Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg
A revered rabbinic authority who bridged the vanished world of pre-war European yeshivas and modern Israeli religious life, guiding thousands.
1910–2012 (age 102)·Rabbi·Birthday: October 1·The Greatest Generation
Biography
Born in Poland, Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg was shaped by the intense Talmudic scholarship of the great Lithuanian yeshivas before the Holocaust. He carried that torch to America, founding Yeshivas Derech Chaim in Brooklyn and establishing himself as a decisive legal mind. In 1965, he moved to Jerusalem, planting his flag in the nascent Kiryat Mattersdorf neighborhood, which grew under his stewardship into a bastion of Haredi life. At his yeshiva, Torah Ore, his lectures were events, delivered with a palpable fire and a signature style—he was known for wearing dozens of pairs of tzitzit, the ritual fringes, as a personal stringency. For decades, he served as a final court of appeal for complex questions of Jewish law, his rulings carrying the weight of a lost era. His death in 2012 was seen as the closing of a chapter, marking the departure of one of the last direct links to the scholarly giants of pre-war Europe.
The Greatest Generation
1901–1927
Grew up during the Depression, fought World War II, and built the postwar economic boom. Defined by shared sacrifice, institutional trust, and a belief that hard work and loyalty would be rewarded.
Chaim was born in 1910, placing them squarely in The Greatest Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Chaim Was Born
The biggest hits of 1910
Chaim's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1910Born
Halley's Comet makes its closest approach
President: William Howard Taft
1915Started school
The Lusitania is sunk by a German U-boat
President: Woodrow Wilson
1923Became a teenager
The Great Kanto earthquake devastates Tokyo
President: Calvin Coolidge"Yes! We Have No Bananas" — Billy Jones
1926Could drive
Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket
President: Calvin Coolidge"Baby Face" — Jan Garber
1928Could vote
Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin; Mickey Mouse debuts
President: Calvin Coolidge"Ol' Man River" — Paul WhitemanBest Picture: Wings
1931Turned 21
The Empire State Building opens as the world's tallest
Gas: $0.17/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Minnie the Moocher" — Cab CallowayBest Picture: Cimarron
1940Turned 30
The Blitz: Germany bombs London
Gas: $0.18/galHome: $2,938Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"I'll Never Smile Again" — Tommy DorseyBest Picture: Rebecca
1950Turned 40
Korean War begins
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,354Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Goodnight Irene" — Gordon Jenkins & The WeaversBest Picture: All About Eve
1960Turned 50
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1970Turned 60
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1980Turned 70
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1990Turned 80
Hubble Space Telescope launched; Germany reunifies
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.80/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Hold On" — Wilson PhillipsBest Picture: Dances with Wolves
2012Died at 102
Curiosity rover lands on Mars; Sandy Hook shooting
Gas: $3.64/galHome: $143,200Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Somebody That I Used to Know" — GotyeBest Picture: Argo
Key Achievements
- Founded and served as rosh yeshiva of Torah Ore in Jerusalem, a major center of Talmudic study.
- Established Yeshivas Derech Chaim in Brooklyn, New York, in the mid-20th century.
- Was a leading posek (decisor of Jewish law) consulted on complex communal and personal halachic issues.
- Played a foundational role in the development of the Kiryat Mattersdorf neighborhood in Jerusalem as a rabbinic leader.
Did You Know?
He was known for wearing an exceptionally large number of tzitzit (ritual fringes) at once, a personal custom.
He was one of the last major rabbinic authorities to have received his education in the yeshivas of Europe before World War II.
His son, Rabbi Simcha Scheinberg, succeeded him as rosh yeshiva of Torah Ore.
“A Jew must learn Torah; it is his life and the length of his days.”
