Hershel Reichman ( he, רב צבי יוסף רייכמן) (born February 18, 1944) is an
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 ...
and
rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva ( he, ראש ישיבה, pl. he, ראשי ישיבה, '; Anglicized pl. ''rosh yeshivas'') is the title given to the dean of a yeshiva, a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primar ...
of
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS ) is the rabbinical seminary of Yeshiva University (YU). It is located along Amsterdam Avenue in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City.
Named after Yitzchak Elchanan S ...
, an affiliate of
Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City.["About YU]
on the Yeshiva Universit ...
.
Education
Reichman received a BA from
Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City.["About YU]
on the Yeshiva Universit ...
and Ph.D. in
Operations Research
Operations research ( en-GB, operational research) (U.S. Air Force Specialty Code: Operations Analysis), often shortened to the initialism OR, is a discipline that deals with the development and application of analytical methods to improve deci ...
from
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
(NYU). Reichman considers himself primarily a student of the twentieth century Talmudic genius 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 ...
. However, Reichman officially received his rabbinical ordination (
semicha
Semikhah ( he, סמיכה) is the traditional Jewish name for rabbinic ordination.
The original ''semikhah'' was the formal "transmission of authority" from Moses through the generations. This form of ''semikhah'' ceased between 360 and 425 C ...
) from
Rabbi Moshe Feinstein
Moshe Feinstein ( he, משה פײַנשטיין; Lithuanian pronunciation: ''Moshe Faynshteyn''; en, Moses Feinstein; March 3, 1895 – March 23, 1986) was an American Orthodox rabbi, scholar, and ''posek'' (authority on ''halakha''—Je ...
, with whom he studied Jewish Law in a private tutorial. In addition, Reichman is known for his passionate support of
Religious Zionism
Religious Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת דָּתִית, Romanization of Hebrew, translit. ''Tziyonut Datit'') is an ideology that combines Zionism and Orthodox Judaism. Its adherents are also referred to as ''Dati Leumi'' ( "National Religiou ...
.
Books
Rabbi Hershel Reichman, has authored seven volumes of ''Reshimos Shiurim'' which are lucid notes and explanations of Rabbi Soloveitchik's lectures on specific sections of the
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 ...
. These include the ''Mesechtot'' ("
Tractates
A tractate is a written work dealing formally and systematically with a subject; the word derives from the Latin ''tractatus'', meaning treatise.
One example of its use is in citing a section of the Talmud, when the term '' masekhet'' () is used ...
") of
Sukkah
A or succah (; he, סוכה ; plural, ' or ''sukkos'' or ''sukkoth'', often translated as "booth") is a temporary hut constructed for use during the week-long Jewish festival of Sukkot. It is topped with branches and often well decorated w ...
,
Shevuot
Shevu'ot or Shevuot (Hebrew: שבועות, "Oaths") is a book of the Mishnah and Talmud. It is the sixth volume of the book of Nezikin. Shevu'ot deals primarily with the laws of oaths in halakha
''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also tra ...
,
Nedarim
In Judaism, a neder (נדר, plural ''nedarim'') is a kind of vow or oath. The neder may consist of performing some act in the future (either once or regularly) or abstaining from a particular type of activity of the person's choice. The concept o ...
,
Bava Kamma
Bava Kamma ( tmr, בָּבָא קַמָּא, translit=Bāḇā Qammā, translation=The First Gate) is the first of a series of three Talmudic tractates in the order Nezikin ("Damages") that deal with civil matters such as damages and torts. The o ...
,
Berachot and
Yevamot
Yevamot ( he, יבמות, "Brother's Widow", also pronounced Yevamos, or Yavmus) is a tractate of the Talmud that deals with, among other concepts, the laws of Yibbum (, loosely translated in English as levirate marriage), and, briefly, with conve ...
. The Rav gave shiur for one year on the particularly challenging tractate of
Yevamot
Yevamot ( he, יבמות, "Brother's Widow", also pronounced Yevamos, or Yavmus) is a tractate of the Talmud that deals with, among other concepts, the laws of Yibbum (, loosely translated in English as levirate marriage), and, briefly, with conve ...
in the year of 1962–63. Additionally, Rav Reichman is a teacher of
Hasidism
Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...
