Avigdor Nebenzahl (born 1935) is an Israeli
Orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
rabbi
A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
and
Posek
In Jewish law, a ''Posek'' ( he, פוסק , pl. ''poskim'', ) is a legal scholar who determines the position of ''halakha'', the Jewish religious laws derived from the written and Oral Torah in cases of Jewish law where previous authorities a ...
. He is the senior
rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva ( he, ראש ישיבה, pl. he, ראשי ישיבה, '; Anglicized pl. ''rosh yeshivas'') is the title given to the dean of a yeshiva, a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primar ...
at
Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh
Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh (in Hebrew: ישיבת נתיב אריה) is a Religious Zionist yeshiva located at the Western Wall Plaza in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Netiv Aryeh was founded in 2003 by the current rosh yeshiva, Aharon Bina. Avigdor Neb ...
, a faculty member at
Yeshivat HaKotel
Yeshivat HaKotel ( he, ישיבת הכותל, lit=Yeshiva of the Western Wall) is a religious Zionist Hesder yeshiva situated in the Old City of Jerusalem. The yeshiva's building is located opposite the Temple Mount and overlooks the Kotel (W ...
, and rabbi of the
Ramban Synagogue. Nebenzahl previously served as rabbi of the
Old City of Jerusalem
The Old City of Jerusalem ( he, הָעִיר הָעַתִּיקָה, translit=ha-ir ha-atiqah; ar, البلدة القديمة, translit=al-Balda al-Qadimah; ) is a walled area in East Jerusalem.
The Old City is traditionally divided into ...
, before the post was handed over to his son
Chizkiyahu Nebenzahl
Chizkiyahu Nebenzahl is the current Rabbi of the Old City of Jerusalem.
Nebenzahl is the youngest son of Rabbi Avigdor Nebenzahl, the previous Rabbi of the Old City. He also serves on the faculty of Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh.
References
Extern ...
.
Biography
Avigdor Nebenzahl was born to
Yitzhak Nebenzahl
Yitzhak Ernst Nebenzahl ( he, יצחק ארנסט נֶבֶּנְצָל; 1907–1992) was appointed State Comptroller of the State of Israel after the establishment of the state in 1948. He served as State Comptroller and Ombudsman from 1961&nd ...
, the State Comptroller of the State of Israel from 1948 to 1981, Israel's Ombudsman from 1961 to 1981, and a senior officer in the Bank of Israel and the Postal Bank. His sister, Plia Albeck, was head of the Civil Department of the State Prosecutor's Office for 24 years.
[27 September 200]
"Plia Albeck, Who Paved Legal Way for 100 Settlements, Dies"
''Haaretz'' Nebenzahl's first wife, Shifra Nebenzahl (née Finkel), died on February 12, 2016. Shifra was a member of the
Mirrer Yeshiva family; her paternal grandfather,
Eliezer Yehuda Finkel Eliezer Yehuda Finkel may refer to one of the two rosh yeshivas of the Mir yeshivas:
* Eliezer Yehuda Finkel (born 1879) (1879–1965), also known as Reb Leizer Yudel, rosh yeshiva of the Mir yeshiva in Poland and Jerusalem
* Eliezer Yehuda Finke ...
was its rosh yeshiva for 48 years. Her father,
Chaim Zev Finkel
The name ''Haim'' can be a first name or surname originating in the Hebrew language, or deriving from the Old German name ''Haimo''.
Hebrew etymology
Chayyim ( he, חַיִּים ', Classical Hebrew: , Israeli Hebrew: ), also transcribed ''Haim ...
, was a ''
mashgiach ruchani
A mashgiach ruchani ( he, משגיח רוחני; pl., ''mashgichim ruchani'im'') or mashgicha ruchani – sometimes mashgiach/mashgicha for short – is a spiritual supervisor or guide. He or she is usually a rabbi who has an official position wit ...
'' (spiritual guidance counselor) of the yeshiva. Her brother-in-law, Aaron Chodosh, was a ''mashgiach'' there, and her brother
Aryeh Finkel was the rosh yeshiva of its
Brachfeld branch until his death on August 10, 2016. Nebenzahl remarried at age 83.
