Rabbi Chaim Rapoport (b. Manchester, England, 1963) is an internationally renowned author, educator, lecturer and Judaic scholar. He lectures in London and around the world on topics pertaining to Jewish life and law and is the author of several books and articles.
Rapoport was born and raised in Manchester, England. After his schooling, Rapoport attended the Yeshivot of Manchester, Gateshead, Torat Emet in Jerusalem and the central Lubavitch Yeshivah in New York. After receiving his Rabbinic diplomas (semichah) and his marriage to Rachel Clara (née Elyovics) from Antwerp, Belgium, in 1984 he continued his studies in the United States.
In 1987 Rapoport and his wife joined the community Kollel in Melbourne, Australia, where, in addition to his post graduate studies, he officiated and lectured in several communities, including Launceston in Tasmania.
In 1989, Rapoport took up position as head of the Lubavitch Kollel in Leeds UK, a position which he occupied until the end of 1994. In the years 1994 – 1997 Rapoport served as the Rabbi of the Birmingham Central Synagogue and the Head of the Birmingham Rabbinic Board.
In September 1997 Rapoport was appointed as Rabbi to the Ilford Synagogue, Beehive Lane. In February 2005, Rapoport and the synagogue's full-time Chazan Avrom Levin were dismissed, amid controversy about the United Synagogue withdrawing funding from its smaller Jewish communities. In a statement made by the United Synagogue, they explained that the reason behind the decision was "the dire financial position of the community". [1] [2] [3]
In 1998 Rapoport was appointed as a member of the Chief Rabbi's Cabinet and Advisor to the Chief Rabbi, Jonathan Sacks, on matters of Jewish Medical Ethics and served in this position until the retirement of Rabbi Sacks in 2013. In this capacity, he served as the Chief Rabbi's spokesperson to the media and as an intermediary between himself and the British medical establishment and several other prominent organisations. During this period Rapoport gave a regular lecture to the United Synagogue Rabbinate at the London School of Jewish Studies.
In 2012 the Jewish Chronicle reported that Rapoport visits Yeshivat Chovevei Torah for a week every year to give classes there. [4]
Rapoport was a 2015 presenter at Limmud New York, where he spoke on a Friday night on the topic of: 'Halacha: Science or Art?' [5]
Rapoport has written about homosexuality from an Orthodox perspective. His book, Judaism and Homosexuality: An Authentic Orthodox View (Vallentine Mitchell, 2004), was prefaced by Dayan Berel Berkowitz, a senior Judge of the Beth Din of the Federation of Synagogues, where he describes it as "the first meaningful attempt to articulate a strictly orthodox perspective on the question of Homosexuality". The book's forward was written by the then Chief Rabbi, Jonathan Sacks who described Rapoport as "a courageous figure who has written on a difficult subject that many would rather avoid". The book stakes out a position on Homosexuality and Judaism designed "to mitigate the painful consequences of Orthodoxy's uncompromising rejection of homosexuality.", [6] exploring the intersection between halakhah and homosexuality. [7]
An article by Rapoport in which he further elaborated his views on this topic, was published by Hakira- The Flatbush Journal of Jewish Law & Thought, in 2012. [8]
In 2007 Rapoport wrote an open letter to the Yated Ne'eman newspaper calling on the editor to condemn Yeshiva University as a heretical institution. [9] However, in a lecture at Yeshiva University on 2 December 2016, Rapoport claimed that his article was in fact meant as satire.[ citation needed ]
In 2013, Rapoport gave a positive character reference for building businessman Menachem Mendel Levy during Levy's trial for sex offences that culminated in the latter's 2013 conviction and jailing on two counts of indecently assaulting a young girl. Specifically, he called him the "embodiment of repentance". Regarding Rapoport's comments to the court, victim Yehudis Goldsobel said: "I was mortified. I was embarrassed to be Jewish. It was the last straw for me." [10]
A yeshiva is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha, while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The studying is usually done through daily shiurim as well as in study pairs called chavrusas. Chavrusa-style learning is one of the unique features of the yeshiva.
Menachem Mendel Schneerson, known to adherents of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement as the Lubavitcher Rebbe or simply the Rebbe, was a Russian-American Orthodox rabbi and the 7th, final and current Rebbe of the Lubavitch Hasidic dynasty. He is considered one of the most influential Jewish leaders of the 20th century.
Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch, is a branch of Orthodox Judaism, originating from Eastern Europe and one of the largest Hasidic dynasties. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements. It is one of the largest Hasidic groups as well as one of the largest Jewish religious organizations in the world. Unlike most Haredi groups, which are self-segregating, Chabad mainly operates in the wider world and it caters to secularized Jews.
Joseph Ber Soloveitchik was a major American Orthodox rabbi, Talmudist, and modern Jewish philosopher. He was a scion of the Lithuanian Jewish Soloveitchik rabbinic dynasty.
Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin or Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin is an American Haredi Lithuanian-type boys' and men's yeshiva in Brooklyn, New York. The school's divisions include a preschool, a yeshiva ketana, a mesivta, a college-level beth midrash, and Kollel Gur Aryeh, its post-graduate kollel.
Judah David Bleich is an American Haredi rabbi and professor known for his expertise in Jewish law, ethics, and bioethics. He serves as a professor of Talmud at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary and heads its postgraduate institute for the study of Talmudic jurisprudence and family law. At Yeshiva University, he holds the Herbert and Florence Tenzer Chair in Jewish Law and Ethics. Bleich also teaches at Cardozo Law School and has been involved in governmental deliberations on bioethics.
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The Rebbe the Messiah, and the Scandal of Orthodox Indifference is a book by Rabbi Dr. David Berger on the topic of Chabad messianism and the mainstream orthodox Jewish reaction to that trend. Rabbi Berger addresses the Chabad-Messianic question, regarding a dead Messiah, from a halachic perspective. The book is written as a historical narrative of Berger's encounter with Chabad messianism from the time of the death of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson in 1994 through the book's publication in 2001. The narrative is interlaced with Dr. Berger's published articles, written correspondences, and transcribed public lectures, in which he passionately appeals to both the leadership of the Orthodox and Chabad communities for an appropriate response to Chabad-Lubavitch messianism.
The Yeshivah Centre is an Orthodox Jewish umbrella organisation in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, that serves the needs of the Melbourne Jewish community. It is run by the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, until recently, under the direct administration of Rabbi Yitzchok Dovid Groner. Rabbi Zvi Telsner has been brought as the new Dayan of the Centre and Lubavitch community.
Messianism in Chabad refers to the core belief within the Chabad-Lubavitch community—a prominent group within Hasidic Judaism—regarding the Jewish messiah. Central to this belief is the conviction that Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh Rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch dynasty, is the awaited Messiah who is leading the Jewish people into the Messianic era.
Yehuda Leib "Leibel" Groner was an American Hasidic Jewish teacher, scholar, and author. He is best known for having served as the personal secretary to Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, for 40 years.
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Chaim Zev Malinowitz was a Haredi community rabbi, dayan, and Talmudic scholar. Fluent in all areas of the Talmud, halakha, and hashkafa, he was the general editor of the 73-volume Schottenstein Edition of the Babylonian Talmud published by ArtScroll. After immigrating to Israel, he became the rabbi of Beis Tefillah Yonah Avraham, an English-speaking congregation for Anglophone Israeli immigrants in Ramat Beit Shemesh, which he led for 17 years.
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