The Roshei Yeshiva
After the petira of Rav Chaim of Volozhin in 1821, his son Reb Itze’le became head of the Yeshiva.
When Reb Itze’le died in 1849, Rabbi Eliezer Fried was appointed head of the Yeshiva, with Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin, known as the Natziv, as his assistant.
Unfortunately, Rabbi Fried died soon after, in 1854, whereupon Rabbi Berlin became the new head along with Rabbi Joseph Ber Soloveichik, who was the assistant Rosh Yeshiva. Rabbi Soloveichik left in 1865 to become a rabbi in Slutsk.
Yeshiva Eitz Chaim Volozhin closed in 1892 due to the Russian government’s demand for the introduction of certain secular studies. Rabbi Berlin refused to comply and was forced to close the yeshiva.
Rabbi Refael Shapiro, the son-in-law of Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin, reopened the Yeshiva in 1899, albeit on a smaller scale until 1939.
