Meir Simcha of Dvinsk branches were established in Toronto and Montreal in Canada, and in Detroit, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia. Worldwide, branches, all bearing the name "Ohr Somayach", are Ohr Somayach, South Africa, London in the United Kingdom, Kiev in the Ukraine, and Sydney in Australia. Meir Simcha of Dvinsk Meir Simcha of Dvinsk (1843–1926) was a rabbi and prominent leader of Orthodox Judaism in Eastern Europe in the early 20th century. He was a kohen, and is therefore often referred to as "Meir Simcha ha-Kohen" ("Meir Simcha the Kohen"). He is known for his writings on Maimonides' Mishneh Torah, which he titled "Ohr
Simcha Elberg Simcha Elberg Rabbi Simcha Elberg (known as שמחה עלבערג in Hebrew) (1915–1995) was a renowned Talmudic scholar and the chairman on the executive board of the Union of Orthodox Rabbis for 25 years. He was also on the executive committee of Agudath Israel of America. Rabbi Elberg was born in Poland and ordained as a Rabbi in Warsaw by Rabbi Menachem Ziemba. He studied at Warsaw’s Emek Halacha Yeshiva, where his main teacher was Rabbi Natan Spigelglas. He edited the yeshivah’s journal, as a means to combat Haskalah, or Enlightenment. He went to the Montreaux yeshivah between 1935 and 1936