Yeshivat Har Hamor (); is a

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 ...

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 ...

Har Homa Har Homa ( he, הר חומה, lit ''Wall Mountain''), officially Homat Shmuel, is an Israeli settlement in southern East Jerusalem, near the Palestinian city of Beit Sahour. The settlement is also referred to as "Jabal Abu Ghneim" (also "J ...

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

, founded in 1997 as an offshoot of Yeshivat

Mercaz HaRav Mercaz HaRav (officially, he, מרכז הרב - הישיבה המרכזית העולמית, "The Center of Rabbi ook- the Central Universal Yeshiva") is a national-religious yeshiva in Jerusalem, founded in 1924 by Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Abraha ...

. The president of the yeshiva is Rabbi

Zvi Thau Zvi Yisrael Thau ( he, צבי ישראל טאו, born 1938) is a Religious Zionist rabbi, a disciple of Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook, and co-founder and president of Yeshivat Har Hamor in Jerusalem. Biography Hans (Zvi Yisrael) Thau was born in Vienna t ...

, and its other heads are Rabbis Amiel Sternberg and

Mordechai Sternberg Mordecai (; also Mordechai; , IPA: ) is one of the main personalities in the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. He is described as being the son of Jair, of the tribe of Benjamin. He was promoted to Vizier after Haman was killed. Biblical acc ...

. There are currently around 450 students. Many of the students are married ("avrechim"), and the average student age is higher than at most Religious Zionist yeshivas. The name means "mountain of

myrrh Myrrh (; from Semitic, but see '' § Etymology'') is a gum-resin extracted from a number of small, thorny tree species of the genus ''Commiphora''. Myrrh resin has been used throughout history as a perfume, incense and medicine. Myrrh mi ...

", based on Song of Songs 4:6, a phrase which in the Jewish tradition refers to the

Temple Mount The Temple Mount ( hbo, הַר הַבַּיִת, translit=Har haBayīt, label=Hebrew, lit=Mount of the House f the Holy}), also known as al-Ḥaram al-Sharīf (Arabic: الحرم الشريف, lit. 'The Noble Sanctuary'), al-Aqsa Mosque compoun ...

. The word "Hamor" is also an acronym for "''Hemshech'' continuation ofMercaz HaRav".

History

The Yeshiva was founded when a group of rabbis, led by Rabbi

, broke off from Mercaz Harav. The broader cause of the separation was a disagreement between Rabbi

Avraham Shapira Avraham Shapira ( he, אברהם אלקנה כהנא שפירא; 20 May 1914, Jerusalem – 27 September 2007) was a prominent rabbi in the Religious Zionist world. Shapira had been the head of the Rabbinical court of Jerusalem, and both a ...

, head of Mercaz HaRav, and Rabbi Thau about the best approach for Torah education. The immediate cause was Rabbi Thau's opposition to the establishment of a teacher's college in the yeshiva, which in his opinion would damage the purity of the yeshiva's approach to Torah study. Much tension existed between the camps at the time, but it has declined with time. This was the first time a Religious Zionist Yeshiva has split. The yeshiva has been located at sites in several neighbourhoods in Jerusalem -

Kiryat Menachem Kiryat Menachem ( he, קרית מנחם) is a neighborhood in southwest Jerusalem. It is bordered by Ir Ganim to the south and east, Mount Ora to the west, and the Jerusalem hills to the north. To the west are steep hills that descend toward stre ...

, then

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 4,0 ...

, and then, in 2008, to

Kiryat HaYovel Kiryat HaYovel ( he, קריית היובל) is a neighborhood in southwestern Jerusalem on Mount Herzl. It was built in the early 1950s to house new immigrants. Today, Kiryat HaYovel has a population of 25,000 residents. Kiryat HaYovel is located ...

. The yeshiva moved to a newly built permanent building in the

neighbourhood in August 2017.

Ideology

The yeshiva follows the teachings of Rabbi

Abraham Isaac Kook Abraham Isaac Kook (; 7 September 1865 – 1 September 1935), known as Rav Kook, and also known by the acronym HaRaAYaH (), was an Orthodox rabbi, and the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of British Mandatory Palestine. He is considered to be one ...

and his son Rabbi

Tzvi 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 Pales ...

. It has a ''mamlachti'' ("statist") approach which sees special holiness in the institution of the State of Israel, which Rabbi Kook (the elder) termed "God's throne in the world". The yeshiva stands at the head of a number of institutions also connected to Rabbi Thau, which together are known as "Yeshivot hakav" ("yeshivas that follow the line"). In addition to the study of

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 ...

with the traditional commentators (

Rishonim ''Rishonim'' (; he, ; sing. he, , ''Rishon'', "the first ones") were the leading rabbis and ''poskim'' who lived approximately during the 11th to 15th centuries, in the era before the writing of the ''Shulchan Aruch'' ( he, , "Set Table", a ...

and Achronim), the Yeshiva puts an emphasis on the study of

Jewish thought Jewish thought ( he, מחשבת ישראל, ''Machshevet Yisrael'', or ''machshavah''), also known as Judaic thought or Hebraic thought, is a field of Jewish studies that deals with the products of Jewish thought and culture throughout the ages, an ...

(''Machshava'') according to the approach of Rabbi Kook. Students usually serve in the

Israeli army The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branc ...

in a framework called "

Hesder Hesder ( he, הסדר "arrangement"; also Yeshivat Hesder ) is an Israeli yeshiva program which combines advanced Talmudic studies with military service in the Israel Defense Forces, usually within a Religious Zionist framework. The program allo ...

Mercaz", as in Yeshivat Mercaz HaRav.

References

External links

Official website of Har Hamor

Facebook page of American Friends of Yeshivat Har Hamor'
{{Coord, 31, 45, 51, N, 35, 10, 14, E, type:landmark_source:kolossus-hewiki, display=title Orthodox yeshivas in Jerusalem Religious Zionist yeshivot Chardal Educational institutions established in 1997 Yeshivot hesder 1997 establishments in Israel