Bezalel Rakow (15 May 1927 – 20 July 2003) was a British

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 ...

who headed

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

’s Jewish community. He was the chair of the Council of Torah Sages of

Agudas Yisroel Agudas Israel may refer to: * Agudas Israel (Latvia), a political party in Latvia during the 1920s and 1930s * World Agudath Israel, the political arm of Ashkenazi Haredi Judaism *Agudat Yisrael, a political party representing the ultra-Orthodox pop ...

of Great Britain. Born in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

into a distinguished rabbinical family, Bezalel Rakow was a direct descendant of Rabbi Yomtov Lipman Heller, (author of the ''Tosafos Yomtov'' commentary on the

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah ...

). His father, Rabbi Yomtov Lipman Rakow, a pupil of the great

Volozhin yeshiva Yeshivas Etz Ḥayyim (), commonly called the Volozhin Yeshiva (), was a prestigious Lithuanian ''yeshiva'' located in the town of Volozhin, Russian Empire (now Valozhyn, Belarus). It was founded around 1803 by Rabbi Ḥayyim Volozhiner, a stude ...

, had been a rosh yeshiva in

Frankfurt-on-Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian dialects, Hessian: , "Franks, Frank ford (crossing), ford on the Main (river), Main"), is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as o ...

. In 1939, he, aged 10, his parents and his brother

Benzion Rakow Benzion Rakow (1925–1985) was a British communal rabbi and rosh yeshiva of Chayei Olam Yeshiva in Golders Green, London. He was also active in World Agudath Israel, Agudas Yisroel of Great Britain. Born in Frankfurt, Germany into a distinguish ...

were granted

asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent Asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea ...

, and settled in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Aged 18, he enrolled in Gateshead Kollel where he obtained rabbinical ordination and gained a reputation as a Talmudic scholar. In 1948, he married Miriam, daughter of Gateshead's then communal rabbi Naftoli Shakowitzky. The couple moved to

Montreux Montreux (, , ; frp, Montrolx) is a Swiss municipality and town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps. It belongs to the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, and has a population of approximat ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, where he took up a position teaching in the local yeshivah. In 1964, following his father-in-law's death, he returned to Gateshead to assume his position, thus becoming one of Orthodox Judaism's recognised world leaders. In 2002, Rabbi Rakow was at the center of debate between Jewish orthodoxy and the features of modernity that he perceived as threatening orthodox values. When British

Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi ( he, רב ראשי ''Rav Rashi'') is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a ...

Jonathan Sacks Jonathan Henry Sacks, Baron Sacks ( he, יונתן הנרי זקס, translit=Yona'tan Henry Zaks; 8 March 19487 November 2020) was an English Orthodox rabbi, philosopher, theologian, and author. Sacks served as the Chief Rabbi of the United He ...

, in his book The Dignity of Difference (2002), expressed the notion that Judaism might learn from other faiths, Rabbi Rakow publicly demanded that Sacks repudiate the thesis of the book and withdraw it from circulation.

External links

The Guardian, Obituary: Rabbi Bezalel Rakow, from: Geoffrey Alderman
1927 births 2003 deaths 20th-century English rabbis 20th-century Swiss rabbis British Orthodox rabbis Burials at Har HaMenuchot Haredi rabbis in Europe People from Gateshead People from Montreux {{Switzerland-reli-bio-stub