Aaron Leibowitz

Last updated

Aaron Leibowitz is an American-born Israeli rabbi.

Rabbinic and political career

Aaron Leibowitz is a noted educator, [1] and started Hashgacha Pratit, a kosher certification independent of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate. [2] He also founded and headed Yeshiva Sulam Yaakov. Additionally, he is a councilor on the Jerusalem municipality for the Yerushalmim party. [3]

In 2018 Leibowitz handed over the kosher certification to the larger organization, Tzohar, however Leibowitz remained CEO of Hashgacha Pratit. The organization began officiating weddings outside of the Chief Rabbinate, despite this being illegal in Israel. He called the Chief Rabbinate "racist" because of their views on who is a Jew, and their use of DNA testing to determine Jewish status. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mashgiach</span> Jew who supervises the kashrut status of a kosher establishment

A mashgiach or mashgicha is a Jew who supervises the kashrut status of a kosher establishment. Mashgichim may supervise any type of food service establishment, including slaughterhouses, food manufacturers, hotels, caterers, nursing homes, restaurants, butchers, groceries, or cooperatives. Mashgichim usually work as on-site supervisors and inspectors, representing a kosher certification agency or a local rabbi, who actually makes the policy decisions for what is or is not acceptably kosher. Sometimes certifying rabbis act as their own mashgichim; such is the case in many small communities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shlomo Goren</span> Polish-born Israeli rabbi (1917–1994)

Shlomo Goren, was a Polish-born Israeli rabbi and Talmudic scholar. An Orthodox Jew and Religious Zionist, he was considered a foremost rabbinical legal authority on matters of Jewish religious law (halakha). In 1948, Goren founded and served as the first head of the Military Rabbinate of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), a position he held until 1968. Subsequently, he served as Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv–Jaffa between 1968 and his 1972 election as the Chief Rabbi of Israel; the third Ashkenazi Jew to hold office. After his 1983 retirement from the country's Chief Rabbinate, Goren served as the head of a yeshiva that he established in Jerusalem.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chief Rabbinate of Israel</span> Leading authority of Judaism in Israel

The Chief Rabbinate of Israel is recognized by law as the supreme rabbinic authority for Judaism in Israel. The Chief Rabbinate Council assists the two Chief Rabbis, who alternate in its presidency. It has legal and administrative authority to organize religious arrangements for Israel's Jews. It also responds to halakhic questions submitted by Jewish public bodies in the Diaspora. The Council sets, guides, and supervises agencies within its authority.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marriage in Israel</span> Legal status of marriages and divorces in the state of Israel

In Israel, marriage can be performed only under the auspices of the religious community to which couples belong, and inter-faith marriages performed within the country are not legally recognized. However, marriages performed abroad or remotely from Israel must be registered by the government. Matrimonial law is based on the millet or confessional community system which had been employed in the Ottoman Empire, including what is now Israel, was not modified during the British Mandate of the region, and remains in force in the State of Israel.

Machon Gold was an Orthodox Jewish girl's seminary founded in 1958 by the Torah Education Department of the World Zionist Organization and named after Rabbi Wolf Gold, one of the signatories of the Israeli declaration of independence. It was arguably the first such seminary intended for students from the US. The school closed in 2008 due to financial considerations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haim Amsalem</span> Israeli politician

Rabbi Haim (Emile) Amsalem is an Israeli politician and a former member of the Knesset. Following a rift between him and his former party Shas, he established the Am Shalem party to run for the 2013 Knesset elections, but failed to win any seats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avraham Yosef</span> Former Chief Rabbi of Holon

HaravAvraham Yosef is the former Chief Rabbi of Holon and Sephardi representative on the Chief Rabbinate Council. He stepped down from his positions after pleading guilty to breach of trust, after using his office to promote his family's financial interests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yitzhak Yosef</span> Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel (born 1952)

Yitzhak Yosef is an Israeli Haredi rabbi. The Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, he also serves as the rosh yeshiva of Yeshivat Hazon Ovadia in Jerusalem's Romema neighbourhood.

