Haredi
Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...
rabbi, educator, author, and speaker. After serving as
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 ...
of the
Young Israel
The National Council of Young Israel (NCYI) or Young Israel (in Hebrew: , ''Yisrael Hatza'ir''), is a synagogue-based Orthodox Judaism organization in the United States with a network of affiliated "Young Israel" synagogues. Young Israel was found ...
of
Greater Miami
The Miami metropolitan area (also known as Greater Miami, the Tri-County Area, South Florida, or the Gold Coast) is the ninth largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States and the 34th largest metropolitan area in the world with a ...
, Florida, for nine years, he and his family moved to Moshav Matityahu, Israel, in 1983, where he is the ''mara d'asra'' (rabbinic communal leader).
Early life and education
Zev Leff was born in
Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
, New York, to a Jewish family.Frankfurter, Rabbi Yitzchok. "Leading the Field". '' Ami'', December 5, 2018, pp. 68-81. His parents and grandparents were all American-born. He attended public school and an Orthodox
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 educ ...
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
Hebrew school run by religious teachers, who convinced him to transfer to a
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 st ...
. He was accepted at the Hebrew Academy of Greater Miami and subsequently attended the
Mesivta
''Mesivta'' (also metivta; Aramaic: מתיבתא, "academy") is an Orthodox Jewish yeshiva secondary school for boys. The term is commonly used in the United States to describe a yeshiva that emphasizes Talmudic studies for boys in grades ...
of Greater Miami.
At age 17 he progressed to the
Telshe yeshiva
Telshe Yeshiva (also spelled ''Telz'') is a yeshiva in Wickliffe, Ohio, formerly located in Telšiai, Lithuania. During World War II the yeshiva began relocating to Wickliffe, Ohio, in the United States and is now known as the Rabbinical College ...
in
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, Ohio, where he received his
rabbinic ordination
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 ...
and became a close ''talmid'' (student) of Rabbi Mordechai Gifter.
In 1968, he married Rivkah Minkoff of Ellenville, New York. The couple settled in Cleveland, where Leff studied in the Telshe
kollel
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 the next six years. He also taught in the Yavneh girls' high school and seminary.
Rabbinic career
In 1974, Leff was appointed Rav of the
Young Israel
The National Council of Young Israel (NCYI) or Young Israel (in Hebrew: , ''Yisrael Hatza'ir''), is a synagogue-based Orthodox Judaism organization in the United States with a network of affiliated "Young Israel" synagogues. Young Israel was found ...
of Greater Miami, located in North Miami Beach, Florida. At the time, the congregation consisted of about 150 families, of whom 90 percent were Sabbath-observant. By the time he left nine years later, the congregation numbered 300 families.
In 1983, Leff and his family decided to make aliyah to Israel, where he became the Rav and ''mora d'asra'' (rabbinic communal leader) of Moshav Matityahu, a small
settlement
Settlement may refer to:
*Human settlement, a community where people live
*Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building
* Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction
*Settlement (fin ...
now adjacent to
Modi'in Illit
Modi'in Illit ( he, מוֹדִיעִין עִלִּית; ar, موديعين عيليت, lit. "Upper Modi'in") is a Haredi Israeli settlement and city in the West Bank, situated midway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Modi'in Illit was granted c ...
(Kiryat Sefer). At the time, the moshav was home to 11 families. Leff characterized the residents of Matityahu as "American chareidi, people who had a tremendous love for
Eretz Yisrael
The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Israe ...
. We were very pro-Eretz Yisrael and not against the ''medinah''
tate
Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...
but we also didn't say
Hallel
Hallel ( he, הַלֵּל, "Praise") is a Jewish prayer, a verbatim recitation from Psalms which is recited by observant Jews on Jewish holidays as an act of praise and thanksgiving.
Holy days
Hallel consists of six Psalms (113–118), which ...
on Yom Haatzma'ut". As of 2018, the moshav is home to approximately 150 families, of whom 30 to 40 percent are Israeli. Leff also serves as dean of the moshav's
kollel
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); ...
. From 2006 to 2016, he headed the moshav's yeshiva gedola, which was geared to American-born students.
