Rabbi Moshe-Zvi Neria ( he, משה צבי נריה, 29 January 1913 – 12 December 1995) was an Israeli educator, writer, 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 ...

who served as a member of the Knesset for the National Religious Party between 1969 and 1974. Neria established and headed the Bnei Akiva yeshiva in Kfar Haroeh, and was one 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 of ...

's most influential disciples. Due to his far-reaching influence on Religious Zionism, he is known as "the father of the knit kippah generation."

Biography

Born Moshe-Zvi Menkin in Łódź in the Russian Empire (today in Poland), Neria was educated at yeshivas in Minsk and

Shkloŭ Shklow ( be, Шклоў, ; Škłoŭ; russian: link=no, Шклов, ''Shklov''; yi, שקלאָוו, ''Shklov'', lt, Šklovas, pl, Szkłów) is a town in Mogilev Region, Belarus, located north of Mogilev on the Dnieper river. It has a railway s ...

. He made

aliyah Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the Israel, State of Israel ...

to Mandatory Palestine in 1930, and studied at the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva with Rabbi

, receiving certification as a rabbi. He also studied in the Mizrachi teachers seminary in Jerusalem. At one point he resided in the

Knesset Yisrael Knesset Yisrael ( he, כנסת ישראל, Ashkenazi pronunciation ''Knesses Yisroel'', lit. "Community of Israel"), also known as Knesset, is the name of a group of three former courtyard neighborhoods in central Jerusalem. Known as Knesset Ale ...

neighborhood. He helped establish the Bnei Akiva youth movement, and edited its publication ''Zra'im''. In 1940 he founded the first Bnei Akiva yeshiva in Kfar Haroeh, serving as its headmaster and teaching Talmud and Jewish thought. He later established several yeshiva high schools and Hesder yeshivas for

IDF IDF or idf may refer to: Defence forces * Irish Defence Forces * Israel Defense Forces *Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006 * Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917 Organizations * Israeli Diving Federation * Interac ...

soldiers. In addition, he founded the

Hapoel HaMizrachi Hapoel HaMizrachi ( he, הַפּוֹעֵל הַמִּזְרָחִי, lit. '' Mizrachi Workers'') was a political party and settlement movement in Israel. It was one of the predecessors of the National Religious Party and the Jewish Home. History ...

Rabbinical Association. In

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

he was elected to the Knesset on the National Religious Party list for one term. He left the party in 1983 to establish the Religious Zionist Camp (also known as Mazad). Rabbi Neria died on the 19th of Kislev, 5756 (1995), at the age of 82. His last words were: "Give me ''kedushah'' (holiness), it is ''kedushah'' that I seek! The holiness of the Land of Israel, the holiness of the love of Israel, the holiness of the Nation of Israel." Rabbi Neria and his wife Rachel had eight children. His eldest is Rabbi Nachum Neriya,

of Torah Betziyon in Efrat, Israel. Rabbi Neria's grandson is Rabbi Ariel Bareli.

Writings

When he saw that the public venerated Rav Kook but knew very little about his special approach to Torah, Rabbi Neriah published several books combining biographical material on Rav Kook together with excerpts from his writings, dealing with topics such as redemption, the rebuilding of the land of Israel, Torah and prayer. These include: * ''Orot HaTefilah'' - on prayer * ''Moadei HaRe'iyah'' on Shabbat and Jewish holidays * ''Chayei HaRe'iyah'' on the period when Rav Kook was chief rabbi of

Jaffa Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...

* ''Likutei HaRe'iyah'' * ''Sichot HaRe'iyah'' * ''Bisdei HaRe'iyah'' * ''Tal HaRe'iyah'' * ''Mishnat HaRav'' - ten chapters on the foundations of Rav Kook's philosophy

Views

When asked whether a rabbi should be involved in politics. He replied, "Absolutely not. In politics, it is sometimes necessary to compromise on principles in order to accomplish important goals, and that is not a proper thing for a rabbi to do."

Awards and recognition

In 1978 he was awarded the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...

for special contribution to society and the state. 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 ...

Neria ''Neria'' is a Zimbabwean film made in 1991, written by the novelist Tsitsi Dangarembga. It is directed by Godwin Mawuru and the screenplay was written by Louise Riber. It is the highest-grossing film in Zimbabwean history. The film concerns ...

, established in 1991, is named after him, a neighborhood in

Lod Lod ( he, לוד, or fully vocalized ; ar, اللد, al-Lidd or ), also known as Lydda ( grc, Λύδδα), is a city southeast of Tel Aviv and northwest of Jerusalem in the Central District of Israel. It is situated between the lower Shephe ...

(''Nof Neria''), and streets in

Netanya Netanya (also known as Natanya, he, נְתַנְיָה) is a city in the Northern Central District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between Poleg stream and Wingate I ...

Petah Tikva Petah Tikva ( he, פֶּתַח תִּקְוָה, , ), also known as ''Em HaMoshavot'' (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of ...

Rishon LeZion Rishon LeZion ( he, רִאשׁוֹן לְצִיּוֹן , ''lit.'' First to Zion, Arabic: راشون لتسيون) is a city in Israel, located along the central Israeli coastal plain south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan ar ...

Rehovot Rehovot ( he, רְחוֹבוֹת ''Rəḥōvōt'', ar, رحوڤوت ''Reḥūfūt'') is a city in the Central District of Israel, about south of Tel Aviv. In it had a population of . Etymology Israel Belkind, founder of the Bilu movement, ...

, Bet El, and Kfar Haroeh. Several schools were named after him, including the Hesder yeshiva in

Shadmot Mehola Shadmot Mehola ( he, שַׁדְמוֹת מְחוֹלָה, , Mehola Fields) is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, organized as a national-religious moshav shitufi.Dimona Dimona ( he, דִּימוֹנָה, ar, ديمونا) is an Israeli city in the Negev desert, to the south-east of Beersheba and west of the Dead Sea above the Arava valley in the Southern District of Israel. In its population was . The Shi ...

, and Moreshet Neria in

Giv'at Shmuel Giv'at Shmuel ( he, גִּבְעַת שְׁמוּאֵל, , Samuel's Hill) is a city in the Center District of Israel. It is located in the eastern part of the Gush Dan Metropolitan Area and bordered by Ramat Gan and Bnei Brak to the West, Kiryat ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Neria, Moshe-Zvi 1913 births 1995 deaths 20th-century Israeli educators 20th-century Israeli non-fiction writers 20th-century Israeli rabbis Israel Prize for special contribution to society and the State recipients Israeli male writers Israeli Orthodox rabbis Israeli spiritual writers Jewish Israeli politicians Jewish religious writers Jews from the Russian Empire Members of the 7th Knesset (1969–1974) Mercaz HaRav alumni National Religious Party politicians Polish emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Rabbinic members of the Knesset Rabbis in Mandatory Palestine