Aharon Lichtenstein
Encyclopedia
Aharon Lichtenstein is a noted Orthodox
rabbi
and rosh yeshiva
.
Rabbi Lichtenstein was born in Paris
, France
, but grew up in the United States
, studied in Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin
under Rabbi Yitzchok Hutner
. He earned a BA
and semicha
("rabbinic ordination") at Yeshiva University
and a PhD
in English Literature at Harvard University
, where he studied under Douglas Bush
.
After serving as Rosh yeshiva
at Yeshiva University for several years, Rabbi Lichtenstein answered Rabbi Yehuda Amital
's request in 1971 to join him at the helm of Yeshivat Har Etzion
, located in Gush Etzion
, Israel
, and moved to Jerusalem. He still maintains a close connection to Yeshiva University as a Rosh Kollel
for the Gruss Institute in Jerusalem, an affiliate of Yeshiva University and its rabbinical school, Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary
.
In 2005, he and his wife Dr. Tovah (née Soloveitchik) moved to Alon Shvut
, where Yeshivat Har Etzion is located. They were married in 1960 and have six children.
On January 4, 2006, Rabbi Yaaqov Medan
and Rabbi Baruch Gigi
were officially invested as co-roshei yeshiva
alongside Rav Amital and Rav Lichtenstein, with an eye toward Rabbi Amital's intention to retire. On October 28, 2008, Rav Lichtenstein's eldest son, Rabbi Mosheh Lichtenstein, was officially invested as co-Rosh Yeshiva, simultaneous with Rav Amital's official retirement, this time with an eye toward Rav Aharon Lichtenstein's eventual plan to retire.
He is committed to intensive and original Torah study
and articulates a bold Jewish worldview that embraces elements of modernity within the framework of a Torah life, reflecting the tradition of his teacher and father-in-law, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik in line with Centrist Orthodoxy.
He is a source of inspiration for a wide circle of Jewry, for both his educational attainments and his intellectual and spiritual leadership.
He is especially admired by many centrist Modern Orthodox leaders.
Based on Rabbi Lichtenstein's Talmud
classes at Yeshivat Har Etzion, his students' notes have been edited and published as Shiurei Harav Aharon Lichtenstein on Tohorot
, Zevahim, the eighth chapter of Bava Metzia
, the third chapter of Bava Batra
, the Ramban
's pamphlet on Dinah DiGarmi, the first chapter of Pesahim
and several critical chapters of Gittin.
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
and rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva, , , is the title given to the dean of a Talmudical academy . It is made up of the Hebrew words rosh — meaning head, and yeshiva — a school of religious Jewish education...
.
Rabbi Lichtenstein was born in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, but grew up in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, studied in Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin
Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin
Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin or Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin, is a Haredi Lithuanian-type yeshiva located in Brooklyn, New York. Established in 1904 as Yeshiva Tiferes Bachurim, it is the oldest yeshiva in Kings County...
under Rabbi Yitzchok Hutner
Yitzchok Hutner
Yitzchok Hutner was an Orthodox rabbi and American rosh yeshiva.-Early years:Yitchok Hutner was born in Warsaw, Poland, to a family with both Ger Hasidic and non-Hasidic Lithuanian Jewish roots. As a child he received private instruction in Torah and Talmud...
. He earned a BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
and semicha
Semicha
, also , or is derived from a Hebrew word which means to "rely on" or "to be authorized". It generally refers to the ordination of a rabbi within Judaism. In this sense it is the "transmission" of rabbinic authority to give advice or judgment in Jewish law...
("rabbinic ordination") at Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a private university in New York City, with six campuses in New York and one in Israel. Founded in 1886, it is a research university ranked as 45th in the US among national universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2012...
and a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in English Literature at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, where he studied under Douglas Bush
Douglas Bush
Douglas Bush was a literary critic and literary historian. He taught for most of his life at Harvard University, where his students included many of the most prominent scholars, writers, and academics of several generations, including Walter Jackson Bate, Neil Rudenstine, Paul Auster and Rabbi...
.
After serving as Rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva, , , is the title given to the dean of a Talmudical academy . It is made up of the Hebrew words rosh — meaning head, and yeshiva — a school of religious Jewish education...
at Yeshiva University for several years, Rabbi Lichtenstein answered Rabbi Yehuda Amital
Yehuda Amital
Yehuda Amital was an Orthodox rabbi, the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion and a former member of the Israeli cabinet.-Biography:Amital was born in Oradea in Romania. When Germany occupied the area in 1944, the Nazis sent his entire family to Auschwitz where they were killed. Amital was sent to...
's request in 1971 to join him at the helm of Yeshivat Har Etzion
Yeshivat Har Etzion
Yeshivat Har Etzion, ', commonly known as "Gush," is a hesder yeshiva located in Alon Shvut, a community in Gush Etzion in the West Bank, near Jerusalem, Israel. With a student body of 484, it is one of the largest hesder yeshivas in Israel...
