Yitzchak Ginsburgh
Encyclopedia
Yitzchak Ginzburg is an American born Israeli
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

 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...

. He is a follower of the Chabad Lubavich movement and currently Rosh Yeshivah of the Od Yosef Chai Yeshivah in the Settlement
Israeli settlement
An Israeli settlement is a Jewish civilian community built on land that was captured by Israel from Jordan, Egypt, and Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and is considered occupied territory by the international community. Such settlements currently exist in the West Bank...

 Yitzhar
Yitzhar
Yitzhar is an Israeli settlement located in the West Bank south of the city of Nablus just off Route 60, north of the Tapuach Junction. The predominantly Orthodox Jewish community with a population of 895 is within the municipal jurisdiction of the Shomron Regional Council...

 in the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...

, and the leader of the kabbalistic Gal Einai organization. He has published numerous books. A charge of incitement to racism was dropped after he made a clarification statement.

Biography

Ginsburgh was born in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

 in 1944. His father held a PhD in education and consulted for various Jewish organizations.

While living in Philadelphia, he met a descendant of the Nadvorna
Nadvorna (Hasidic dynasty)
Nadvorna is a Hasidic rabbinical dynasty within Orthodox Judaism. The dynasty derives its name from the town of Nadvorna, known in Ukrainian as Nadvirna...

 Chassidic dynasty and at the age of 14 became a baal teshuva
Baal teshuva
Baal teshuva or ba'al teshuvah , sometimes abbreviated to BT, is a term referring to a Jew who turns to embrace Orthodox Judaism. Baal teshuva literally means, "repentant", i.e., one who has repented or "returned" to God...

. He attended the University of Chicago majoring in mathematics and philosophy. He then completed a Masters in Mathematics at the Belfer Graduate School of Yeshiva University. At the age of 22, he decided to devote himself entirely to 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...

.

In 1965 he went to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

 and studied at the Yeshivah of Kamenitz in Jerusalem. He spent 1966 through 1967 at the Slonim shul in Tiberias. After the Six Day War, Ginsburgh went to Jerusalem, and was one of the first to move into the old Jewish quarter. He started to study the Chabad school of Chassidus
Hasidic philosophy
Hasidic philosophy or Hasidus , alternatively transliterated as Hassidism, Chassidism, Chassidut etc. is the teachings, interpretations of Judaism, and mysticism articulated by the modern Hasidic movement...

 in depth. That year he visited the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Menachem Mendel Schneerson , known as the Lubavitcher Rebbe or just the Rebbe among his followers, was a prominent Hasidic rabbi who was the seventh and last Rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. He was fifth in a direct paternal line to the third Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe, Menachem Mendel...

, and remained in Crown Heights, Brooklyn
Crown Heights, Brooklyn
Crown Heights is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The main thoroughfare through this neighborhood is Eastern Parkway, a tree-lined boulevard designed by Frederick Law Olmsted extending two miles east-west.Originally, the area was known as Crow Hill....

 for several months. When he returned to Israel he married, and began to teach 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....

, Shulchan Aruch
Shulchan Aruch
The Shulchan Aruch also known as the Code of Jewish Law, is the most authoritative legal code of Judaism. It was authored in Safed, Israel, by Yosef Karo in 1563 and published in Venice two years later...

, and Chassidut to a group of students in Jerusalem.

In 1983 he was asked by the Chabad Rabbi and Jerusalem philanthropist Yosef Eliyahu Deutsch to serve as head of the Shuva Yisra'el Yeshivah on Yo'el Street. Rabbi Ginsburgh gave frequent classes on a wide variety of subjects, from the exoteric to the esoteric parts of the Torah. Many were taped and form a large parte of the 15,000 lecture archive of his classes.

Until the retreat of the IDF
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...

 from the Tomb of Joseph in Nablus
Nablus
Nablus is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located in a strategic position between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a Palestinian commercial and cultural center.Founded by the...

 during the Al-Aqsa Intifada
Al-Aqsa Intifada
The Second Intifada, also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada and the Oslo War, was the second Palestinian uprising, a period of intensified Palestinian-Israeli violence, which began in late September 2000...

 (2001), Ginsburgh served as the Rosh Yeshivah of the Od Yosef Chai Yeshivah in Nablus and as the head of a 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...

 in the ancient Shalom al Yisrael synagogue in Jericho
Jericho
Jericho ; is a city located near the Jordan River in the West Bank of the Palestinian territories. It is the capital of the Jericho Governorate and has a population of more than 20,000. Situated well below sea level on an east-west route north of the Dead Sea, Jericho is the lowest permanently...

. he has resumed his teaching at the Od Yosef Chai Yeshivah since its relocation to Yitzhar.

