbi Belsky’s colleagues and friends at the OU.
The petirah of Rabbi Chaim Yisroel Belsky was a tragedy for the Jewish world at large as well as for our close-knit OU community. We at OU Kosher had the privilege of having Rabbi Belsky work closely with us over the years, and we had the opportunity to experience first-hand his exceptional gifts.
Rosh yeshivah, maggid shiur, rav, ba’al tefillah, mohel. Rabbi Chaim Yisroel Belsky, zt”l, held all of these titles as well as one more: posek for OU Kosher. What made Rabbi Belsky such an outstanding posek? Below are a few of the exceptional qualities I merited to observe while working with him.
Rabbi Belsky was someone who fought for the truth; he never gave a thought to how popular his position would be, or what others would say.
Below is but a sample of the breadth and scope of Rabbi Belsky’s wide-ranging rulings and how they affect every kosher consumer:
Rabbi Chaim Yisroel Belsky was not your conventional gadol. A gadol, by definition, is someone larger than life. Rabbi Belsky was not just a “larger-than-life” figure, he was truly an enigma.
Like any boy raised on Brooklyn Dodgers turf, he loved to play ball and ping-pong and roller skate. But that didn’t stop him from becoming a diehard Yankee fan. Or an American gadol.
What does it mean to be a woman with a leadership role in the Orthodox community?
My job offers the ultimate professional fulfillment. The Jewish ideal is to be a lifelong learner and to continuously be involved with things that nourish and mature your Jewish identity. A lot of women at my stage in life don’t have that luxury, and I’m so grateful to OU-JLIC for giving me that platform.
We live in an age where women are more learned than ever before. Women want to be challenged to think, and they appreciate the intellectual rigor of an in-depth shiur. Yet challenging the mind without engaging the heart is too limiting. People are searching for meaning. I try, with my shiurim, to provide a message for life, to nurture the soul as well as the mind.