Daniel Landes is the former director of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem and New York City.

Biography

Born in Chicago, Landes studied in Chicago with Rabbi M.B. Sacks, the Menachem Tzion; in Israel with Reb Aryeh Levin,

Zvi Yehuda Kook Zvi Yehuda Kook ( he, צבי יהודה קוק, 23 April 1891 – 9 March 1982) was a prominent ultranationalist Orthodox rabbi. He was the son of Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak Hacohen Kook, the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of British Mandatory Palest ...

, and the

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 ...

, R. Avrum Shapiro. In New York. Landes studied with

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 ...

; and in Los Angeles with Din R. Shmuel Katz (on whose rabbinical court he served). Landes was a founding faculty member of The Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles (director of education) and of Yeshiva of Los Angeles (The Van Lennop Chair of Social Ethics). He was also an adjunct associate professor of law at Loyola Law School. Landes taught for the

Wexner Foundation The Wexner Foundation focuses on the development of Jewish professional and volunteer leaders in North America and public leaders in Israel. Founded by Leslie Wexner, CEO of Limited Brands, and his wife, Abigail Wexner, the headquarters are loca ...

for over 20 years. Landes came to Pardes in 1995 as director and has been active in creation of advanced

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 ...

classes, Bekiut Talmud, the Fellows, PEP, 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); ...

, the Executive Seminar Programs, the annual Blaustein and Brettler Scholar Series, Pardes USA and strengthening of the Pardes Beit Midrash. Landes was the first rabbi to be invited by

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

to speak publicly (at the Forum of Religions). Pardes announced in July 2016, that " ter 21 years of dedicated service to Pardes, Rabbi Daniel Landes will be leaving at the end of the summer." Landes is director of YASHRUT, having founded the institute in 2018 to build civil discourse through a theology of integrity, justice, and tolerance. YASHRUT includes a semikhah initiative as well as programs for rabbinic leaders. Landes has ordained forty-three rabbis during his career, seven of which received semikhah from Landes under the auspices of YASHRUT in 2019. In 2019 in Jerusalem, Landes ordained Daniel Atwood; Atwood thus became the first openly gay person to be ordained as an Orthodox rabbi.

Publications

Landes and his wife Sheryl Robbin, a social worker and author, write on Biblical and ethical issues. *Co-editor with

Alex Grobman Alex Grobman is an American historian.
"Holocaust revisionism deconstructed," Feb. 4, 2006, Josh Bains ...

of ''Genocide: Critical Issues/ The Holocaust'' *Editor of ''Confronting Omnicide: Jewish Reflections of Weapons of Mass Destruction'' *

Jewish Law ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws which is derived from the Torah, written and Oral Tora ...

commentator for the ten-volume interdenominational work ''My People’s Prayer Book'' (recipient of the National Jewish Book Award) *Published articles in '' Tikkun'' and '' Jewish Review of Books'', as well as other magazines, journals and newspapers.

References

External links

Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, Jerusalem and New York City

Articles by Rabbi Landes on ''Haaretz''

Blog posts by Rabbi Landes on ''Times of Israel''

Israeli Orthodox rabbis American Orthodox rabbis Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American Jews {{MEast-rabbi-stub