In addition to his communal duties, Leff teaches in several girls' seminaries in Jerusalem. He is a faculty member of Darchei Binah Women's School for Advanced Torah Studies and the Jewish Learning Exchange of London. He also teaches at Seminar Yerushalayim,
Neve Yerushalayim
Neve Yerushalayim ( he, נוה ירושלים) is the oldest and largest college for Jewish women in the world. Founded in 1970 to educate '' baalot teshuva'' (female returnees to Orthodox Judaism) in the why and how of living an Orthodox Jewish l ...
's Midreshet Tehillah, Michlala Women's College, and Bnot Torah; he formerly taught at the
EYAHT
EYAHT ( he, א.י.ה.ת., an acronym for the phrase, אשה יראת ה' היא תתהלל, ''Eesha Yirat Adonoy Hi Tithallal'', "A woman who fears God, she shall be praised", Proverbs 31:30), was a full-time college for advanced Jewish learning fo ...
College for Jewish Women. He teaches "practical rabbinics" for the Ohr Lagolah Institute (based in
Ohr Somayach, Jerusalem
Ohr Somayach (also Or Samayach or Ohr Somayach International) is a yeshiva based in Jerusalem founded in 1970 catering mostly to young Jewish men, usually of college age, who are already interested in learning about Judaism. It is known as a "baal ...
). He delivers a twice-monthly ''
shiur
Shiur (, , lit. ''amount'', pl. shiurim ) is a lecture on any Torah topic, such as Gemara, Mishnah, Halakha (Jewish law), Tanakh (Bible), etc.
History
The Hebrew term שיעור ("designated amount") came to refer to a portion of Ju ...
In November 2018, a '' Sky News'' video of Leff engrossed in a '' sefer'' at a Scotland–Israel
UEFA Nations League
The UEFA Nations League is a biennial international football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body.
The first tournament began in September 2018. The ...
soccer game, oblivious to the excitement in the stadium after Israel scored its first goal, went viral. Leff and his wife had been visiting their daughter and son-in-law, the latter a UK Rabbanut chaplain for all the universities in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, and accompanied the entire community to dinner and the game. As he personally had no interest in the match, Leff brought his
Talmud Yerushalmi
The Jerusalem Talmud ( he, תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשַׁלְמִי, translit=Talmud Yerushalmi, often for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century ...
along to study the
Daf Yomi
''Daf Yomi'' ( he, דף יומי, ''Daf Yomi'', "page of the day" or "daily folio") is a daily regimen of learning the Oral Torah and its commentaries (also known as the Gemara), in which each of the 2,711 pages of the Babylonian Talmud is covere ...
. The sight of the rabbi studying his ''sefer'' during the game generated jokes and memes across social media platforms.
Opinions
In ''
The Jewish Press
''The Jewish Press'' is an American weekly newspaper based in Brooklyn, New York, and geared toward the Modern Orthodox Jewish community. It describes itself as "America's Largest Independent Jewish Weekly".
''The Jewish Press'' has an online ...
'' "Is It Proper" series on the topic of the loudness of music played at religious weddings, Leff remarked, "Music (even music with lyrics that are based on verses from
tefillah
Jewish prayer ( he, תְּפִלָּה, ; plural ; yi, תּפֿלה, tfile , plural ; Yinglish: davening from Yiddish 'pray') is the prayer recitation that forms part of the observance of Rabbinic Judaism. These prayers, often with i ...
) whose beat, tempo, or volume creates a mood of wild abandon (''hefkerus''), or could accompany primitive natives dancing around a cauldron cooking a human being, is not kosher irrespective of who composed it or is playing it – be they non-Jews or religious Jews".
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
CDs
*''Jewish Heritage Journey with Rabbi Leff: A Multimedia Jewish Heritage Journey to Lithuania, Poland & Belarus'' (Shorashim Productions and Grafix Mediaworx, distributed by
Torah Educational Software
Torah Educational Software (TES) is a distributor of Judaic software based in Jerusalem. Its product ''Let's Keep Kosher'' received a rabbinical endorsement.
Software for Jewish texts
* A 1996 followup to a 1994 Davka-vs-TES (Torah Educational So ...
The Jewish Press
''The Jewish Press'' is an American weekly newspaper based in Brooklyn, New York, and geared toward the Modern Orthodox Jewish community. It describes itself as "America's Largest Independent Jewish Weekly".
''The Jewish Press'' has an online ...