ʻEts ḥayim (Yeshivah

Yeshivas Etz Ḥayyim (Hebrew: ישיבת עץ חיים, romanized: Yešivaṯ ʿēṣ ḥayyim, lit. 'Tree of Life Yeshiva'), commonly called the Volozhin Yeshiva (Yiddish: וואלאזשינער ישיבה), was a prestigious Litvish yeshiva located in the town of Volozhin in the Russian Empire (now Valozhyn, Belarus). It was founded around 1803 by Chayim Volozhiner, a student of the famed Vilna Gaon, and trained several generations of scholars, rabbis, and leaders. It is considered the first modern yeshiva, and served as a model for later Misnagdic educational institutions. The institution reached its zenith under the leadership of Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin, who became rosh yeshiva in 1854. In 1892, demands of the Russian authorities to increase secular studies forced the yeshiva to close. It re-opened on a smaller scale in 1899 and functioned until the outbreak of World War II in 1939. During the War German soldiers used the building as a stable, and it was subsequently converted into a canteen and deli. The site was returned to the Jewish community of Belarus in 1989. It is considered a cultural and architectural landmark, and in 1998, the Volozhin Yeshiva was registered on the State List of Historical and Cultural Monuments of the Republic of Belarus.