Ginsburgh lives with his family in Kfar Chabad
Kfar Chabad
Kfar Chabad is a Chabad-Lubavitch village in central Israel. Located between Beit Dagan and Lod, it falls under the jurisdiction of Lod Valley Regional Council. In 2007 it had a population of 5,100.-History:...

, Israel and delivers classes throughout Israel, the United States and France. He devotes most of his time and resources to writing and publishing original works on Kabbalah and Chassidut that discuss a range of topics, from commentaries on the Chumash to the relationship between Torah and science. These books are published by Gal Einai, his organization, whose name is taken from Psalms 119:18.

He has published over 70 volumes of original work in Hebrew and another 13 in English.

His students include:
  • Rabbi Shalom Arush
    Shalom Arush
    Shalom Arush is an Israeli Breslov rabbi and founder of the Chut Shel Chessed Institutions. He spreads the teachings of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov among Sephardic and Ashkenazic baalei teshuva around the world through his books and speaking appearances...

    , Head of the Chut shel Chesed Yeshivah and Institute;
  • Rabbi Yitzhak Shapira
    Yitzhak Shapira
    Yitzhak Shapira is an Israeli rabbi who in 2009 published a book in which he writes that it is permissible for Jews to kill non-Jews who threaten Israel...

     of Yitzhar
    Yitzhar
    Yitzhar is an Israeli settlement located in the West Bank south of the city of Nablus just off Route 60, north of the Tapuach Junction. The predominantly Orthodox Jewish community with a population of 895 is within the municipal jurisdiction of the Shomron Regional Council...

    .

Religious and political views

Ginsburgh advocates the reinstitution of Jewish monarchy
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...

 in the Land of Israel. He opposes efforts to remove Jewish settlements from the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...

 and encourages his followers to attempt to dissuade soldiers and police officer from carrying out evacuations. He advocates "Hebrew labor
Hebrew labor
Hebrew labor refers to the concept of hiring Jewish workers in Ottoman and Mandate Palestine.-Ottoman era:During the Second Aliyah period many Jewish immigrants to Palestine sought year round jobs on the agricultural tracts and plantations of their co-religionists who had arrived during the First...

" − the idea that Jews should only employ other Jews — and believes that Gentiles should not be allowed to live in the Land of Israel, unless they become the "righteous of the nations", accepting Jewish dominion.

Ginsburgh also supports the rebuilding of the Jewish temple, believing that this would facilitate spiritual elevation and hasten redemption. He favors the practice of Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount
Temple Mount
The Temple Mount, known in Hebrew as , and in Arabic as the Haram Ash-Sharif , is one of the most important religious sites in the Old City of Jerusalem. It has been used as a religious site for thousands of years...

, the site of the Dome of the Rock
Dome of the Rock
The Dome of the Rock is a shrine located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. The structure has been refurbished many times since its initial completion in 691 CE at the order of Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik...

 and Al-Aqsa Mosque
Al-Aqsa Mosque
Al-Aqsa Mosque also known as al-Aqsa, is the third holiest site in Sunni Islam and is located in the Old City of Jerusalem...

.

In a rabbinical responsa
Responsa
Responsa comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them.-In the Roman Empire:Roman law recognised responsa prudentium, i.e...

 published in 1995, Ginsburgh stated that "It is forbidden to kill a non-Jew who is not making war against us."

In his 2007 book Kabbalah and Meditation for the Nations Ginsburgh writes:
“Ours is the first generation in modern times to understand the truly universal human condition and to seek to bring all peoples of the earth together in peace and harmony. We are the first generation to truly understand that we are faced with the challenge of either inhabiting our planet harmoniously or not inhabiting it at all. Filling our future is the fundamentalism that threatens to pit one religion against another. But, our different relationships and understandings of G-d should not be the reason for conflict but the source of goodwill in building our relationships with one another and our ability to understand others”.

Controversy

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz
Haaretz
Haaretz is Israel's oldest daily newspaper. It was founded in 1918 and is now published in both Hebrew and English in Berliner format. The English edition is published and sold together with the International Herald Tribune. Both Hebrew and English editions can be read on the Internet...

 has called Ginsburg "a well known radical on his views on Israel Arab public", noting his "prosecution in the past for incitement to racism after having published a book insisting that there is no place for Arabs in the state of Israel".

During the trial of seven of his students for the murder of an Arab girl during a violent settler rampage through the Palestinian West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...

 village of Kifl Hares
Kifl Hares
Kifl Hares is a Palestinian town in the northern West Bank, located six kilometers west of Salfit and 18km south of Nablus in the Salfit Governorate, northwest of the Israeli settlement Ariel.-Tomb of Joshua:...

