Chaim Brovender (born 1941) is an Israeli

Modern Orthodox Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosoph ...

and

Religious Zionist Religious Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת דָּתִית, translit. ''Tziyonut Datit'') is an ideology that combines Zionism and Orthodox Judaism. Its adherents are also referred to as ''Dati Leumi'' ( "National Religious"), and in Israel, the ...

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 ...

Biography

Brovender was born in 1941 in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York. He attended

Yeshivah of Flatbush The Yeshivah of Flatbush is a Modern Orthodox private Jewish day school located in the Midwood section of Brooklyn, New York. It educates students from age 2 to age 18 and includes an early childhood center, an elementary school and a secondary sc ...

, a coeducational modern Orthodox day school. He later graduated from

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City."About YU
on the Yeshiva Universit ...

, where he earned a BA in mathematics and received rabbinical ordination from Rabbi

Joseph B. Soloveitchik Joseph Ber Soloveitchik ( he, יוסף דב הלוי סולובייצ׳יק ''Yosef Dov ha-Levi Soloveychik''; February 27, 1903 – April 9, 1993) was a major American Orthodox rabbi, Talmudist, and modern Jewish philosopher. He was a scion ...

. In 1965 he and his wife made moved to Jerusalem, Israel. Until 1967, he studied in the

Kollel A kollel ( he, כולל, , , a "gathering" or "collection" f scholars is an institute for full-time, advanced study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features shiurim (lectures) and learning ''sedarim'' (sessions); ...

Yeshivas Itri Yeshivas Itri ( he, ישיבת איתרי) is an Orthodox yeshiva in southeast Jerusalem. Founded in 1968 by Rabbi Mordechai Elefant, the yeshiva has several branches in Israel and the United States, and spawned several educational programs for D ...

(the Israel Torah Research Institute), under Rabbi Mordechai Elefant. In 1974 Brovender completed a

Doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

Semitic languages The Semitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are spoken by more than 330 million people across much of West Asia, the Horn of Africa, and latterly North Africa, Malta, West Africa, Chad, and in large immigra ...

from

Hebrew University The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

. In 1967, on the advice of Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, Brovender founded Hartman College, in Romema, Jerusalem (under the aegis of the Israel Torah Research Institute). Its purpose was to serve as a Yeshiva for American students who wanted to study in Israel. In 1976, Rabbi Brovender founded

Yeshivat HaMivtar Yeshivat Torat Yosef - Hamivtar (ישיבת תורת יוסף - המבתר) is a men's yeshiva located in Efrat in the West Bank. The Roshei Yeshiva are Rabbi Yonatan Rosensweig and Rabbi Shlomo Riskin. The institution is primarily focused on post ...

French Hill French Hill ( he, הגבעה הצרפתית, ''HaGiv'a HaTzarfatit'', ar, التلة الفرنسية, ''at-tel al-faransiya''), also Giv'at Shapira ( he, גִּבְעַת שַׁפִּירָא) is an Israeli settlement in northern East Jerusa ...

, Jerusalem. That same year, Brovender established

Midreshet Lindenbaum Midreshet Lindenbaum (), originally named Michlelet Bruria, is a midrasha in Talpiot, Jerusalem. It counts among its alumnae many of the teachers at Matan, Nishmat, Pardes and other women's and co-ed yeshivas in Israel and abroad. History Michl ...

, originally named Michlelet Bruria, as the woman's component of

Yeshivat Hamivtar Yeshivat Torat Yosef - Hamivtar (ישיבת תורת יוסף - המבתר) is a men's yeshiva located in Efrat in the West Bank. The Roshei Yeshiva are Rabbi Yonatan Rosensweig and Rabbi Shlomo Riskin. The institution is primarily focused on post ...

. Brovender successfully ran Yeshivat HaMivtar alone until 1985, when he merged it with the network of educational institutions founded by Rabbi

Shlomo Riskin Shlomo Riskin (born May 28, 1940) is an Orthodox rabbi, and the founding rabbi of Lincoln Square Synagogue on the Upper West Side of New York City, which he led for 20 years; founding chief rabbi of the Israeli settlement of Efrat in the Israeli- ...

called

Ohr Torah Stone Ohr Torah Stone (OTS) ( he, אור תורה סטון) is an international Modern Orthodox movement that aims to develop Jewish life, learning, and leadership. The organization is led by Rabbi Dr. Kenneth Brander. In 1983 OTS was founded by Rabb ...

. In 2007 Rabbi Brovender launched WebYeshiva.org, the first live and fully interactive online

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are s ...

. Rabbi Brovender served as a ''Rav Tzavai'' ( army rabbi) for more than 20 years.

2000 beating incident

In October 2000, Brovender was beaten by Palestinian police and protesters. At the time, he was the head of the

in the

Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...

Efrat Efrat ( he, אֶפְרָת), or previously officially Efrata ( he, אֶפְרָתָה), is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, established in 1983 in the Judean Mountains. Efrat is located south of Jerusalem, between Bethlehem and Hebron, ...

, and was driving from the yeshiva to his home in

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

when he drove past a Palestinian village to bypass a road closed by recent unrest, and was pulled over by Palestinian police. Palestinian security forces managed to extract him from the scene after about an hour and hand him over to Israeli troops.Rabbi Brovender beaten by PA police
''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...

'', 6 October 2000 His vehicle was destroyed by the Palestinian mob.

References

External links

ATID WebsiteTerror at the Tunnels by Miriam BrovenderA Conversation with Rabbi Chaim BrovenderThe growing legacy of Rabbi Chaim Brovender
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brovender, Chaim American emigrants to Israel American Orthodox rabbis Israeli Orthodox rabbis Religious Zionist rosh yeshivas Yeshiva of Flatbush alumni Yeshiva University alumni Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni Jewish educators Living people 1941 births