Rabbinic career
Nebenzahl was a faculty member of the
Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem before accepting positions at
Yeshivat HaKotel
Yeshivat HaKotel ( he, ישיבת הכותל, lit=Yeshiva of the Western Wall) is a religious Zionist Hesder yeshiva situated in the Old City of Jerusalem. The yeshiva's building is located opposite the Temple Mount and overlooks the Kotel (W ...
and
Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh
Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh (in Hebrew: ישיבת נתיב אריה) is a Religious Zionist yeshiva located at the Western Wall Plaza in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Netiv Aryeh was founded in 2003 by the current rosh yeshiva, Aharon Bina. Avigdor Neb ...
, where he has given weekly lectures. He hosts many of those students in his home for
kiddush after
Shabbat
Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...
morning prayer services. Nebenzahl's scholarly works include a commentary on the
Mishnah Berurah
The ''Mishnah Berurah'' ( he, משנה ברורה "Clear Teaching") is a work of ''halakha'' (Jewish law) by Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan (Poland, 1838–1933, also known as ''Chofetz Chaim''). It is a commentary on ''Orach Chayim'', the first section ...
, books about the laws of the
Jewish holidays
Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' ( he, ימים טובים, , Good Days, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed in Judaism and by JewsThis article focuses on practices of mainstre ...
and Shabbat (Talmud), tractate Shabbat. He is the author of essays on the weekly Torah portion. Nebenzahl was
Shlomo Zalman Auerbach's study partner for over 40 years.
Joel Landau assisted Nebenzahl in publishing one of his first works.
Views and opinions
Nebenzahl opposes Jewish tour groups to the
Temple Mount
The Temple Mount ( hbo, הַר הַבַּיִת, translit=Har haBayīt, label=Hebrew, lit=Mount of the House f the Holy}), also known as al-Ḥaram al-Sharīf (Arabic: الحرم الشريف, lit. 'The Noble Sanctuary'), al-Aqsa Mosque compoun ...
. In 2004 he stated before an Israeli court that any Jew guilty of selling parts of what he termed the
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isra ...
falls under the law of
Din Rodef
A ''rodef'' ( he, רודף, "pursuer"; , '), in traditional Jewish law, is one who is "pursuing" another to murder him or her. According to Jewish law, such a person must be killed by any bystander after being warned to stop and refusing. A sourc ...
, meaning he is subject to being killed legally under religious law. In October of that year, Nebenzahl was one of the signatories to a letter of rabbis calling on members of the
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...
to refuse to follow orders in connection with the
Israeli disengagement from Gaza
The Israeli disengagement from Gaza ( he, תוכנית ההתנתקות, ') was the unilateral dismantling in 2005 of the 21 Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip and the evacuation of Israeli settlers and army from inside the Gaza Strip.
Th ...
.
In 2017, Nebenzahl penned a letter to
Chaim Kanievsky
Shmaryahu Yosef Chaim Kanievsky ( he, שמריהו יוסף חיים קַניֶבסקִי; January 8, 1928 – March 18, 2022) was an Israeli Haredi rabbi and '' posek''. He was a leading authority in Haredi Jewish society on legal and ethical ...
, in which he decried the
Jerusalem Municipality
The Jerusalem Municipality ( he, עיריית ירושלים; Iriyat yerushalayim), the seat of the Israeli municipal administration, consists of a number of buildings located on Jaffa Road in the city of Jerusalem.
History
British Mandate ...
for sponsoring interfaith
Hanukkah
or English translation: 'Establishing' or 'Dedication' (of the Temple in Jerusalem)
, nickname =
, observedby = Jews
, begins = 25 Kislev
, ends = 2 Tevet or 3 Tevet
, celebrations = Lighting candles each night. ...
parties. In the letter, he implored Kanievsky to "instruct the members of the Knesset,
Rabbi Gafni and
Rabbi Maklev, to cancel this disgrace and remove the wrath of God from our people even before this matter becomes a big phenomenon that will be much more difficult to stop afterwards".
Published works
Teshuvot Avigdor Halevi: She'elot u-teshuvot be-4 ḥelḳe ha-shulḥan ʻarukh tanakh ṿe-nośʼim shonim
Sefer Mi-Tsiyon mikhlal yofi : ḥidushim u-veʼurim ṿe-heʻarot
Yerushalayim be-moʻadeha
Sichot al ha-Torah
References
External links
Shiurim by NebentzahlYeshivat HaKotel SiteKollel KotelNetiv Aryeh Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nebenzahl, Avigdor
1935 births
20th-century rabbis in Jerusalem
21st-century rabbis in Jerusalem
Haredi rabbis in Israel
Rosh yeshivas
Living people