MATLIN, MOSHE MEIR

MATLIN, MOSHE MEIR (1855–1927), Orthodox rabbi. Born in Slutzk, Lithuania, he went to Kovno to study with Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Spector, who was chief rabbi of Kovno, and was ordained there. In 1891 he came to New York at the invitation of Rabbi Jacob Joseph to become a dayyan in the newly formed bet din. He then headed the kashrut supervision for Rabbi Jacob Joseph. For two decades he was a mashgi'aḥ for kosher meats and wine while teaching Talmud privately. When his son was ready for yeshivah he helped establish the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, named in honor of his mentor, and he offered lectures there though he was not a regular member of its faculty. He was also a founder of the Agudat ha-Rabbonim, which was linked to RIETS. Because of his deteriorating health, he tried moving to Montana and farming, but he could not attract others to so rural a life and apparently he was not a skilled farmer. He then moved to Sioux City, Iowa, where he served as a rabbi and kashrut supervisor for major meat companies. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: M.D. Sherman, Orthodox Judaism in America: A Biographical Dictionary and Sourcebook (1996). (Michael Berenbaum (2nd ed.)