Shalom Arush ( he, שלום ארוש) is an

Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...

Breslov

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 founder of the Chut Shel Chessed Institutions. He spreads the teachings of Rebbe

Nachman of Breslov Nachman of Breslov ( he, רַבִּי נַחְמָן מִבְּרֶסְלֶב ''Rabbī'' ''Naḥmān mīBreslev''), also known as Reb Nachman of Bratslav, Reb Nachman Breslover ( yi, רבי נחמן ברעסלאווער ''Rebe Nakhmen Breslover'' ...

among

Sephardic Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), ...

and

Ashkenazic Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

baalei teshuva In Judaism, a ''ba'al teshuvah'' ( he, בעל תשובה; for a woman, , or ; plural, , , 'master of return God]') is a Jew who adopts some form of traditional religious observance after having previously followed a Jewish secularism, secular lif ...

, as well as many non-Jews, around the world through his books and speaking appearances. Arush is a prominent defender of convicted rapist and fraudster

Eliezer Berland Eliezer Berland (born December 26, 1937) is an Israeli Orthodox Jewish rabbi, convicted sex offender and fraudster affiliated with the Breslov Hasidic movement in Israel. He is "rosh yeshiva" (head of the yeshiva) of Yeshivat Shuvu Bonim (also ...

Early life

Arush was one of nine children born to his parents in the town of

Beni Mellal Beni Mellal ( ar, بني ملال}, ber, ⴰⵢⵜ ⵎⵍⵍⴰⵍ, Ayt Mellal) is a city in north-central Morocco. It is the capital of the Béni Mellal-Khénifra Region and has a population of 192,676 (2014 census). It sits at the foot of Jbe ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

. He learned in the local Jewish

Alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

school and studied

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

in the evenings. His eldest brother married and

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

to Israel before the rest of the family; Arush, his parents, and other siblings immigrated to Israel when he was 13. Inside cover text The family settled in

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 ...

, where his parents enrolled Arush in a state-religious school; he later attended a secular high school. In 1970 he joined the

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

as an airborne

combat medic A combat medic, or healthcare specialist, is responsible for providing emergency medical treatment at a point of wounding in a combat or training environment, as well as primary care and health protection and evacuation from a point of injury ...

, taking part in many missions, including missions during the

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egy ...

in 1973. During that time, five of his closest friends were killed in a

helicopter crash A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

while carrying out an army mission. This event was one of the catalysts for his personal

teshuva Repentance ( he, תשובה, literally, "return", pronounced ''tshuva'' or ''teshuva'') is one element of atoning for sin in Judaism. Judaism recognizes that everybody sins on occasion, but that people can stop or minimize those occasions in th ...

. Following his army service, Arush studied economics and accounting 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 ...

Introduction to Breslov

Arush's quest for spirituality led him to Rabbi

, who introduced him to Breslov practices such as ''

hitbodedut Hitbodedut or hisbodedus ( he, הִתְבּוֹדְדוּת, lit. "seclusion, solitariness, solitude"; Tiberian: ''hīṯbōḏăḏūṯ'' , Ashkenazi: ''hīsboydedēs/hīsboydedūs'' or ''hīsbōdedūs'', Sephardi: ''hitbōdedūt'') refers to ...

'' and hosted him for

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...

meals. Together with Berland, Arush learned with such Breslov giants as Rabbi

Levi Yitzchok Bender Levi Yitzchok Bender (1897–1989) was a rabbi and leader of the Breslov community in both Uman, Ukraine and Jerusalem. Early life Bender was born in the town of Grodzisk, Poland, as the tenth of twelve children. At the age of seventeen, he ...

and Rabbi Shmuel Shapira. Arush next enrolled at Yeshivat

Dvar Yerushalayim Yeshivat Dvar Yerushalayim, also called the Jerusalem Academy of Jewish Studies, is a yeshiva for baalei teshuva currently located in the Har Nof neighborhood of Jerusalem. The yeshiva was founded in 19701970: 2010=40th year. by Rabbi Boruch Horov ...

as he took on more

mitzvah In its primary meaning, the Hebrew word (; he, מִצְוָה, ''mīṣvā'' , plural ''mīṣvōt'' ; "commandment") refers to a commandment commanded by God to be performed as a religious duty. Jewish law () in large part consists of discus ...

observance. Eventually he cut his long hair and became a practicing Torah Jew. He was introduced to his wife, Miriam, on a

shidduch The ''Shidduch'' ( he, שִׁדּוּךְ, pl. ''shidduchim'' , Aramaic ) is a system of matchmaking in which Jewish singles are introduced to one another in Orthodox Jewish communities for the purpose of marriage. The practice In the past and ...

