Grodno Governorate
Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz was born in Kosava, in the Grodno Governorate of the Russian Empire (now Brest Region, Belarus), the eldest son of Shmaryahu Yosef Karelitz, the rabbi of Kosava; his mother was Rasha Leah, the daughter of Shaul Katzenelbogen. Avraham Yeshaya was born after his older brother Meir.