Fishel Jacobs is an American-Israeli

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 ...

, martial artist, ex-Israel prison service officer, author, and speaker.

Early years and education

Jacobs was born in 1956 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 ...

, raised in

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

, and has lived in Israel since 1979. In 1974, Jacobs earned a black belt in karate from the International

Tang Soo Do Tang Soo Do (Hangul: 당수도, Hanja: 唐手道 ) refers to a Korean martial art based on Karate and may include fighting principles from subak (as described in the Kwon Bup Chong Do), as well as northern Chinese martial arts. Before the ...

Association. He graduated from the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a public land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is among the oldest universities in the United ...

. Jacobs holds a PhD degree (equivalency) from the Israel Department of Religion, and completed training as a Rabbinic attorney from the Harry Fischel Institute for Talmudic Research. In 2006, he was promoted to Eighth Degree Black Belt Master Instructor by Dr. Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim. Rabbi Jacobs with inmates

Work

After spending fourteen years studying in the rabbinical school,

Tomchei Temimim Tomchei Tmimim ( he, תומכי תמימים, "supporters of the complete-wholesome ones") is the central Yeshiva (Talmudical academy) of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement. Founded in 1897 in the town of Lubavitch by Rabbi Sholom Do ...

, in Kfar Chabad, Israel, Jacobs served as emissary of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Schneersohn from 1998 to 2007, and the Chabad-Lubavitch Campus chaplain at

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...

. Concurrently, from 1992 until 2005 he served as a full-time chaplain, a staff-officer with the rank of Major, in the

Israel Prison Service Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

(IPS). In 2005, Jacobs published the first book describing life within the IPS, republished in 2016 under the title ''Coffee Melts Bars: My Israeli Prison Career''. He is also the author of the '' Two Kings'' series of children's books. Jacobs is a

Chabad Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic grou ...

-Lubavitch Rabbi and speaker. He has published ten non-fiction books, including works on difficult areas of practical Talmudic law. His interviews, articles and columns have appeared in Jewish and mainstream media. Jacobs is the responding rabbi for a few websites that deal in practical Talmudic law. He performs karate demonstrations while speaking at college campuses, youth groups, communities and corporations.

Personal life

Jacobs is married to Miriam, the Director of Tan"ach (scriptural commentaries) division of Beth Rivkah Seminary, Kfar Chabad. They have seven children.

Publications

* ''Family Purity: A Guide to Family Purity'', , Campus Living and Learning (2000) * ''Israel Behind Bars: True Stories of Hope And Redemption'', , (2005) * ''

Blech A ''blech'' (from the Yiddish word בלעך (blekh) meaning " tin" or " sheet metal") is a metal sheet used by many observant Jews to cover stovetop burners (and for some, the cooker's knobs and dials) on Shabbos (the Jewish Sabbath), as part of ...

Book – Complete & Illustrated Guide'', , Merkos Linyonei Chinuch (2007) * ''Two Kings'', , Israel Bookshop Publications (2009)."Two Kings"
Jewish Book Council. Retrieved September 19, 2016. * ''Coffee Melts Bars: My Israeli Maximum Security Prison Life'', , Gefen Publishing (2016)

References

External links

Fishel Jacobs
Official site {{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobs, Fishel Living people 1956 births American Hasidic rabbis Israeli Hasidic rabbis American religious writers Israeli male writers University of Vermont alumni American expatriates in Israel Jewish American writers Israeli male karateka American male karateka Orthodox rabbis from New York City People from Brooklyn Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries Israeli chaplains