study until they get married starting at around age 23, with the vast majority continuing their studies in a kollel after marriage. As a result, the role that a rosh yeshiva plays in Lithuanian Jewish communities is much more important than in the Hasidic ones. History Yeshivas continue the scholarly traditions of the sages of the Mishnah and Talmud who often headed academies with hundreds of students. In the Talmudic academies in Babylonia, the rosh yeshiva was referred to as the reish metivta ("head of the academy" in Aramaic) and had the title of gaon. Regard for the rosh yeshiva in many ways is the transplantation of Hasidic attitudes in the Lithuanian world. Dynasties Depending on the size of the yeshiva, there may be several rosh yeshivas, sometimes from one extended family. There are familial dynasties of rosh yeshivas, for example, the Soloveitchik, Finkel, Feinstein, Kotler, and Kook families, which head many yeshivas in the United States and Israel. Famous rosh yeshivas Prior to the Holocaust, most of the large yeshivas were based in Eastern Europe. Presently, the majority of the world's yeshivas and their rosh yeshivas are located in the United States and Israel. The following is a list of some famous rosh yeshivas: Rabbi Yaakov Ades Rabbi Ezra Attiya Rabbi Chaim Yehuda Leib Auerbach Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach Rabbi Leib Bakst Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Bloch Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Epstein Rabbi Moshe Feinstein Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Finkel Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel Rabbi Chaim Flom Rabbi Mordechai Gifter Rabbi Refael Reuvain Grozovsky Rabbi Chaim Yaakov Goldvicht Rabbi Eliezer Gordon Rabbi Nachman Shlomo Greenspan Rabbi Shlomo Heiman Rabbi Pinchas Hirschprung Rabbi Yitzchok Hutner Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook Rabbi Aharon Kotler Rabbi Shneur Kotler Rabbi Boruch Ber Leibowitz Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein Rabbi Dov Linzer Rabbi Eliezer Melamed Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer Rabbi M.M. Minshky Rabbi Avigdor Nebenzahl Rabbi Avraham Yaakov Pam Rabbi Yisroel Yitzchok Piekarski Rabbi Shmuel Rozovsky Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman Rabbi Yisroel Salanter Rabbi Yechezkel Sarna Rabbi Hershel Schachter Rabbi Aaron Schechter Rabbi Gedalia Schorr Rabbi Elazar Shach Rabbi Moshe Shmuel Shapira Rabbi Meir Shapiro Rabbi Naftoli Shapiro Rabbi Shimon Shkop Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz Rabbi Naftoli Trop Rabbi Chaim Volozhin Rabbi Elchonon Wasserman Rabbi Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg Rabbi Ezra Schochet Rosh mesivta The title rosh mesivta (alt.