Rabbi Joseph Ber Soloveitchik (1903–1993), widely known as “the Rav,” is considered one of the most influential Orthodox Jewish thinkers and teachers of the twentieth century. Born into a famous rabbinic family – my father, Rabbi Dr. Nathan Drazin, studied under his father – he inherited the rigorous analytical approach to Talmud associated with his grandfather, Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik of Brisk. He also studied philosophy at the University of Berlin, earning his doctorate, and brought Western philosophical learning into conversation with traditional Jewish thought. He became the rosh yeshiva (rabbinic head) of Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary at Yeshiva University in 1941. For decades, he taught Talmud and Jewish philosophy and trained approximately 2,000 rabbis.
(Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin)