Yitzchak Shmuel Halevi Berkovits () is an American-born

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tra ...

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 t ...

rosh yeshiva Rosh yeshiva or Rosh Hayeshiva (, plural, pl. , '; 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, primarily the Talmud and th ...

, rosh kollel, and

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

(arbiter of

Jewish law ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is based on biblical commandments ('' mit ...

) in Israel. In 16 years as Menahel Ruchani (spiritual director) of Yeshivas

Aish HaTorah Aish, formerly known as Aish HaTorah (Hebrew: אש התורה, lit. "Fire of the Torah"), is a Jewish educational organization. The focus of Aish is the spread of traditional Jewish religious teachings and culture to Jews around the globe, util ...

and

halakha ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Torah, Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is ...

(Jewish law) lecturer at

EYAHT EYAHT (, a Hebrew abbreviation for the "It is for her fear of the LORD / That a woman is to be praised", Proverbs 31:30), was a full-time college for advanced Jewish learning for women in Jerusalem. Geared to unaffiliated, college-educated and p ...

, Aish HaTorah's College of Jewish Studies for Women, he built a reputation as a lucid orator on Jewish law and philosophical topics and a mentor to hundreds of English-speaking,

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

young men and women. In 2001, he founded The Jerusalem Kollel, a rabbinic ordination and training program which prepares students for

kiruv Orthodox Jewish outreach, often referred to as ''Kiruv'' or ''Qiruv'' ( "bringing close"), is the collective work or movement of Orthodox Judaism that reaches out to non-Orthodox or non-observant Jews to encourage belief in God and life accor ...

(outreach) positions around the world. In 2019, he was appointed rosh yeshiva of Yeshivat

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. He also serves as rosh kollel of an international network of evening kollelim run by Linas HaTzedek: The Center for Jewish Values in Israel and the United States, which spreads the awareness of the laws of ''bein adam lechaveiro'' (

mitzvot In its primary meaning, the Hebrew word (; , ''mīṣvā'' , plural ''mīṣvōt'' ; "commandment") refers to a commandment from God to be performed as a religious duty. Jewish law () in large part consists of discussion of these commandments ...

between man and his fellow man). Rabbi Berkovits is considered the "unofficial posek" of the kiruv world. He is well-known to international audiences for his telephone tapes and books on shemiras halashon (laws of proper speech) for the

Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation The Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation (established in 1989) is a non-profit Orthodox Jewish organization based in Monsey, New York, United States. The foundation is dedicated to spreading the teachings of Rabbi Israel Meir Kagan, known as the '' ...

Early life and education

Yitzchak Shmuel Halevi Berkovits is the only son of Aryeh Leib Halevi and Chana Berkowitz, both

Holocaust survivors Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its collaborators before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universall ...

. His ancestors on both his father's and mother's sides were

Hasidic Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most of those aff ...

, including his paternal great-grandfather, Pinchos Zimetbaum, the av beth din of Grosswardein, and his great-uncle, dayan Yitzchok Yaakov Weiss. Raised in

Borough Park, Brooklyn Borough Park (also spelled Boro Park) is a neighborhood in the southwestern part of the borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn, in New York City. The neighborhood is bordered by Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, Bensonhurst to the south, Dyker Heigh ...

which had a lack of Hasidic yeshivas at the time, Berkovits was enrolled at the non-Hasidic yeshiva Yeshiva Toras Emes Kaminetz. At the age of 20 he went to Israel to study at the Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem, where he learned under Nochum Partzovitz. He spent much time in the home of his illustrious great-uncle and also made relationships with Jerusalem poskim

Yosef Shalom Elyashiv Yosef Shalom Elyashiv (; 10 April 1910 – 18 July 2012) was a Haredi rabbi and ''posek'' (arbiter of Jewish law) who lived in Jerusalem. Until his death at the age of 102, Rav Elyashiv was the paramount leader of both Israel and the Diaspora ...

and Yisroel Yaakov Fisher. He married at age 28.