, located in Gush Etzion
Gush Etzion
Gush Etzion is a cluster of Israeli settlements located in the Judaean Mountains directly south of Jerusalem and Bethlehem in the West Bank, Palestinian territories. The core group includes four agricultural villages that were founded in 1940-1947 on property purchased in the 1920s and 1930s, and ...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, and moved to Jerusalem. He still maintains a close connection to Yeshiva University as a Rosh Kollel
Kollel
A kollel is an institute for full-time, advanced study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features shiurim and learning sedarim ; unlike a yeshiva, the student body of a kollel are all married men...
for the Gruss Institute in Jerusalem, an affiliate of Yeshiva University and its rabbinical school, Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary , or Yeshivat Rabbeinu Yitzchak Elchanan, is the rabbinical seminary of Yeshiva University, located in Washington Heights, New York. It is named after Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor, who died the year it was founded, 1896...
.
In 2005, he and his wife Dr. Tovah (née Soloveitchik) moved to Alon Shvut
Alon Shvut
Alon Shvut is an Israeli settlement located southwest of Jerusalem, one kilometer northeast of Kfar Etzion, in the West Bank. Established in June 1970 in the heart of the Etzion bloc, Alon Shvut became the prototype for Jewish settlements in the region. It is administered by the Gush Etzion...
, where Yeshivat Har Etzion is located. They were married in 1960 and have six children.
On January 4, 2006, Rabbi Yaaqov Medan
Yaaqov Medan
Rabbi Yaaqov Medan is a co-Rosh yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion in Gush Etzion, south of Jerusalem, and a lecturer in Tanakh, gemara, and Jewish philosophy....
and Rabbi Baruch Gigi
Baruch Gigi
Rabbi Baruch Gigi is a co-Rosh yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion in Gush Etzion, south of Jerusalem.He was born in Morocco and immigrated to Israel at the age of 11. He first attended Yeshivat Har Etzion as a student in 1974 after studying in a yeshiva high school in Haifa. He was ordained by the...
were officially invested as co-roshei yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva, , , is the title given to the dean of a Talmudical academy . It is made up of the Hebrew words rosh — meaning head, and yeshiva — a school of religious Jewish education...
alongside Rav Amital and Rav Lichtenstein, with an eye toward Rabbi Amital's intention to retire. On October 28, 2008, Rav Lichtenstein's eldest son, Rabbi Mosheh Lichtenstein, was officially invested as co-Rosh Yeshiva, simultaneous with Rav Amital's official retirement, this time with an eye toward Rav Aharon Lichtenstein's eventual plan to retire.
He is committed to intensive and original Torah study
Torah study
Torah study is the study by Jewish people of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature and similar works, all of which are Judaism's religious texts...
and articulates a bold Jewish worldview that embraces elements of modernity within the framework of a Torah life, reflecting the tradition of his teacher and father-in-law, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik in line with Centrist Orthodoxy.
He is a source of inspiration for a wide circle of Jewry, for both his educational attainments and his intellectual and spiritual leadership.
He is especially admired by many centrist Modern Orthodox leaders.
Works
- By His Light: Character and Values in the Service of God, based on Lichtenstein's addresses and adapted by Reuven Ziegler ISBN 0-88125-796-6
- Leaves of Faith (vol. 1): The World of Jewish Learning
- Leaves of Faith (vol. 2): The World of Jewish Living
- Varieties of Jewish Experience
Based on Rabbi Lichtenstein's Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
classes at Yeshivat Har Etzion, his students' notes have been edited and published as Shiurei Harav Aharon Lichtenstein on Tohorot
Tohorot
Tohorot is the sixth order of the Mishnah . This order deals with the clean/unclean distinction and family purity. This is the longest of the orders in the Mishnah. There are 12 tractates:...
, Zevahim, the eighth chapter of Bava Metzia
Bava Metzia
Bava Metzia is the second of the first three Talmudic tractates in the order of Nezikin , the other two being Bava Kamma and Bava Batra. Originally all three formed a single tractate called Nezikin , each Bava being a Part or subdivision...
, the third chapter of Bava Batra
Bava Batra
Bava Batra is the third of the three tractates in the Talmud in the order Nezikin; it deals with a person's responsibilities and rights as the owner of property. It is part of Judaism's oral law...
, the Ramban
Ramban
Ramban, RaMBaN can refer to:* Nahmanides , Rabbi Moshe ben Nahman, Catalan rabbi, philosopher, physician, Kabbalist and biblical commentator* Ramban Synagogue in East Jerusalem* Cave of the Ramban in East Jerusalem...
's pamphlet on Dinah DiGarmi, the first chapter of Pesahim
Pesahim
Pesahim is the third tractate of Seder Moed of the Mishnah and of the Talmud. It is concerned mainly with the laws of the Jewish holiday Passover as well as the Passover lamb offering...
and several critical chapters of Gittin.
External links
- Developing a Torah Personality - Series of shiurim based on addresses by Harav Aharon Lichtenstein, posted by The Israel Koschitzky Virtual Beit Midrash of Yeshivat Har Etzion
- "An Ideal Rosh Yeshiva". "a broad overview of the recent volumes of Rav Aharon Lichtenstein’s thought. "Edah Journal 5:1 (Tammuz, 2005)] (PDF), Dr Alan Brill
- Bibliography of Harav Aharon Lichtenstein - Posted by the Israel Koschitzky Virtual Beit Midrash of Yeshivat Har Etzion