Tzohar Rabbinical Organization is an Israeli organization of over 800 religious Zionist Orthodox rabbis. It aims to bridge the gaps between religious and secular Jews in Israel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yerushalmim</span>

Yerushalmim is an Israeli local civilian organization and political party in Jerusalem.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rachel Azaria</span> Israeli politician

Rachel Azaria, is an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Kulanu. She previously served as deputy mayor and member of the Jerusalem City Council.

Alternative Kosher refers in Israel to the phenomenon, especially among restaurants in Jerusalem, where restaurants abandon the procedure of obtaining kosher certification from the traditional establishment players in favor of extra-establishment entities in order to obtain a kosher certificate for their businesses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seal-K</span> Kosher certification organization

Seal-K Kosher is a kosher certification organization. The organization provides kosher supervision and certification for commercial kitchens, in addition to certifications for food production and shaatnez testing. The organization has its office in Chicago in 2021.

Chuck Davidson is an American Orthodox rabbi who made Aliya to Israel. His willingness to challenge the religious establishment of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate, specifically in the realms of marriage and conversion, has been controversial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hashgacha Pratit (organization)</span> Israel-based Organization with both female and male clergy

Hashgacha Pratit (השגחה-פרטית) is an independent, Israel-based organization with both female and male clergy that self-describes as providing an alternative form of Orthodox Rabbinical authority and social activism group dedicated to challenging the monopoly of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel over religious ceremonies and practices, through the provision of private religious ceremonies. Founded in 2012 by Rabbi Aaron Leibowitz in Jerusalem, Israel, it offers alternative halachic services in life-cycle events, rabbinical training, and other courses in religious education. It has provided private kashrut supervision for restaurants, worked on raising public awareness and finding loopholes in the laws to circumvent the Chief Rabbinate's monopoly, first regarding Kashrut, by leading the movement to open the kosher food market to competition, and today regarding Orthodox wedding ceremonies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ne'emanei Torah Va'Avodah</span> Religious Zionist nonprofit organization

Ne’emanei Torah Va’Avodah (Hebrew: נאמני תורה ועבודה is a nonprofit organization in Israel that focuses on education research and policy in the Religious Zionist community. The organization supports democratizing the State-controlled religious services, so that the public plays a greater role in religious decision making and functions.

Elections for the positions of Chief Rabbis of Israel were held at the Leonardo Hotel in Jerusalem on 24 July 2013. The elections were to elect the chief rabbis for the Ashkenazi and Sephardi communities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States</span> Union of rabbis serving in Muslim-majority countries

The Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States is a union of rabbis serving communities in Muslim-majority countries and regions, established by Rabbi Mendy Chitrik in 2019 with the objective of supporting Jewish life in Muslim countries and regions. It is the first rabbinic association in the Muslim world and serves at least 100,000 Jews throughout various countries. Its activity is approved by Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel Yitzchak Yosef.

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Chitrik, better known as Rabbi Mendy Chitrik, is an American, Israeli, and Turkish Rabbi of the Ashkenazi Jewish community of Turkey since 2003. He became the chairman of the Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Levi Duchman</span> Rabbi of the Jewish community in the UAE

Levi Duchman is the first resident chief rabbi of the United Arab Emirates. He also serves as the head of the Jewish congregation of Abu Dhabi, of the Jewish Community Center of UAE in Dubai, and as a member of the executive board of the Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States.

References

  1. "Leadership". www.sulamyaakov.com. Retrieved 2018-01-24.
  2. "Hiddush - Private kosher certification: Integrity or Fraud?". hiddush.org. Retrieved 2018-01-24.
  3. "Rising to the challenge". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2018-01-24.
  4. "Chief Rabbinate admits using DNA tests to help determine Jewish status - Israel News - Jerusalem Post". www.jpost.com. Retrieved 2019-03-07.