Rav Chaim Fasman

Chaim Zelig was a child on the move. His father, Rabbi Oscar Fasman, led one kehillah after another until finally settling in Chicago, where he took the helm of Beis Medrash L’Torah (Skokie). Chaim, an outstanding bachur, learned in the yeshiva until his Rebbe, Reb Mendel Kaplan, sent him off to Eretz Yisrael to advance his learning. The Ponevezher Rav chose to prepare his shiurim with Chaim. The Brisker Rav accepted him as one of the fifteen original talmidim in his yeshiva. Rav Aharon Kotler invited him to be his talmid in Lakewood. But the yeshiva that would ultimately define the still “out-of-town” bachur, was Bais Hatalmud. There, Chaim studied under Reb Leib Malin and became the talmid muvhak of Reb Chaim Visoker, who primed him in teaching Torah and understanding people. After his marriage, Chaim set out to fulfill his dream of spreading Torah in America. Rabbi Chaim Fasman did the unthinkable — he left the sheltered confines of the yeshiva world for Los Angeles, California, which he envisioned as a city thirsty for Torah. He founded one of the first kollelim in America and transformed Los Angeles into a flourishing empire of Torah. This is the fascinating story of Rabbi Chaim Fasman, builder of Torah in America.