Zev Leff
Encyclopedia
Zev Leff, Rav
of moshav
Matityahu, Mateh Binyamin
, Israel, is an American-born Orthodox
Jewish rabbi and a widely-popular Torah educator who teaches and lectures regularly at English-speaking yeshivot
, girls' schools, community centers, synagogue
functions, and other events in Israel, as well as in England, South Africa and the United States. Known for his wit, humor and analytical brilliance, Rabbi Leff's taped lectures on Torah and Jewish themes are distributed worldwide. He is also the author of a book on the weekly Torah portion and a prolific columnist for English-language newspapers and magazines.
to non-observant Jewish parents, Rabbi Leff attended a local Hebrew school
. When his family moved to the Greater Miami area
, he decided to increase his religious observance and enrolled at the Hebrew Academy of Greater Miami. Since his learning skills were not up to par with other boys his age (fifth grade), he was placed in a third-grade class. Within two years he had caught up to his grade, and also made the decision to become Shomer Shabbat
.
For high school, Rabbi Leff attended the Mesivta of Greater Miami, where he was regularly assigned to the yeshiva's most advanced shiurim. Afterwards he studied at the Telshe yeshiva
in Cleveland, Ohio, where he received his semicha
and became a close talmid (student) of Rabbi Mordechai Gifter
In late 1968, he married Rivkah Minkoff of Ellenville, New York
. The couple settled in Cleveland, where Rabbi Leff learned in kollel
and supervised the Telshe dormitory.
visit to Miami in 1974, Rabbi Leff delivered holiday sermons at the Young Israel of Greater Miami in North Miami Beach. His sermons were so well received that after the holiday, he was invited to apply for the position of rabbi. With the encouragement of Rabbi Gifter, he accepted a one-year contract.
Rabbi Leff served as the Rav of the 300 families of Young Israel of Greater Miami for nine years. He worked with the NCSY
chapter in his synagogue
and also taught at the mesivta (high school) he attended as a teenager. His ability to understand both religious and secular Jews made him a popular leader and advisor.
to Israel, where Rabbi Leff became the rav and mora d’asra (leader of the community) of Moshav Matityahu
, a small settlement
now adjacent to Modi'in Illit
(Kiryat Sefer). Matityahu is about five minutes' drive from the newer city of Modi'in.
In addition to his communal duties, Rabbi Leff serves as rosh yeshivah of Yeshiva Gedolah Matityahu and oversees a 20-member kollel
. He also teaches a group of unaffiliated Israelis who live near the moshav. Every Tisha B'Av
, he opens his beth midrash
to hundreds of English-speakers from across Israel for an hours-long running commentary on the Kinnot
.
Rav Leff's Torah shiurim are known for their depth of knowledge, personal insights, wit and humor. He has spoken about and recorded lessons on a wide range of themes, including the weekly Torah portion, Jewish philosophy
, Jewish holiday
s, Amud Yomi
, Jewish marriage, the role of women in Judaism, and current events.
He is a faculty member of Darchei Binah Women's School for Advanced Torah Studies, Derech Institute for Torah Studies, and the Jewish Learning Exchange of London. He also teaches at Seminar Yerushalayim, Neve Yerushalayim
, EYAHT College of Jewish Studies for Women, Michlala Women's College, Bnot Torah, Ohr Lagolah Institute, Ohr Somayach, Jerusalem
, Darchei Noam, and the Institute for the Training of Religious Family Counselors in Bnei Brak, among others. His regular Monday-morning shiur at the NCSY-Orthodox Union
Israel Center in Jerusalem is popular among senior citizens.
He has been a featured speaker at the conventions of the Orthodox Union, Agudath Israel of America
, Torah Umesorah
, and the International Association of Jewish Outreach Programs (AJOP)
. He is a rabbinical consultant for the Refuah Institute and Baruch Rofeh Cholim.
He was a regular columnist for the now-defunct Jewish Women's Outlook and the English-language Yated Ne'eman (Israel).
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...
of moshav
Moshav
Moshav is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists during the second aliyah...
Matityahu, Mateh Binyamin
Matityahu, Mateh Binyamin
Matityahu is a moshav and Israeli settlement in the West Bank, located approximately midway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, near the city of Modi'in. Matityahu was initially founded in 1981 by a group of English-speaking immigrants from the United States and elsewhere, and it is now home to a...
, Israel, is an American-born Orthodox
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...
