Rabbi Hershel Schachter (born ) is an American Orthodox

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 o ...

posek In Jewish law, a ''Posek'' ( he, פוסק , pl. ''poskim'', ) is a legal scholar who determines the position of ''halakha'', the Jewish religious laws derived from the written and Oral Torah in cases of Jewish law where previous authorities a ...

(religious law authority) 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 ...

(dean) at

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 ...

(RIETS), part of

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City."About YU
on the Yeshiva Universi ...

(YU) in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Schachter is an ''

halakhic ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical comman ...

'' (Jewish law) advisor for the

Orthodox Union The Orthodox Union (abbreviated OU) is one of the largest Orthodox Jewish organizations in the United States. Founded in 1898, the OU supports a network of synagogues, youth programs, Jewish and Religious Zionist advocacy programs, programs fo ...

, and has rendered notable decisions in a number of contemporary topic areas.

Early life and education

Hershel Schachter was born in

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 U.S. census, Scranton is the largest city in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Wyoming V ...

to Melech Schachter, a

(dean) at

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City."About YU
on the Yeshiva Universi ...

(YU). Schachter became an assistant to

Joseph Ber 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 o ...

at the age of 22. He earned a B.A. from Yeshiva College and an M.A. in

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 ...

literature from the

Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies The Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies was Yeshiva University’s first graduate school. Founded in 1937, it was named for Yeshiva University's first president, Bernard Revel Bernard (Dov) Revel ( he, ברנרד רבל; September 17 ...

in 1967. After receiving '' semikhah'' (rabbinic ordination) that year at the age of 26, Schachter became the youngest rosh yeshiva at

(RIETS), and was appointed ''rosh kollel'' (dean of the ''

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); ...

'') in 1971. Schachter is a prominent

(religious law authority). He is also a ''

'' (Jewish law) advisor for the ''

kashrut (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fr ...

'' division of the

''Halakhic'' opinions

In the realm of medical ''

halakha ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...

'', Schachter does not allow doctors or medical students to work on

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 stori ...

(Saturday) unless they need to save a life. Schachter believes that the living status of a brain dead individual is a ''safek'' (matter of doubt), and thus requires that all decisions be made with the same stringencies applied to all cases where life-and-death is in doubt. This, ipso facto, forbids the organ donations of brain dead individuals, by considering them as possibly still ''halachically'' alive, but also requires ''

chalitzah ''Halizah'' (or ''chalitzah''; he, חליצה) is, under the biblical system of levirate marriage known as ''yibbum'', the process by which a childless widow and a brother of her deceased husband may avoid the duty to marry. The process involve ...

'' (release from the obligation of

levirate marriage Levirate marriage is a type of marriage in which the brother of a deceased man is obliged to marry his brother's widow. Levirate marriage has been practiced by societies with a strong clan structure in which exogamous marriage (i.e. marriage ou ...

) in the case that a childless widow is left with only a brain dead husband as well as a normal brother-in-law. R Hershel Schachter

In monetary law and taxation, Schachter believes that a graduated system of income taxes is "fair and reasonable" and thus falls under the ægis of '' dina d'malkhuta dina'' (law of the land is law), and thus everyone must pay taxes. Schachter holds that a woman is not allowed to serve as the president of a synagogue unless there is absolutely no other choice. Schachter was the posek for the YU eruv in

Washington Heights, Manhattan Washington Heights is a neighborhood in the uppermost part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is named for Fort Washington, a fortification constructed at the highest natural point on Manhattan by Continental Army troops to defen ...

, and is one of the most notable contemporary ''halachic'' authorities to allow for the implementation of an ''

eruv An eruv (; he, עירוב, , also transliterated as eiruv or erub, plural: eruvin or eruvim) is a ritual halakhic enclosure made for the purpose of allowing activities which are normally prohibited on Shabbat (due to the prohibition of '' h ...

'' (religious enclosure) in sections of Manhattan. On July 12th, 2022 Schachter was filmed eating locusts sourced from

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 Na ...

. He is also supportive of using

Tekhelet ''Tekhelet'' ( he, תְּכֵלֶת ''təḵēleṯ''; alternate spellings include ''tekheleth'', ''t'chelet'', ''techelet'' and ''techeiles'') is a "blue-violet", "blue", or "turquoise" dye highly prized by ancient Mediterranean civilizations. I ...

Tzitzit ''Tzitzit'' ( he, ''ṣīṣīṯ'', ; plural ''ṣīṣiyyōṯ'', Ashkenazi: '; and Samaritan: ') are specially knotted ritual fringes, or tassels, worn in antiquity by Israelites and today by observant Jews and Samaritans. are usual ...

Other views

In a December 2006 speech, Schachter stated that ''

mesirah Mesirah (or mesira, he, to turn over, italic=yes) is the action in which one Jew reports the conduct of another Jew to a non-rabbinic authority in a manner and under the circumstances forbidden by rabbinic law. This may not necessarily apply ...

'' (informing on a fellow Jew to the authorities) "is permitted in situations where one is a public menace (see Shach to Choshen Mishpat 388, 59), or if one is physically or psychologically harming another individual (for example, in instances of sexual abuse of children, students, campers etc., or spousal abuse) (see Shach to Choshen Mishpat ibid, 45)." In a February 2013 speech to a London audience, Schachter echoed this sentiment. He did express concern that before going to the authorities, one should make sure that a potential abuse victim is credible by referring him to a competent rabbi or psychologist. Schachter cited concerns that if the child's story was a fabrication, it could result in a Jew's being locked "in a cell with a ''shvartze'', in a cell with a Muslim, a black Muslim who wants to kill all the Jews." Yeshiva University condemned the use of the term ''shvartze'' (the Yiddish word for black, racially loaded when directed at a person): "The recent use of a derogatory racial term and negative characterizations of African-Americans and Muslims, by a member of the faculty, are inappropriate, offensive, and do not represent the values and mission of Yeshiva University", a YU spokesman stated. Schachter is endorsed by the

Organization for the Resolution of Agunot The Organization for the Resolution of Agunot (ORA) is a New York-based non-profit organization that advocates for the elimination of the infliction of abuse from the Jewish divorce process. The organization advocates on behalf of agunot and promot ...

, a non-profit organization that advocates for the elimination of abuse from the Jewish divorce process by, among other things, organizing public protests to compel husbands to grant their wives ''

gittin Gittin (Hebrew: ) is a tractate of the Mishnah and the Talmud, and is part of the order of Nashim. The content of the tractate primarily deals with the legal provisions related to halakhic divorce, in particular, the laws relating to the ''Get'' ...

'' (religious divorce documents). David Eidensohn, a Monsey, New York rabbinical judge who believes that coercing ''gittin'' renders the divorces invalid, has accused Schachter of misquoting

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 ...

in public lectures to the effect that beating husbands is a valid procedure in these cases.Yudelson, Larry (October 18, 2013
"Unchained Reaction"
''Jewish Standard''. Retrieved July 15, 2019.

Works

Schachter has written many books related to Judaism. They include: *''Eretz HaTzvi (1992)'' (with an approbation by Rabbi

Dovid Lifshitz Rabbi Dovid Lifshitz (1906–1993) was a distinguished Rosh yeshiva in the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) for almost fifty years. He was appointed upon the invitation of Rabbi Samuel Belkin in 1944. He was also known as the "Su ...

) *''Nefesh HaRav (1994)'' - Torah from Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik *''B'Ikvei HaTzon (1997)'' (with an approbation by the famed Rabbi Pinchas Hirschsprung, the former Chief Rabbi of Montreal) *''Shiurei ha-Rav ha-Gaon Rabi Yosef Dov ha-Levi Soloveitchik, Masekhet Gittin, chap. 1-4 ased on lectures from 1963-1964(1999)'' *''Shiurei ha-Rav ha-Gaon Rabi Yosef Dov ha-Levi Soloveitchik, Masekhet Kiddushin (2001)'' *''MiP'ninei HaRav (2001)'' - more Torah from Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik *''Shiurei ha-Rav ha-Gaon Rabi Yosef Dov ha-Levi Soloveitchik, Tzitzet, Tefillen, Kriat haTorah (2002)'' *''Shiurei ha-Rav ha-Gaon Rabi Yosef Dov ha-Levi Soloveitchik, Yom HaKippurim, Megillah (2002)'' *''Shiurei ha-Rav ha-Gaon Rabi Yosef Dov ha-Levi Soloveitchik, Masekhet Shabbat (2004)'' *''Ginas Egoz (2007)'' (with an approbation by Rabbi Gershon Yankelewitz) *''Divrei HaRav (2010)'' - a third volume of Torah from Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik Articles: *'' בגדר מצות קידוש והבדלה'' in HaDarom No. 26, Tishrei 5728 (September 1967) *'' בירור הלכה בענין אמירה לנכרי בשבת וכבוד המת'' in HaPardes No. 57, Vol. 8 (May 1983) Recorded shiurim: See https://www.yutorah.org/rabbi-hershel-schachter/ He has also written more than 200 articles, in both Hebrew and

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 ...

, for scholarly Torah publications such as ''HaPardes'', ''HaDarom'', ''Beit Yitzchak'', and ''Or Hamizrach''.

Works about

*Lawrence Kaplan, "The Multi-Faceted Legacy of the Rav: A Critical Analysis of R. Hershel Schachter's Nefesh ha-Rav," BDD (Bekhol Derakhekha Daehu: Journal of Torah and Scholarship) 7 (Summer, 1998): 51–85. *Ferziger, Adam S. “Feminism and Heresy: The Construction of a Jewish Metanarrative.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion 77, no. 3 (2009): 494–546.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shachter, Hershel 1941 births 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American rabbis 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American rabbis People from Washington Heights, Manhattan Writers from Manhattan Yeshiva University rosh yeshivas Living people 20th-century American writers