Rav Baruch Mordechai Ezrachi (born March 27, 1929) is a prominent

Hareidi Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...

rabbi, and a leader of the non-Hassidic

Lithuanian Jews Lithuanian Jews or Litvaks () are Jews with roots in the territory of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania (covering present-day Lithuania, Belarus, Latvia, the northeastern Suwałki and Białystok regions of Poland, as well as adjacent areas ...

. He is the Rosh Yeshiva of Ateres Yisrael in

Bayit Vegan Bayit VeGan ( he, בית וגן, lit. ''House and Garden'') is a neighborhood in southwest Jerusalem. Bayit VeGan is located to the east of Mount Herzl and borders the neighborhoods of Kiryat HaYovel and Givat Mordechai. History Bronze Age A 4 ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, and a member of the Degel Hatorah Moetzas Gedolei Yisrael. Rav Ezrachi's brother is Rav

Yitzchok Ezrachi Yaakov Yitzchok Ezrachi ( he, יצחק אזרחי; born August 1933) is a Rosh Yeshiva at the Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem. Biography Ezrachi was born in Jerusalem to Yisrael Ezrachi and Hinda the daughter of Baruch Shlom, a graduate of the Kness ...

, a

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 the Mir Yeshiva in

. Rav Ezrachi is the son-in-law of the late Rabbi

Meir Chodosh Meir ( he, מֵאִיר) is a Jewish male given name and an occasional surname. It means "one who shines". It is often Germanized as Maier, Mayer, Mayr, Meier, Meyer, Meijer, Italianized as Miagro, or Anglicized as Mayer, Meyer, or Myer.Alfre ...

, ''

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 ...

'' at the

Hebron Yeshiva Hebron Yeshiva, also known as ''Yeshivas Hevron'', or Knesses Yisroel, is a yeshiva devoted to high-level study of the Talmud. It originated in 1924 when the roshei yeshiva and 150 students of the Slabodka Yeshiva, known colloquially as the "mother ...

Works

Rav Ezrachi has written many volumes of commentary on

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...

halacha ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical comman ...

Jewish festivals 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 mainstr ...

, and thought, called ''Birkas Mordechai'' (Hebrew: ''Blessings of Mordechai''). As per his

heritage, Rav Ezrachi does not employ the

Brisker method The Brisker method, or Brisker ''derech'', is a reductionistic approach to Talmud study innovated by Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik of Brisk (Brest, Belarus), as opposed to the traditional approach which was rather holistic. It has since become popular ...

even though he considers himself a protégé of Rav Dovid Soloveitchik. Rather, he uses the more traditional methods of analysing and comparing

ic texts. This involves bringing up questions on the source which challenge the students' understanding to an uncomfortable degree, then resolving the issue by reinterpreting the text to a true understanding. During his lecture one day, he asked a particularly difficult question. When he saw the students were not so involved, he shouted, "Three in this room know the answer to this question!" The students looked around, not sure to whom among them he was referring. He continued, "

HaShem HaShem ( Hebrew: ''hšm'', literally "''the name''"; often abbreviated to 'h′'' is a title used in Judaism to refer to God. It is also a given name and surname. Religious usage * In Judaism, '' HaShem'' (lit. 'the Name') is used to refer ...

, the

Rambam Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah s ...

, and me!" He then resolved the issue.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ezrachi, Baruch Mordechai Living people Haredi rabbis in Israel 1929 births