Yaacov Haber
Encyclopedia
Biography
Rabbi Haber was ordained in Jerusalem by Rabbi Chaim Pinchas ScheinbergChaim Pinchas Scheinberg
Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg is a Polish-born, American-raised Haredi rabbi and rosh yeshiva who, since 1965, makes his home in the Kiryat Mattersdorf neighborhood of Jerusalem, Israel. He is the rosh yeshiva of the Torah Ore yeshiva in Kiryat Mattersdorf and Yeshivas Derech Chaim in Brooklyn...
of Yeshivah Torah Ore and by Chacham Avrohom Ochana of Yeshivah Ahavat Shalom.
After his ordination in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Rabbi Haber returned to his hometown of Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
in 1979 with his family to found the Torah Center of Buffalo. During his ten years in Buffalo he served as spiritual leader, first of the Amherst Synagogue and later at the Saranac Synagogue.
From there he went to Melbourne, Australia where the Rabbi founded the Australian Institute of Torah, an adult education program that ran in almost every synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
in Australia and was attended by thousands of men and women.
Rabbi Haber was then brought back to the United States to become the National Director of Jewish Education for the Orthodox Union
Orthodox Union
The 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. It is best known for its kosher food preparation supervision service...
. In that capacity he created the extremely popular Pardes Project and many other learning programs.
Rabbi Haber was the Rav of Bais Torah Congregation in Monsey, New York
Monsey, New York
Monsey is a hamlet , in the Town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States located north of the state of New Jersey; east of Suffern; south of Airmont and west of Nanuet...
where he succeeded Rabbi Berel Wein
Berel Wein
Berel Wein is an American-born Orthodox rabbi, scholar, lecturer, and writer. He is regarded as an expert on Jewish history and has popularized the subject through more than 1,000 audio tapes, a four-volume book series, newspaper articles and international lectures...
in leading one of Monsey's most dynamic communities.
Currently, Rabbi Haber serves as President of TorahLab.http://www.torahlab.org Rabbi Haber can be reached at info@torahlab.org.
He is the author of many books in English and Hebrew and hundreds of his lectures are in circulation around the world on the internet http://www.torahlab.org, in print and on cassette tape.
A sought after lecturer and speaker, Rabbi Haber has been instrumental in forming numerous learning programs throughout the USA, Canada and Australia. His easy listening approach to teaching Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
to men and women of all walks of life has been widely acclaimed.
It was Rabbi Haber who initiated the OU's Cyber Home of Torah Project.http://www.ou.org
Since Rosh Hashana 5769 (2008), Rabbi Haber has held the position of Rabbi of Kehillas Shivtei Yeshurun http://ksy.org.il in Ramat Beit Shemesh, where he currently lives with his wife, Bayle, and children.
Interesting facts
On February 12, 2009, Rabbi Haber was booked aboard Colgan Air Flight 3407Colgan Air Flight 3407
Colgan Air Flight 3407, marketed as Continental Connection under a codeshare agreement with Continental Airlines, was a daily U.S. regional airline commuter flight from Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey to Buffalo Niagara International Airport in New York State.A Bombardier...
from Newark, NJ, to Buffalo, NY, but was forced to miss the flight because powerful winds prevented him from driving to the airport. The flight crashed on arrival in Buffalo, killing all 49 people on board.
Books by Rabbi Haber
- Conversation of Torah
- Sefiros: Spiritual Refinement Through Counting the Omer (TorahLab Publishers: 2008) (150 pp.; ISBN 978-0-9814974-1-9)
- Lev Avos on Pirkei Avos (Hebrew) (TorahLab Publishers: 2007)
- Reachings - Talks on Torah
- Critical Issues for Jews of Today
- Chidushei Rav Yosef Engel al HaTorah (Hebrew)