, Ginsburg said that in religious law, given the inequality between Arab and Jewish blood, Arabs who kill Jews warrant punishment, but Jews who kill Arabs should be let off. The Ashkenazi chief rabbi Avraham Shapiro condemned Ginzburg's views, the only one of the Israeli rabbinate to do so. He was cited as asserting at the time that: “Jewish blood is not the same as Arab blood. He who is not a Jew, and throws stones, or threatens Jews, comes under the (biblical injunction) 'you should kill him first'.”

In 1989, Ginsburg was quoted in the New York Times regarding his views on recent attacks against Palestinians and the rise of racism in Israel:
Rabbi Yitzhak Ginsburg had offered biblical justification for the view that the spilling of non-Jewish blood was a lesser offense than the spilling of Jewish blood. "Any trial based on the assumption that Jews and goyim are equal is a total travesty of justice", he said.


In 1994, Ginsburgh received publicity from his article "Baruch Hagever" in which he praised Baruch Goldstein
Baruch Goldstein
Baruch Kopel Goldstein was an American-born Jewish Israeli physician and mass murderer who perpetrated the 1994 Cave of the Patriarchs massacre in the city of Hebron, killing 29 Palestinian Muslim worshipers and wounding another 125....

 who had massacred
Cave of the Patriarchs massacre
The Cave of the Patriarchs massacre was a terrorist attack that occurred when Baruch Goldstein, an Israeli settler and member of the far-right Israeli Kach movement, opened fire on unarmed Palestinian Muslims praying inside the Ibrahim Mosque at the Cave of the Patriarchs site in Hebron in the...

 29 Arab worshippers at the Cave of the Patriarchs
Cave of the Patriarchs
The Cave of the Patriarchs or the Cave of Machpelah , is known by Muslims as the Sanctuary of Abraham or Ibrahimi Mosque ....

 in Hebron
Hebron
Hebron , is located in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judean Mountains, it lies 930 meters above sea level. It is the largest city in the West Bank and home to around 165,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Jewish settlers concentrated in and around the old quarter...

. Rabbi Ginsburgh wrote that it is possible to view Baruch Goldstein's act as following five Halachic principles, namely "sanctification of God's name", "saving life" (referring to testimonies that he had allegedly received regarding a planned Arab massacre of Jews), "revenge", "eradication of the seed of Amalek
Amalek
The Amalekites are a people mentioned a number of times in the Hebrew Bible. They are considered to be descended from an ancestor Amalek....

" and "war". Motti Inbari commented on this:
In his writings, Ginzburg gives prominence to Halachic and kabbalistic approaches that emphasize the distinction between Jew and non-Jew (Gentile), imposing a clear separation and hierarchy in this respect. He claims that while the Jews are the Chosen People and were created in God's image, the Gentiles do not have this status.... Ginzburg stated that, on the theoretical level, if a Jew requires a liver transplant to survive, it would be permissible to seize a Gentile and take their liver forcefully. From this point only a small further step is required to actively encourage and support the killing of non-Jews, as Ginzburg did in the case of Goldstein.

Works in English

  • The Hebrew Letters: Channels of Creative Consciousness (1995, Hardcover, 501pp.)
  • The Mystery of Marriage: How to Find Love and Happiness in Married Life (1999, Hardcover, 499pp.)
  • Awakening the Spark Within: Five Dynamics of Leadership That Can Change the World (2001, Hardcover, 200pp.)
  • Transforming Darkness Into Light: Kabbalah and Psychology (2002, Hardcover, 192pp.)
  • Rectifying the State of Israel: A Political Platform Based on Kabbalah (2002, Hardcover, 230pp.)
  • Living In Divine Space: Kabbalah and Meditation (2003, Hardcover, 288pp.)
  • Body, Mind, Soul: Kabbalah on Human Physiology, Disease and Healing (2004, Hardcover, 341pp.)
  • Consciousness & Choice: Finding Your Soulmate (2004, Hardcover, 283pp.)
  • The Art of Education: Integrating Ever-New Horizons (2005, Hardcover, 303pp.)
  • What You Need to Know About Kabbalah (2006, Hardcover, 190pp.)
  • Kabbalah and Meditation for the Nations (2007, Hardcover 200pp.)
  • Anatomy of the Soul (2008, Hardcover 144pp.)
  • A Sense of the Supernatural: Interpretation of Dreams and Paranormal Experiences (2008, Hardcover 207pp.)

