Rabbi Moshe Heinemann is an 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 of ...

and

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

who heads the Agudath Israel of

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

synagogue and is the rabbinical supervisor of the

Star K Star-K Kosher Certification, also known as the Vaad Hakashrut of Baltimore ( he, ועד הכשרות דבאלטימאר), is a kosher certification agency based in Baltimore, Maryland, under the administration of Rabbi Moshe Heinemann, with the ...

kashrus (also or , ) is a set of Food and drink prohibitions, dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to halakha, Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kos ...

certification agency. He studied for many years in Beis Midrash Govoha under

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 ...

Aharon Kotler Aharon Kotler (1892–1962) was an Orthodox Jewish rabbi and a prominent leader of Orthodox Judaism in Lithuania and the United States; the latter being where he founded Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood Township, New Jersey. Early life Kotle ...

, and was ordained by Rabbi

Moshe Feinstein Moshe Feinstein ( he, משה פײַנשטיין; Lithuanian pronunciation: ''Moshe Faynshteyn''; en, Moses Feinstein; March 3, 1895 – March 23, 1986) was an American Orthodox rabbi, scholar, and ''posek'' (authority on ''halakha''—Je ...

. He was born in

Fürth Fürth (; East Franconian: ; yi, פיורדא, Fiurda) is a city in northern Bavaria, Germany, in the administrative division ('' Regierungsbezirk'') of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of ...

Germany in 1937. Moshe left with his parents for England shortly after

Kristallnacht () or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (german: Novemberpogrome, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's Sturmabteilung, (SA) paramilitary and Schutzstaffel, (SS) paramilitary forces along ...

. They lived in England until the 1950s. Rabbi Heinemann is widely consulted for rulings in matters of

Halacha ''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 comm ...

, often where complicated technology is involved. He is an expert

Mohel A ( he, מוֹהֵל , Ashkenazi pronunciation , plural: , arc, מוֹהֲלָא , "circumciser") is a Jew trained in the practice of , the "covenant of circumcision". Etymology The noun ( in Aramaic), meaning "circumciser", is derived ...

, Shochet, and

Sofer A sofer, sopher, sofer SeTaM, or sofer ST"M ( he, סופר סת״ם, "scribe"; plural of is , ; female: ) is a Jewish scribe who can transcribe Sifrei Kodesh (holy scrolls), tefillin (phylacteries), mezuzot (ST"M, , is an abbreviation of the ...

, and has trained and certified numerous people in these, as well as other, areas of practical Halacha. Rabbi Heinemann is also an expert on the construction of

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 ''ho ...

in and

mikveh Mikveh or mikvah (, ''mikva'ot'', ''mikvoth'', ''mikvot'', or ( Yiddish) ''mikves'', lit., "a collection") is a bath used for the purpose of ritual immersion in Judaism to achieve ritual purity. Most forms of ritual impurity can be purif ...

s, and is frequently consulted regarding these complicated areas of

Shabbos Mode Ovens

Rabbi Heinemann has ruled for over a decade that, on

Yom Tov Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' ( he, ימים טובים, , Good Days, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed in Judaism and by JewsThis article focuses on practices of mainst ...

, one may raise or lower the temperature on Shabbat mode, Sabbath Mode ovens. In June 2008, a number of prominent

Poskim 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 ...

signed a Kol Kore (public pronouncement) stating that this was unequivocally forbidden. The Kol Kore referred to the lenient opinion as a Daas Yachid (a minority opinion that should not be relied upon - literally: the opinion of an individual). After the Kol Kore was released, it was rumored by some that Rabbi Heineman retracted his opinion regarding this issue and ruled like the Israeli Poskim. However, no written record of his retraction exists, and the website of the Star-K, the Supervision Agency that is governed by Rabbi Heinemann's rulings, continues to promote Rabbi Heinemann's view. It has been noted that Rabbi Heinemann's opinion is consistent with the rulings of

Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach Shlomo Zalman Auerbach ( he, שלמה זלמן אויערבאך; July 20, 1910 – February 20, 1995) was a renowned Orthodox Jewish rabbi, posek, and rosh yeshiva of the Kol Torah yeshiva in Jerusalem. The Jerusalem neighborhood Ramat Shlomo ...

regarding

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as describ ...

Audio Lectures

MP3 shiurim by Rabbi Moshe Heinemann

References

External links

Agudath Israel of Baltimore
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heinemann, Moshe American Haredi rabbis American people of German-Jewish descent German emigrants to the United States German Haredi rabbis Living people Yeshivas Ner Yisroel Rabbis from Maryland Religious leaders from Baltimore Exponents of Jewish law Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American Jews