Career

After ten years at the Mir, in 1983, Berkovits was asked by the

rebbetzin Rebbetzin () or Rabbanit () is the title used for the wife of a rabbi—typically among Orthodox, Haredi, and Hasidic Jews—or for a female Torah scholar or teacher. Etymology The Yiddish word has a trilingual etymology: Hebrew, רבי ' ...

Denah Weinberg Denah Weinberg was an Orthodox Jewish rebbetzin and the founder and dean of '' EYAHT College of Jewish Studies for Women'' in Jerusalem. EYAHT has over 2,000 alumni. She was also a speaker on women's issues in Israel and abroad, and published severa ...

to teach

in her new seminary,

, the Aish HaTorah College of Jewish Studies for Women. Weinberg's husband,

Noah Weinberg Yisrael Noah Weinberg (; February 16, 1930 – February 5, 2009) was an Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox rabbi and the founder of Aish HaTorah. Early life Noah Weinberg was born on the Lower East Side of New York City. His father, Yitzchak Mattisya ...

, then appointed him menahel ruchani or spiritual director of Yeshivas Aish HaTorah in the

Old City of Jerusalem The Old City of Jerusalem (; ) is a walled area in Jerusalem. In a tradition that may have begun with an 1840s British map of the city, the Old City is divided into four uneven quarters: the Muslim Quarter, the Christian Quarter, the Arm ...

. During his 16 years with Aish HaTorah, Berkovits developed and supervised the yeshiva's rabbinic ordination program, graduating hundreds of students. In 2001, Berkovits left Aish HaTorah to found The Jerusalem Kollel, a three-year rabbinic ordination and training program which prepares rabbis and

(outreach) counsellors to serve communities in the

Jewish diaspora The Jewish diaspora ( ), alternatively the dispersion ( ) or the exile ( ; ), consists of Jews who reside outside of the Land of Israel. Historically, it refers to the expansive scattering of the Israelites out of their homeland in the Southe ...

. Berkovits is the rosh kollel. Hundreds of his students fill prominent positions around the globe. In the evenings, the kollel turns into a

beth midrash A ''beth midrash'' (, "house of learning"; : ''batei midrash''), also ''beis medrash'' or ''beit midrash'', is a hall dedicated for Torah study, often translated as a "study hall". It is distinct from a synagogue (''beth knesseth''), althoug ...

(study hall) for advanced ''avreichim'' from the Mir and Brisk yeshivas who regard Berkovits as a halakhic authority. In 2017, Berkovits acquiesced to requests by Aish HaTorah directors to return to the yeshiva and serve as its halakhic authority (). In August 2019, he was named

, a position that had been vacant since the 2009 death of founding dean,

."A New Rosh Yeshivat at Aish", '' Ami'', August 7, 2019, p. 62. In 2019, the yeshiva had a student body of more than 600, plus drop-in visitors totaling close to 200,000 annually. Berkovits delivers a daily

shiur A shiur (, , ; , ) is a lecture given any Torah-related topic of study, such as Gemara, Mishnah, ''Halakha'' (Jewish law), or Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), usually given in a yeshiva, though commonly in other Jewish communal settings. Histor ...

to all levels and is involved in restructuring the yeshiva's curriculum. He will continue his other responsibilities in addition to his duties at Aish HaTorah.

Other affiliations

In 2001, Berkovits began serving as rosh kollel of the Linas Hatzedek Kollel, an advanced kollel dedicated to the study of the laws of ''bein adam lechaveiro'' (

between man and his fellow man). The students, all full-time ''avreichim'', completed the two-year program and went out to form their own night kollelim on the subject. The kollel, founded and led by Rabbis Paysach Freedman and Tzvi Muller, continued expanding and developed into the Linas HaTzedek: The Center for Jewish Values, which disseminates various study materials on the topic for kollels, schools, synagogues, outreach organizations and individuals across the world. Berkovits serves as nasi and rosh hakollelim of Linas HaTzedek's international network of kollelim and its other study programs. Additionally, the organization has published nine volumes of Berkovits's writings on the laws of ''bein adam lechaveiro''. In 2009 Berkovits became the

Nasi Nasi may refer to: Food Dishes Nasi Goreng is an Indonesian and Malay word for ''cooked rice'', featured in many Southeast Asian dishes *Nasi goreng, a popular rice dish often simply called ''nasi'' *Other Southeast Asian ''nasi'' dishes: ** Nasi ...

(president) of UK-based charity Torah Live. He is also the Nasi of the international organisation Jewish Futures, a platform created to unite diverse educational organisations and initiatives, to ensure Jewish futures and Jewish continuity.

Halakhic expertise

Berkovits is a leading authority on the laws of ''bein adam le'chavero'', the Torah's guidelines for interpersonal relationships. He is well known for his expertise in the laws of

lashon hara ''Lashon hara'' (or ''loshon horo'', or ''loshon hora'') (; "evil tongue") is the halakhic term for speech about a person or persons that is negative or harmful to them, even though it is true. It is speech that damages the person(s) who is tal ...

and is the co-author of ''Chofetz Chaim: A Lesson a Day'' (2 vol.). He has recorded thousands of taped lectures on a vast range of halakhic and

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

ic topics. He regularly answers ''she'eilos'' (halakhic queries) from around the world, addressing issues "from

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 ko ...

to ''

geirus Conversion to Judaism ( or ) is the process by which non-Jews adopt the Jewish religion and become members of the Jewish ethnoreligious community. It thus resembles both conversion to other religions and naturalization. "Thus, by converting ...

'' to halachic questions arising from

alternative lifestyle An alternative lifestyle or unconventional lifestyle is a lifestyle (sociology), lifestyle perceived to be outside the social norm, norm for a given culture. The term ''alternative lifestyle'' is often used pejoratively. Description of a related ...

issues". Berkovits is the ''mara d'asra'' (halakhic authority) of Jerusalem's Sanhedria Murhevet neighborhood, where he resides.

Rent control committee

In 2007, Berkovits founded a

rent control Rent regulation is a system of laws for the rental market of dwellings, with controversial effects on affordability of housing and tenancies. Generally, a system of rent regulation involves: *Price controls, limits on the rent that a landlord ...

committee in the Sanhedria Murhevet neighborhood of Jerusalem in response to

price gouging Price gouging is the practice of increasing the prices of goods, services, or commodities to a level much higher than is considered reasonable or fair by some. This commonly applies to price increases of basic necessities after natural disaste ...

on the part of landlords renting to non-resident Haredi families. Other neighborhoods followed his lead, and this policy was adopted by Rabbi

Aharon Leib Shteinman Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman (), also Shtainman or Steinman (November 3, 1914 – December 12, 2017), was a Haredi rabbi in Bnei Brak, Israel. Following the death of Yosef Shalom Elyashiv in 2012, he was widely regarded as the Gadol HaDor ...

of Bnei Brak and the Belzer Rebbe. This effort has served to maintain reasonable rental prices for foreigners living in Jerusalem.

Bibliography

* * *

References

External links

Rabbi Berkovits's writing and recordings
broken link)
The Jerusalem KollelShort Bio & Free MP3 Lectures by Rabbi Yitzchak Berkovits

Video: "Is Kiruv Really a Chiyuv?" featuring Rabbi Yitzchak Berkovits

"The Concept of Guarding Your Tongue" (video)
Rabbi Berkovits, March 2018 {{DEFAULTSORT:Berkovits, Yitzchak Rabbis of Aish HaTorah 20th-century rabbis in Jerusalem 21st-century rabbis in Jerusalem Haredi rabbis in Israel American emigrants to Israel Orthodox Jewish outreach Living people Levites Year of birth missing (living people) Mir Yeshiva alumni Haredi poskim