Jewish rabbi and a widely-popular Torah educator who teaches and lectures regularly at English-speaking yeshivot
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
, girls' schools, community centers, 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...
functions, and other events in Israel, as well as in England, South Africa and the United States. Known for his wit, humor and analytical brilliance, Rabbi Leff's taped lectures on Torah and Jewish themes are distributed worldwide. He is also the author of a book on the weekly Torah portion and a prolific columnist for English-language newspapers and magazines.
Early life
Born in the Bronx, New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
to non-observant Jewish parents, Rabbi Leff attended a local Hebrew school
Hebrew school
Hebrew school can be either the Jewish equivalent of Sunday school - an educational regimen separate from secular education, focusing on topics of Jewish history and learning the Hebrew language, or a primary, secondary or college level educational institution where some or all of the classes are...
. When his family moved to the Greater Miami area
South Florida metropolitan area
The South Florida metropolitan area, also known as the Miami metropolitan area, and designated the Miami–Fort Lauderdale–Pompano Beach, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area by the U.S...
, he decided to increase his religious observance and enrolled at the Hebrew Academy of Greater Miami. Since his learning skills were not up to par with other boys his age (fifth grade), he was placed in a third-grade class. Within two years he had caught up to his grade, and also made the decision to become Shomer Shabbat
Shomer Shabbat
A shomer Shabbat or shomer Shabbos is a person who observes the mitzvot associated with Judaism's Shabbat...
.
For high school, Rabbi Leff attended the Mesivta of Greater Miami, where he was regularly assigned to the yeshiva's most advanced shiurim. Afterwards he studied at the Telshe yeshiva
Telshe yeshiva
Telshe yeshiva was a famous Eastern European yeshiva founded in the Lithuanian town of Telšiai. After World War II the yeshiva relocated to Wickliffe, Ohio, in the United States and is currently known as the Rabbinical College of Telshe, It is one of the most prominent Haredi institutions of Torah...
in Cleveland, Ohio, where he received his 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...
and became a close talmid (student) of Rabbi Mordechai Gifter
Mordechai Gifter
Rabbi Mordechai Gifter was the rosh yeshiva of the Telz Yeshiva in Cleveland and among the foremost religious leaders of Orthodox Jewry in the late 20th century. He studied in yeshivas in Lithuania and held several rabbinical positions in the United States of America.-Biography:Mordechai Gifter...
In late 1968, he married Rivkah Minkoff of Ellenville, New York
Ellenville, New York
Ellenville is a village in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 4,135 at the 2010 census. The postal ZIP code is 12428. The telephone exchange is predominantly 647 and an overlaid 210 in the 845 area code.- Geography :...
. The couple settled in Cleveland, where Rabbi Leff learned in 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...
and supervised the Telshe dormitory.
Entering the rabbinate
During a PassoverPassover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
visit to Miami in 1974, Rabbi Leff delivered holiday sermons at the Young Israel of Greater Miami in North Miami Beach. His sermons were so well received that after the holiday, he was invited to apply for the position of rabbi. With the encouragement of Rabbi Gifter, he accepted a one-year contract.
Rabbi Leff served as the Rav of the 300 families of Young Israel of Greater Miami for nine years. He worked with the NCSY
National Conference of Synagogue Youth
NCSY is an Orthodox Jewish youth group sponsored by the Orthodox Union. Founded in 1954, it has members in the United States, Canada, Israel, Chile, and formerly also in Ukraine. Its slogan is Inspiring the Jewish Future...
chapter in his 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...
and also taught at the mesivta (high school) he attended as a teenager. His ability to understand both religious and secular Jews made him a popular leader and advisor.
Torah educator in Israel
In 1983, the Leff family made aliyahAliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
to Israel, where Rabbi Leff became the rav and mora d’asra (leader of the community) of Moshav Matityahu
Matityahu, Mateh Binyamin
Matityahu is a moshav and Israeli settlement in the West Bank, located approximately midway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, near the city of Modi'in. Matityahu was initially founded in 1981 by a group of English-speaking immigrants from the United States and elsewhere, and it is now home to a...
, a small 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...
now adjacent to Modi'in Illit
Modi'in Illit
Modi'in Illit is a Haredi Israeli settlement and a city in the West Bank, situated midway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Modi'in Illit was granted city status by the Israeli government in 2008. It is located six kilometres northeast of Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut and is often referred to as Kiryat...
(Kiryat Sefer). Matityahu is about five minutes' drive from the newer city of Modi'in.
In addition to his communal duties, Rabbi Leff serves as rosh yeshivah of Yeshiva Gedolah Matityahu and oversees a 20-member 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...