Works in Hebrew

  • Adamah Shamayim Tehom, 5759 (1999, Hardcover, 374 pp.)
  • Ahava, 5771 (2010, Hardcover, 264pp.)
  • Al Yisrael Ga’avato, 5759 (1999, Hardcover, pp. 392)
  • Ani L’Dodi, 5758 (1998, Hardcover, 188 pp.)
  • Anochi V’HaYeladim, 5759 (1999, Hardcover, 126 pp.)
  • B’Ita Achisheina, 5763 (2003, Hardcover, 372 pp.)
  • Brit Hanisuin, 5757 (1997, Hardcover, 142 pp.)
  • Chasdei David HaNe’emanim, 5764 (2004 , Hardcover, 500-600 pp. ea. 5 Vols.)
  • Chatan Im Kallah, 5765 (2005, Hardcover, 354 pp.)
  • Einayich Breichot B’Cheshbon, 5771 (2010, Hardcover, 288pp.)
  • Eisa Einai, 5758 (1998, Hardcover, 412 pp.)
  • El Olam Hakabala, 5768 (2008, Hardcover, 280 pp.)
  • Emunah v’Muda’ut, 5759 (1999, Hardcover, 324 pp.)
  • Guf Nefesh V’Neshama, 5767 (2007, Hardcover, 306 pp.)
  • HaNefesh, 5767 (2007, Hardcover, 424 pp.)
  • HaTeva HaYehudi, 5765 (2005, Hardcover, 250 pp.)
  • Herkavta Enosh L’Rosheinu, 5744 (1984, Hardcover, 78pp.)
  • K’Matmonim Techapsena, 5768 (2008, Hardcover, 220 pp. ea. 2 Vols.)
  • Klal Gadol B’Torah, 5759 (1999, Hardcover, 202 pp.)
  • Kumi Ori, 5766 (2006, Hardcover, 274 pp.)
  • Lahafoch Et Hachoshech L’or, 5764 (2004, Hardcover, 204 pp.)
  • Lechiyot B’Merchav HaEloki, 5767 (2007, Hardcover, 210 pp.)
  • Lechiyot Im HaZman – Breishit, Shemot, 5770 (2010, Hardcover,~300 pp. ea 2 Vols.)
  • Lev Ladaat, 5750 (1990, Hardcover, 230 pp.)
  • Maamarei HaRebbe MiLubavitch, 5769 (2009, Hardcover, 174 pp.)
  • Maayan Ganim – Parshat HaShavua, 5762 (2002, Hardcover,~220 pp. ea. 4 Vols.)
  • Machol HaKramim, 5767 (2007, Hardcover, 166 pp.)
  • Malchut Yisrael, 5756 (2006, Hardcover, 1244 pp. 3 Vols.)
  • Melech B’Yofyo, 5766 (2006, Hardcover, 248 pp.)
  • Mevo L’Kabbalat HaAriza”l, 5766 (2006, Hardcover, 330 pp.)
  • Mivchar Shiurei Hitbonnenut, 5768 (2008, Hardcover, ~ 250 pp. ea. 9 Vols.)
  • Mudaut Tivit, 5759 (1999, Hardcover, 192 pp.)
  • Nefesh Briah, 5764 (2004, Softcover, 140 pp.)
  • Or Yisrael, 5766 (2006, Hardcover, 768 pp.)
  • Otiot Lashon HaKodesh, 5769 (2009, Hardcover, 480 pp.)
  • Otzar HaNefesh, 5770 (2010, Softcover, 254 pp. ea. 2 Vols.)
  • Panim El Panim, 5760 (2000, Hardcover, 312 pp.)
  • Rucho Shel Mashiach, 5764 (2004, Hardcover, 440 pp.)
  • Sha’arei Ahava V’Ratzon, 5756 (1996, Hardcover, 278 pp.)
  • Shechinah Beinehem, 5752 (1992, Hardcover, 208 pp.)
  • Shiurim B’Sefer Sod Hashem Lirei’av, 5771 (2010, Hardcover, 420 pp.)
  • Shlosha Ketarim, 5770 (2010, Hardcover, 440 pp.)
  • Sod Hashem Lirei’av, 5745 (1985, Hardcover, 572pp.)
  • Teshuvat HaShana, 5757 (1997, Hardcover, 316 pp.)
  • Tikkun HaMedinah,5765 (2005, Hardcover, 196 pp.)
  • Tom V’Daat, 5764 (2004 , Hardcover, 418 pp.)
  • Tzav HaSha’ah – Tipul Shoresh, 5761 (2001, Softcover, 162 pp.)
  • U’Mimena Yivashea, 5766 (2006, Hardcover, 146 pp.)
  • Yayin Mesameach, 5764 (2004 , Hardcover, ~160 pp. ea. 5 Vols.)
  • Yayin Yitzchak, 5770 (2010, Hardcover, 476pp.)

External links

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