Chaim Walkin


Chaim Walkin is an Orthodox rabbi, dean and lecturer.

Lineage

Chaim Walkin is the scion of a rabbinical family. His grandfather, Rabbi Aron Walkin, was the Chief Rabbi of Pinsk, Belarus, and a Torah giant of his day.
His maternal grandfather, Rabbi Moshe Londinsky, headed the yeshiva in Radin with the Chofetz Chaim. His uncle and namesake, Rabbi Chaim Walkin, served as the last dean of the Volozhin yeshiva until World War II.
Walkin's father, Rabbi Shmuel Walkin, was active in rescue of Jews during World War II from Europe. He headed the Jewish community in Shanghai, and was famous for his warmth and care of all the refugees. Upon arrival in the U.S. he founded a synagogue for the refugee families and provided for their needs. The Shanghai refugees were his closest family until his death in 1979.

Childhood and education

Using unauthorized transit visas, issued by the Japanese Consul Chiune Sugihara, the Walkin family escaped from the Nazis together with the Mir yeshiva and its community from Vilna, Lithuania, via the Trans-Siberian Railway to Kobe, Japan, then to China where they found relative peace.
In 1946 the Walkin family left China for the United States and settled in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York. When Chaim Walkin was eight years old he was granted his American citizenship. The ceremony was commemorated with a photograph and an article on the front page of The New York Times and the Herald Tribune. He began his studies at Yeshiva Chaim Berlin in Brooklyn, then in Telshe yeshiva in Cleveland, Ohio.

Immigration to Israel

After his marriage in 1967, Walkin immigrated to Israel, settled in Jerusalem and established his place of study at the Mir yeshiva under the head of the yeshiva then, Rabbi Chaim Leib Shmuelevitz.

Positions

After studying at the Mir yeshiva, Walkin was appointed as an instructor in Talmud at Aish HaTorah Yeshiva in the Old City of Jerusalem, and Ohr Israel Yeshiva in Petah Tikva.
In 1989, after the death of the dean of Yeshiva Ateres Israel, Rabbi Walkin moved back to Jerusalem and took the position of Dean of Rabbinical Academy and Yeshiva Ateres Israel.

Leadership and educational agenda

Rabbi Walkin developed his signature method in line with the teachings of Rabbi Chaim Leib Shmuelevitz, with emphasis on personal attention to individual students, in groups of six to eight students at a time and short lectures with clearly defined message. He espoused a way of education through cooperation and not by harsh methods.
In July 2008, Rabbi Walkin suffered a stroke in his home in Jerusalem, which prevented him for some months from continuing his obligations in the Rabbinical Academy. After a period of rehabilitation, he returned to his position.

Publications

City of Bnei-Brak Award for his book, The World Within, 1998.