ר׳ אברהם ישעיהו קרליץ

ר׳ אברהם ישעיהו קרליץ (1878–1953), affectionately called ר׳ שעיה’לה and universally known as the חזון איש, was a Lithuanian-born posek and the formative Haredi authority of early Bnei Brak. Born in Kosava to ר׳ שמריהו יוסף קרליץ and Rasha Leah Katzenelbogen, he developed largely through private study and family scholarly circles. After marrying Batya Greineman he lived in Kvidan, Stowbtsy, Minsk and Vilna amid the upheavals of the First World War and revolution. He published the first חזון איש anonymously in 1911, eventually producing a wide-ranging series on the Talmud and halakhah. In 1933 he immigrated to Mandatory Palestine and settled in Bnei Brak, deliberately holding no salaried office while becoming a central address for rabbis, physicians, farmers, yeshiva leaders and public representatives. His rulings shaped observance of agricultural commandments, halakhic measurements, electricity, medicine, Sabbath and communal policy. He helped strengthen the Charedi yeshiva world and advised figures including ר׳ יוסף שלמה כהנמן and his brother-in-law ר׳ יעקב ישראל קניבסקי. He died at his Bnei Brak home in 1953 and was buried in the Shomrei Shabbos cemetery.