. He also teaches a group of unaffiliated Israelis who live near the moshav. Every Tisha B'Av
Tisha B'Av
|Av]],") is an annual fast day in Judaism, named for the ninth day of the month of Av in the Hebrew calendar. The fast commemorates the destruction of both the First Temple and Second Temple in Jerusalem, which occurred about 655 years apart, but on the same Hebrew calendar date...
, he opens his beth midrash
Beth midrash
Beth Midrash refers to a study hall, whether in a synagogue, yeshiva, kollel, or other building. It is distinct from a synagogue, although many synagogues are also used as batei midrash and vice versa....
to hundreds of English-speakers from across Israel for an hours-long running commentary on the Kinnot
Kinnot
Kinnot are dirges or elegies traditionally recited by Jews on Tisha B'Av to mourn the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem and other tragedies in Jewish history, including the Crusades and the Holocaust...
.
Rav Leff's Torah shiurim are known for their depth of knowledge, personal insights, wit and humor. He has spoken about and recorded lessons on a wide range of themes, including the weekly Torah portion, Jewish philosophy
Jewish philosophy
Jewish philosophy , includes all philosophy carried out by Jews, or, in relation to the religion of Judaism. Jewish philosophy, until modern Enlightenment and Emancipation, was pre-occupied with attempts to reconcile coherent new ideas into the tradition of Rabbinic Judaism; thus organizing...
, Jewish holiday
Jewish holiday
Jewish holidays are days observed by Jews as holy or secular commemorations of important events in Jewish history. In Hebrew, Jewish holidays and festivals, depending on their nature, may be called yom tov or chag or ta'anit...
s, Amud Yomi
Mishnah Berurah
The Mishnah Berurah is a work of halakha by Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan , also colloquially known by the name of another of his books, Chofetz Chaim "Desirer of Life."...
, Jewish marriage, the role of women in Judaism, and current events.
He is a faculty member of Darchei Binah Women's School for Advanced Torah Studies, Derech Institute for Torah Studies, and the Jewish Learning Exchange of London. He also teaches at Seminar Yerushalayim, Neve Yerushalayim
Neve Yerushalayim
Neve Yerushalayim is a network of Orthodox Jewish colleges for Jewish women, with a based in Har Nof, Jerusalem.Founded in 1970 by Rabbi Dovid Refson as an institution for young college-age female Baal teshuvas , Neve Yerushalayim has since broadened its mandate to offer Jewish studies programs...
, EYAHT College of Jewish Studies for Women, Michlala Women's College, Bnot Torah, Ohr Lagolah Institute, Ohr Somayach, Jerusalem
Ohr Somayach, Jerusalem
Ohr Somayach was founded in 1970. It is a yeshiva based in Jerusalem, Israel, catering mostly to young Jewish men, usually of college age, who are already interested in learning about Judaism...
, Darchei Noam, and the Institute for the Training of Religious Family Counselors in Bnei Brak, among others. His regular Monday-morning shiur at the NCSY-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...
Israel Center in Jerusalem is popular among senior citizens.
He has been a featured speaker at the conventions of the Orthodox Union, Agudath Israel of America
Agudath Israel of America
Agudath Israel of America , is a Haredi Jewish communal organization in the United States loosely affiliated with the international World Agudath Israel.-Functions:...
, Torah Umesorah
Torah Umesorah - National Society for Hebrew Day Schools
Torah Umesorah – National Society for Hebrew Day Schools is an Orthodox Jewish organization that fosters and promotes Torah-based Jewish religious education in North America by supporting and developing a loosely affiliated network of 760 independent private Jewish day schools catering to more...
, and the International Association of Jewish Outreach Programs (AJOP)
Association for Jewish Outreach Programs
The Association for Jewish Outreach Programs also known by its abbreviation AJOP The Association for Jewish Outreach Programs also known by its abbreviation AJOP The Association for Jewish Outreach Programs also known by its abbreviation AJOP (originally officially called the Association for Jewish...
. He is a rabbinical consultant for the Refuah Institute and Baruch Rofeh Cholim.
He was a regular columnist for the now-defunct Jewish Women's Outlook and the English-language Yated Ne'eman (Israel).
Books
- Outlooks and Insights On the Weekly Torah Portion (ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications, 1999).
- Shemoneh Esrei: the Depth and Beauty of our Daily Tefillah (Targum Press, 2008).
- Festivals of Life: the Depth and Meaning of the Moadim (Targum Press, 2009).
CDs
- Jewish Heritage Journey with Rabbi Leff: A Multimedia Jewish Heritage Journey to Lithuania, Poland & Belarus (Shorashim Productions and Grafix Mediaworx, distributed by Torah Educational Software).