Volozhin yeshiva

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The Volozhin Yeshiva, also known as the Eitz Chaim yeshiva, was a yeshiva situated in Volozhin, present-day Belarus in the 19th century. The yeshiva was founded by Rabbi Chaim Volozhin in 1803 who was a student of the Vilna Gaon. Volozhin is known as "the mother of yeshivas".

Chaim's son Isaac took over in 1821. When Isaac died in 1849, R. Eliezer Fried was appointed head of the Yeshiva, and R. Naftali Zvi Yehudah Berlin as assistant. Fried, does soon after in 1854. In 1854, R. Berlin became the new head along with R. Joseph Ber Soloveichik, R. Chaim's grandson. There was disagreement between the two leaders and a delegation of prominent rabbis resolved the dispute by demoting Soloveichik to assistant. In 1865, the latter left to become the rabbi in Brisk.

The Yeshiva was closed in 1892 by the Rosh HaYeshiva,Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Berlin, because the Russain goverment made to many regultains and the Rosh HaYeshiva fely he could not run the yeshiva properly anymore.

Rabbi Refael Shapiro (1837-1921) was the son-in-law of Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin. After the Volozhin yeshiva was closed down in 1892 by order of the Russian government, he reopened it, albeit on a smaller scale in 1899.