Rabbi is the term in Judaism for a religious teacher. The word rabbi derives from the Hebrew root word , rav, which in biblical Hebrew means ‘great’ in many senses, including "revered." The word comes from the Semitic root R-B-B, and is cognate to Arabic ربّ rabb, meaning "lord" Rabbi ' onMouseout='HidePop("40664")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Orthodox_Judaism">Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism is a formulation of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmudic texts and as subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and Acharonim.Orthodox...
.
Biography
Rabbi Stolper is a disciple of Rabbi Yitzchak Hutner and studied at the
Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim BerlinYeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin, is a major Haredi yeshiva located in Brooklyn, New York. Established in 1904, it is the oldest yeshiva to be founded in Brooklyn...
and at its
Kollel Gur AryehKollel Gur Aryeh is a kollel for young married Orthodox men located in Brooklyn, New York. It was established in 1956 by Rabbi Yitzchok Hutner as the post-graduate division of the Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin. A number of well-known Haredi scholars and rosh yeshivas are among its alumni.The kollel is...
in
BrooklynBrooklyn is one of the five boroughs of New York City, located southwest of Queens on the western tip of Long Island. An independent city until its consolidation with New York in 1898, Brooklyn is New York City's most populous borough, with 2.5 million residents, and second largest in area...
. He holds degrees from
Brooklyn CollegeBrooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New York...
and the Graduate Faculty of the New School for Social Research.
He was the founder and National Director of the
National Conference of Synagogue YouthNCSY is an Modern Orthodox Jewish youth group sponsored by the Orthodox Union. Founded in 1954, it has tens of thousands of members in the United States, Canada, Israel, Chile, and formerly also in Ukraine. Its slogan is Inspiring the Jewish Future...
(NCSY) of the
Orthodox UnionThe Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America , more popularly known as the Orthodox Union , is one of the oldest Orthodox Jewish organizations in the United States...
. He subsequently served for close to twenty years as the head of the Orthodox Union as its executive vice-president.
During more than forty years of working with Jewish youth, much of this at NCSY, he met and counseled thousands of young people, and is regarded as having played a major role in the
Baal teshuvaBaal teshuva or ba'al teshuvah , sometimes abbreviated to BT, is a term referring to a Jewish person who embraces Orthodox Judaism. Baal teshuva literally means, "master of return", i.e., one who has repented or "returned" to God...
("returnees [to Judaism]") movement.
Rabbi Stolper defended Rabbi
Baruch LannerBaruch Lanner is an American Orthodox rabbi who was convicted of child sexual abuse.-Career:Lanner was the principal of Hillel Yeshiva High School in Ocean Township, New Jersey and later the director of regions for the Orthodox Union's National Conference of Synagogue Youth, Baruch Lanner (born...
, who was found to have engaged in the serial sexual and physical abuse of teenagers under NCSY auspices. Stolper said he didn't think any of the victims had suffered as much as Lanner had.
Works
Rabbi Stolper has published:
- Pesach (NCSY, first published 1962)
- Tested Teen Age Activities NCSY, first published 1964)
- Revelation what Happened on Sinai? (NCSY, first published 1966)
- Jewish Alternatives in Love, Dating and Marriage (NCSY, first published 1967). Renamed: The Sacred Trust: Love, Dating and Marriage: The Jewish View
- How do I Know it is Kosher (NCSY, first published 1968)
- Real Messiah: A Jewish Response to Missionaries (NCSY, first published 1976)
- Purim in a New Light: Mystery, Grandeur and Depth: Revealed through the writings of Rabbi Yitzchak Hutner (Israel Book Shop, first published 2003)
- Living Beyond Time: The Mystery and Meaning of the Jewish Festivals (Shaar Press/ArtScroll, first published 2003)
- Chanukah in a New light: Grandeur, Heroism and Dept: As revealed through the writings of Rabbi Yitzchak Hutner (Israel Book Shop, first published 2005)
External links
Articles by Pinchas Stolper: