Moshe Feinstein (Hebrew: משה פײַנשטיין; Lithuanian pronunciation: Moshe Faynshteyn; English: Moses Feinstein; March 3, 1895 – March 23, 1986) was an American Orthodox rabbi, scholar, and posek (authority on halakha—Jewish law). He has been called the most famous Orthodox Jewish legal authority of the twentieth century and his rulings are often referenced in contemporary rabbinic literature. Feinstein served as president of the Union of Orthodox Rabbis, Chairman of the Council of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of the Agudath Israel of America, and head of Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem in New York.
Widely acclaimed in the Orthodox world for his gentleness and compassion, Feinstein is commonly referred to simply as "Reb Moshe" (or "Rav Moshe").
Moshe Feinstein was born, according to the Hebrew calendar, on Adar 7, 5655 (traditionally the date of birth and death of the biblical Moshe), in Uzda, near Minsk, Belarus (then part of the Russian Empire). His father, Rabbi David Feinstein, was the rabbi of Uzda and a great-grandson of the Vilna Gaon's brother. David Feinstein's father, Rabbi Yechiel Michel Feinstein, was a Koidanover Chassid. His mother was a descendant of talmudist Yom-Tov Lipmann Heller, the Shlah HaKadosh, and Rashi. He studied with his father and in yeshivas located in Slutsk, under Pesach Pruskin, and Shklov. He also had a close relationship with his uncle, Yaakov Kantrowitz, rabbi of Timkovichi, whom he greatly revered and considered his mentor. For the rest of his life, Feinstein considered Pruskin as his rebbe.

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