Rabinowitz-Teomim was born 11 June 1843 in the town of in Pikeln. At the age of five his mother died and from then on, his father, Rabbi Benjamin Rabinowitz, raised him and his brother, Tzvi-Yehudah, alone. He studied Talmud and rabbinics under the tutelage of his father and by the age of fifteen he had acquired a substantial knowledge of Talmudic and rabbinic literature.
In 1875 he was invited to serve the rabbinate of the town of Panevėžys (Poneviezh). In 1893, he was appointed as the Rosh Yeshiva of Mir, where he served until 1899. He then emigrated to Jerusalem and in 1901 was appointed as assistant to the aging Rabbi Shmuel Salant, who was the chief rabbi of the Ashkenazi Perushim community in Jerusalem.
Rabinowitz-Teomim was married to Feige Minna, with whom he had seven children.
Eventually he encouraged Rabbi Kook to become the Chief Rabbi of Jaffa. He died on 3 Adar 5665 (10 March 1905).
He is buried on the Mount of Olives. Several centers of Torah education throughout Israel are named after Rabinowitz-Teomim, such as Yeshivat Bnei Akiva Aderet high school in the city of Bat Yam.