, and the newlyweds moved to

Moshav A moshav ( he, מוֹשָׁב, plural ', lit. ''settlement, village'') is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 an ...

Chazon Yechezkel. Later he moved to

Bnei Brak Bnei Brak or Bene Beraq ( he, בְּנֵי בְּרַק ) is a city located on the central Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean Israeli coastal plain, coastal plain in Israel, just east of Tel Aviv. A center of Haredi Judaism, Bnei Brak covers an are ...

to join Berland's new yeshiva there, and when the yeshiva moved to Jerusalem, he and his family followed. Upon the directive of Berland, in 1985 Arush opened his own yeshiva with 15 students; a year later, he had 80 students and moved into his present quarters in the

Musrara Musrara ( ar, مصرارة, he, מוסררה, also known by its Hebrew name, Morasha, ) is a neighborhood in Jerusalem. It is bordered by Meah Shearim and Beit Yisrael on the north, the Old City on the south, Bab a-Zahara to the east, and the R ...

neighborhood of Jerusalem.

Chut Shel Chessed Institutions

The Chut Shel Chessed Institutions includes a yeshiva, a

kolel 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); ...

for married men, a boarding school for teenage boys, and a

Talmud Torah Talmud Torah ( he, תלמוד תורה, lit. 'Study of the Torah') schools were created in the Jewish world, both Ashkenazic and Sephardic, as a form of religious school for boys of modest backgrounds, where they were given an elementary educat ...

for younger boys. The organization specializes in nurturing youth at risk, and its alumni have gone on to become noted writers, actors, and musicians. Among Arush's celebrity students is

Shuli Rand Shalom "Shuli" Rand (also spelled Shuly; he, שולי רנד; born 8 February 1962) is an Israeli film actor, writer, and singer. He is a Breslover Hasid and is best known in the English-speaking world for his role as the protagonist in ''Ush ...

, star of the film ''

Ushpizin ''Ushpizin'' ( he, האושפיזין, , Sukkot guests) is a 2004 Israeli film directed by and written by Shuli Rand. It starred Rand, and his wife, Michal, who had never acted before. Plot Moshe and Mali Bellanga are an impoverished, childles ...

''. In 1998 Arush opened a branch of Chut Shel Chesed in

Ashdod Ashdod ( he, ''ʾašdōḏ''; ar, أسدود or إسدود ''ʾisdūd'' or '' ʾasdūd'' ; Philistine: 𐤀𐤔𐤃𐤃 *''ʾašdūd'') is the sixth-largest city in Israel. Located in the country's Southern District, it lies on the Mediterran ...

, Israel, and appointed Rabbi Lazer Brody, another combat soldier-turned-baal teshuva, to head the rabbinic ordination program. In 2006 this branch merged with the Jerusalem yeshiva and Brody became the

mashpia Mashpia ( he, משפיע) or feminine Mashpi'oh lit. "person of influence", pl. Mashpi'im ( he, משפיעים) is the title of a Hasidic rabbi who serves as a spiritual mentor, whose main influence and teachings are in matters of the worship of G ...

(spiritual guide) for Arush's students and the translator of Arush's books into

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Works

Arush has authored many works which have been translated from

into

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

, French,

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, Portuguese, and

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

. Brody claims that combined, they have sold more than a million copies. * ''Garden of Peace: A Marital Guide for Men Only'' * ''Garden of Peace - Hebrew'' * ''Garden of Emuna'' * ''Garden of Emuna - Russian'' * ''Garden of Emuna - Spanish'' * ''Garden of Emuna - Hebrew'' * ''Garden of Emuna - German'' * ''Garden of Emuna - French'' * ''Garden of Emuna - Portuguese'' * ''Women's Wisdom - English (Garden of Peace for women only)'' * ''Women Wisdom - Russian (Garden of Peace for women only)'' * ''Women's Wisdom - Hebrew (Garden of Peace for women only) * ''In Forest Fields: A Unique Guide to Personal Prayer'' * ''The Garden of Yearning: The Lost Princess'' * ''Garden of Joy'' * ''Garden of Gratitude'' * ''Garden of Riches: A Guide to Financial Success'' * ''Be-Gan HaOsher - Hebrew'' * ''Shaarav Be-Toda - Garden of Gratitude''

References

External links

Breslev Israel (official site)Teachings of Rebbe Nachman - Blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arush, Shalom Breslov rabbis Israeli Hasidic rabbis Sephardic Haredi rabbis in Israel Moroccan emigrants to Israel 20th-century Moroccan Jews Baalei teshuva 20th-century Israeli rabbis People from Beni Mellal 1952 births Living people 21st-century Israeli rabbis