, and is particularly fond of the philosophy of the
Shem Mishmuel
:''This article refers to the Torah book. For the second Rebbe of the Sochatchov Hasidic dynasty, see Shmuel Bornsztain.''
''Shem Mishmuel'' ( he, שם משמואל) is a nine-volume collection of homiletical teachings on the Torah and Jewish hol ...
.
Professorship
Reichman became the newest member of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary faculty to occupy an endowed chair when he was invested by President Richard M. Joel as the ''Bronka Weintraub Professor of Talmud'' on September 18, 2006 in the Harry Fischel Beit Midrash of Zysman Hall on the Wilf Campus.
Yeshiva University News - Rabbi Reichman Named to Bronka Weintraub Chair: Rabbi Harold J. Reichman Invested As Bronka Weintraub Professor in Talmud at RIETS
Reichman also gives a weekly shiur at Rambam Mesivta in Lawrence, NY.
Family
Reichman's father was born in Belz
Belz ( uk, Белз; pl, Bełz; yi, בעלז ') is a small city in Lviv Oblast of Western Ukraine, near the border with Poland, located between the Solokiya river (a tributary of the Bug River) and the Richytsia stream. Belz hosts the administ ...
, Poland to a family of Belzer Hasidim
Ḥasīd ( he, חסיד, "pious", "saintly", "godly man"; plural "Hasidim") is a Jewish honorific, frequently used as a term of exceptional respect in the Talmudic and early medieval periods. It denotes a person who is scrupulous in his observ ...
. After World War II, Reichman's grandfather served as an emissary of the Belzer Rebbe
A Rebbe ( yi, רבי, translit=rebe) or Admor ( he, אדמו״ר) is the spiritual leader in the Hasidic movement, and the personalities of its dynasties.Heilman, Samuel"The Rebbe and the Resurgence of Orthodox Judaism."''Religion and Spiritua ...
, Rabbi Aharon Rokeach
Aharon Rokeach (19 December 1880Israel, Yosef (2005). "Rescuing the Rebbe of Belz". NY:Mesorah Publications, Ltd. . – 18 August 1957) was the fourth Rebbe of the Belz Hasidic dynasty. He led the movement from 1926 until his death in 1957.
...
.
One of Rabbi Reichman's sons, Rabbi Zev Reichman, is a teacher at the Mechinah program (James Striar School of General Jewish Studies
The James Striar School of General Jewish Studies, informally known as the Mechinah Program, is a comprehensive program in Jewish studies for students seeking to improve and further their basic skills and knowledge of Jewish studies. JSS is the on ...
) at Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City.["About YU]
on the Yeshiva Universit ...
. The younger Reichman has written a book about Hasidic thought calle
''Flames of Faith: An Introduction to Chassidic Thought''
adapted from the Torah classes of Rabbi Moshe Wolfson
Moses ( el, Μωϋσῆς),from Latin and Greek Moishe ( yi, משה),from Yiddish Moshe ( he, מֹשֶׁה),from Modern Hebrew or Movses (Armenian: Մովսես) from Armenian is a male given name, after the biblical figure Moses.
According to th ...
, and has translated the book Haser Ka'as Milibecha, under the titl
Remove Anger from Your Heart
Another of Rabbi Reichman's sons, Rabbi Moshe Nechemia Reichman, is a senior Ra"m of Yeshivat Torat Shraga
Yeshivat Torat Shraga (or Yeshivas Toras Shraga)See Taw (letter) is a post-high school yeshiva in Bayit Vegan, Jerusalem. Rabbi Avishai David is the rosh yeshiva. It is located on the Yeshiva University Israel campus and conducts its Torah study in ...
in Israel.
Reichman resides in Washington Heights, New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
.
References
External links
Rabbi Reichman's shiurim at yutorah.org
Rabbi Reichman's shiurim at Naaleh
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reichman, Hershel
American Modern Orthodox rabbis
Yeshiva University rosh yeshivas
Living people
1944 births