Rabbi Gedaliah Nadel (1923–2004) was an influential rabbi in Israel's Haredi community. He was known for being one of the heads of

Kollel Chazon Ish Kollel Chazon Ish is a ''kollel'' (group of married Jewish men who study Torah) of rabbis on HaAri St 3, in Bnei Brak, Israel with a focus on Talmud study. The Kollel was originally established by Rabbi Avrohom Yeshaya Karelitz, who was known as ...

and was the leading

authority In the fields of sociology and political science, authority is the legitimate power of a person or group over other people. In a civil state, ''authority'' is practiced in ways such a judicial branch or an executive branch of government.''The N ...

Jewish Law ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws which is derived from the Torah, written and Oral Tora ...

in the Chazon Ish neighborhood of

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 ...

. He was celebrated as an expert in all facets of

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

and

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 ...

ic knowledge.

Biography

Gedaliah Nadel was born in Šiauliai,

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

to Rabbi Reuven Keshel. In 1936, his family immigrated to

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

and settled in the

Balfouria Colony Balfouria () is a moshav in northern Israel, south of Nazareth. Located near Afula, it falls under the jurisdiction of Jezreel Valley Regional Council. As of it had a population of . History The initial core of settlers assembled in 1919 and ...

in what is now Northern Israel. After briefly studying in 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 s ...

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

, he transferred to the

Lomza Yeshiva The Lomza Yeshiva ( he, ישיבת לומזה) was an Orthodox Jewish yeshiva in Łomża, Poland, founded by Rabbi Eliezer Bentzion Shulevitz in 1883. Rabbi Yechiel Mordechai Gordon served as the yeshiva's rosh yeshiva for many years, and Rabbi Mo ...

Petach Tikvah Petah Tikva ( he, פֶּתַח תִּקְוָה, , ), also known as ''Em HaMoshavot'' (), is a city in the Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Jews of the Old Yishuv, and became a permanent set ...

where he studied under Rabbi

Elazar Menachem Shach Elazar Menachem Man Shach ( he, אלעזר מנחם מן שך, Elazar Shach; January 1, 1899 O.S. – November 2, 2001) was a prominent ultra-Orthodox rabbi, heading the non-Hasidic ''Litvak'' Orthodox from the early 1970s until his death. He ...

. As a child, Gedaliah was known for his diligence and devotion to studying

, reportedly studying for up to eighteen hours consecutively. Afterwards Gedaliah studied under Rabbi Avrohom Yeshaya Karelitz, known as Chazon Ish, who molded him into his principal student (recalling his time with the Chazon Ish, Rabbi Nadel said that the Chazon Ish garnered knowledge in medical science by reading medical journals). Rabbi Nadel married the daughter of Rabbi Eliyahu Weiner, a student of the Chofetz Chaim. Following the wedding, they lived in

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

for a short while, before moving to Bnei Brak where he lived an ascetic life. When the Chazon Ish decided to establish a special community of religious devotees, he chose Rabbi Gedaliah Nadel to lead the community. As leader of the community, such leaders as Rabbi Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky (the Steipler), and his son Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, turned to Rabbi Nadel for decisions. Rabbi Nadel's house was used as a gathering place for the Rabbinic personalities of his day, such as Rabbi Shach and the Steipler. Rabbi Nadel also briefly served as the

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 the Vishnitz

Hasidic 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 ...

yeshiva. Rabbi Nadel would learn

Maimonides Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...

Guide for the Perplexed ''The Guide for the Perplexed'' ( ar, دلالة الحائرين, Dalālat al-ḥā'irīn, ; he, מורה נבוכים, Moreh Nevukhim) is a work of Jewish theology by Maimonides. It seeks to reconcile Aristotelianism with Rabbinical Jewish the ...

immediately after praying

Shacharis ''Shacharit'' ( he, שַחֲרִית ''šaḥăriṯ''), or ''Shacharis'' in Ashkenazi Hebrew, is the morning ''tefillah'' (prayer) of Judaism, one of the three daily prayers. Different traditions identify different primary components of ...

''vatikin''.B'Torato Shel Rav Gedaliah, p. ו-ט (Hebrew). He died on June 5, 2004.

Opinions

Rabbi Nadel asserted that certain concepts mentioned in the Torah and Talmud that were not of a legalistic nature were not necessarily to be taken literally. His writings were analyzed and taken into account during the Slifkin affair. Jewish British zoologist Rabbi

Natan Slifkin Natan Slifkin (also Nosson Slifkin) ( he, נתן סליפקין; born 25 June 1975 in Manchester, England), popularly known as the "Zoo Rabbi," is a British-born Israeli Modern Orthodox community rabbi and the director of the Biblical Museum of N ...

's acceptance of evolution and belief "that the world was billions of years old" is reportedly in accordance to views espoused by Rabbi Nadel. According to

Marc Shapiro Marc B. Shapiro (Hebrew: מלך שפירא, born 1966) is a professor and the author of various books and articles on Jewish history, philosophy, theology, and rabbinic literature. Education and career Shapiro received his BA at Brandeis Unive ...

, Rabbi Nadel maintained that it is acceptable to believe that the Zohar was not written by Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and that it had a late authorship. Rabbi Nadel's teachings have continued to exert influence on Haredi leaders.

Works

Many of Rabbi Nadel's lectures were collected by his various students and two volumes were published under the title ''Shiurei Reb Gedaliah.' ''B'Torato Shel Rav Gedaliah'' is a compilation of teachings prepared, which according to the book, is taken from Rabbi Nadel's from audio recordings and published at his request. It was published by Rabbi

Yitzchak Sheilat Rabbi Yitzchak Sheilat ( he, יצחק שילת, born Yitzchak Grinshpan; 1946) is an Israeli Orthodox rabbi and scholar of Jewish thought, specializing in the writings of Maimonides and Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook. He co-founded and serves as a sen ...

, one of Rabbi Nadel's main students, and at the personal request of Rabbi Nadel. ''B'Torato Shel Rav Gedaliah'' was banned by three prominent Bnei Barak rabbis because of its support of

Darwin's theory of evolution Darwinism is a theory of biological evolution developed by the English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) and others, stating that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that ...

, including sentences such as "Regarding he idea thatthe creation of man in the image of God marked the end of a long process which started with a non-cognizant animal which gradually evolved until this creature was given a human mind... this is an accurate description. Darwin's proofs, and those of geologists, for the existence of early stages of mankind, seem convincing." In 5772 (or 2010/2011 CE), Rabbi Sheilat published a new edition of the book.

References

External links

B'Torato Shel Rav Gedaliah
(from http://seri-levi.com/2008/11/13/mito/) * Rabbi

Nathan Slifkin Natan Slifkin (also Nosson Slifkin) ( he, נתן סליפקין; born 25 June 1975 in Manchester, England), popularly known as the "Zoo Rabbi," is a British-born Israeli Modern Orthodox community rabbi and the director of the Biblical Museum of Nat ...

Part I of Partial Translation of B'Toraso Shel R' Gedaliah
* Rabbi

Part II of Partial Translation of B'Toraso Shel R' Gedaliah
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nadel, Gedaliah 1923 births 2004 deaths Israeli Orthodox rabbis People from Bnei Brak People from Šiauliai Rabbis in Bnei Brak Lithuanian emigrants to Mandatory Palestine