Yechiel Perr

Rabbi Yechiel Yitzchok Perr (1935 – May 4, 2024) was an American rabbi. He was the founder and rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Derech Ayson (Yeshiva of Far Rockaway) in Far Rockaway, New York.

Biography

Yechiel Yitzchak Perr was born in 1935,^[1] and grew up in South Ozone Park, Queens, where his father, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Perr served as a rabbi for over 50 years.^[2] He attended high school at Mesivta Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin. After completing high school, he studied at the Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia, and then at Lakewood Yeshiva in Lakewood, New Jersey, under Rabbi Aharon Kotler from 1954 to 1962.^[3]^[1]

Rabbi Perr married Shoshana Nekritz, daughter of Rabbi Yehuda Leib Nekritz, granddaughter of Rabbi Avraham Yoffen, and great-granddaughter of 'the Alter of Novardok', Rabbi Yosef Yozel Horwitz. After his marriage he came into contact with the Novardok tradition. He went on to study at Yeshivat Beis Yosef-Novardok in Brooklyn, New York. In 1969, he established the Yeshiva of Far Rockaway, which also runs a high school and an accredited rabbinical studies program.^[3]

A series of his conversations on Mussar are described in the following books by Alan Morinis:

Climbing Jacob's Ladder. Broadway, 2002. ISBN 0-7679-0645-4.
Everyday Holiness: The Jewish Spiritual Path of Mussar. Trumpeter Books, 2007. ISBN 1-59030-368-7.

Rabbi Perr died on May 4, 2024, at the age of 89.^[4]

Published works

"Reb Yisroel – Who Was He?" The Jewish Observer, June 1969.
Tzidkus Stands Forever: The Life and Lessons of Rabbi Menachem M. Perr zt”l, September 2011.
Shoshanas Ha'amakim: Parsha Lessons, Life Lessons, 2019.
מגילות רות ואסתר עם פירוש שושנת העמקים, ‎2020. A commentary on the books of Esther and Ruth, in Hebrew.
שושנת העמקים על מועדי השנה, ‎2021. Lectures on the festivals, in Hebrew.

Additionally, Rabbi Yehuda Keilson published two books, Mind Over Man and Faith Over Fear, based on Rabbi Perr's Mussar lectures on Madreigas Ha’adam.

On July 20, 2022, David Jemal published Choosing Not To Choose, based on Perr's Mussar lectures on the Tekufos Ha'Olam section of the Madreigas Ha'adam.

References

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Kobre, Eytan. "Not Just a Malach, But a Saraf". Mishpacha, November 14, 2012, pp. 34–47.
^ "Rabbi Menachem Mendel Perr". kevarim.com. April 30, 2008. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Bernstein, Dovid (February 7, 2009). "Yeshiva of Far Rockaway Dinner Tonight, Ben Brafman to MC". matzav.com. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
^ "Rav Yechiel Yitzchok Perr zt"l". Matzav. May 4, 2024. Retrieved May 5, 2024.