Avraham Jacobovitz
Encyclopedia
Rabbi Avraham Jacobovitz is an Israel
i born Charedi rabbi
, who founded Machon L'Torah and Jewish Awareness America
(JAAM), to educate Jewish college students about Jewish heritage and values.
to Hagaon Rav Yehuda Jacobovitz זצ"ל and Mrs. Sheina Dvora תלח"ט, the young Avraham Jacobovitz studied in the Slabodka yeshiva
of Bnei Brak, under the tutelage of Hagaon Rav Mordechai Shulman זצ"ל.
At the age of seventeen, his family moved to Brooklyn
, where his father gave the semicha
shiur
in the Mirrer Yeshiva.
A few years later, R' Avraham married his wife Bayla, a daughter of the famed mohel
Hagaon Rav Moshe Bunim Pirutinsky זצ"ל.
, the young couple moved to Detroit, where Rabbi Jacobovitz studied in the Kollel Institute of Greater Detroit.
It was in Detroit where the Rosh Kollel Rabbi Moshe Schwab
שליט"א encouraged Rabbi Jacobovitz to enter the kiruv world.
.
Throughout the years, Machon flourished to be a world-class kiruv organization, where Rabbi Jacobovitz lectured to college students throughout Michigan, primarily at the University of Michigan
in Ann Arbor, and Michigan State University
in Lansing. As a result, hundreds have found their faith, and became baalei teshuva.
He has also become an expert on the topic of intermarriage, and has authored a book titled Perfect Strangers: Redefining Intermarriage.
Machon also has a weekly Shabbos minyan
, which started in Rabbi Jacobovitz's private basement. Following Mussaf
, Rabbi Jacobovitz teaches a few halachos from the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch
.
In the summer of 1988, Machon purchased its own building in Oak Park, Michigan
, and the minyan moved there. A Sunday morning 9:00 AM Shacharis was added in the new building. (Prior to the purchase of the new building, Machon held its Sunday morning minyan at Rav Leizer Levin זצ"ל's shul, "Beth Tefilo Emanuel Tikvah").
In 2001, Rabbi Jacobovitz founded Jewish Awareness America
(JAAM), whose aim is to produce knowledgeable future Jewish leaders who will help out assimilated college students.
In 2004, Rabbi Jacobovitz launched the Yeshivalite program project, a uniquely designed Yeshiva for individuals who desire to gain learning skills and experience the Yeshiva life in a warm environment with caring, focused, and high caliber staff. It is specifically tailored for those with a limited time period in which to accomplish the above. After its initial extraordinary success in the summer of 2005, this project offers more options and a further improved curriculum.
In 2010, Rabbi Jacobovitz announced that his family will be making Aliyah
(moving to Israel
) in the summer, to continue his kiruv efforts in Eretz Yisrael. Rabbi Jacobovitz lives in Ramat Bet Shemesh and is active in giving classes there.
Rabbi Jacobovitz is known for his unique take on classic Jewish tunes, as well as for coining the phrase "Hoidu LaHashem Ki Toiv" (הודו לה' כי טוב) as a substitute for the familiar "Baruch Hashem" reply to questions such as "How are you?".
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i born Charedi rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
, who founded Machon L'Torah and Jewish Awareness America
Jewish Awareness America
Jewish Awareness AMerica is an American non-profit organization dedicated to educating Jewish students and graduates about Jewish heritage and values. It was founded in the late 1990s by Rabbi Avraham Jacobovitz of with the aim of producing knowledgeable future Jewish leaders who will make...
(JAAM), to educate Jewish college students about Jewish heritage and values.
Early life
Born in 1950 in Tel AvivTel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
to Hagaon Rav Yehuda Jacobovitz זצ"ל and Mrs. Sheina Dvora תלח"ט, the young Avraham Jacobovitz studied in the Slabodka yeshiva
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
of Bnei Brak, under the tutelage of Hagaon Rav Mordechai Shulman זצ"ל.
At the age of seventeen, his family moved to Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, where his father gave the semicha
Semicha
, also , or is derived from a Hebrew word which means to "rely on" or "to be authorized". It generally refers to the ordination of a rabbi within Judaism. In this sense it is the "transmission" of rabbinic authority to give advice or judgment in Jewish law...
shiur
Shiur
Shiur is a lesson on any Torah topic, such as Gemara, Mishnah, halakha, Tanakh, etc.-History:The shiur has been a primary method of teaching since Mishnaic times. In a famous Talmudic passage, Rabbi Judah haNasi averred that he gained his sharp mind from watching Rabbi Meir deliver the shiur...
in the Mirrer Yeshiva.
A few years later, R' Avraham married his wife Bayla, a daughter of the famed mohel
Mohel
A mohel is a Jewish person trained in the practice of brit milah "covenant of circumcision."-Etymology of the Hebrew and Aramaic term:...
Hagaon Rav Moshe Bunim Pirutinsky זצ"ל.
Learning in Kollel
After spending a few years in the Mirrer kollelKollel
A kollel is an institute for full-time, advanced study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features shiurim and learning sedarim ; unlike a yeshiva, the student body of a kollel are all married men...
, the young couple moved to Detroit, where Rabbi Jacobovitz studied in the Kollel Institute of Greater Detroit.
It was in Detroit where the Rosh Kollel Rabbi Moshe Schwab
Schwab
Schwab may refer to:People:* Albert E. Schwab United States Marine Killed in action WW2 Okinawa 1945 / Awarded Medal of Honor* Andreas Schwab , German politician* Andrew Schwab, lead vocalist for the rock group Project 86...
שליט"א encouraged Rabbi Jacobovitz to enter the kiruv world.
Career of Kiruv
Starting with shiurim in the Kollel's basement, Rabbi J. (as he is affectionately known) founded Machon L'Torah, the Jewish Learning Network of MichiganMichigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
.
Throughout the years, Machon flourished to be a world-class kiruv organization, where Rabbi Jacobovitz lectured to college students throughout Michigan, primarily at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
in Ann Arbor, and Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
in Lansing. As a result, hundreds have found their faith, and became baalei teshuva.
He has also become an expert on the topic of intermarriage, and has authored a book titled Perfect Strangers: Redefining Intermarriage.
Machon also has a weekly Shabbos minyan
Minyan
A minyan in Judaism refers to the quorum of ten Jewish adults required for certain religious obligations. According to many non-Orthodox streams of Judaism adult females count in the minyan....
, which started in Rabbi Jacobovitz's private basement. Following Mussaf
Mussaf
Mussaf is an additional service that is recited on Shabbat, Yom Tov, Chol Hamoed, and Rosh Chodesh. The service, which is traditionally combined with the Shacharit in synagogues, is considered to be additional to the regular services of Shacharit, Mincha, and Maariv.During the days of the Holy...
, Rabbi Jacobovitz teaches a few halachos from the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch
Kitzur Shulchan Aruch
Kitzur Shulchan Aruch may refer to:#The famous work of that name by Shlomo Ganzfried#A similar Sephardi work entitled "Kitzur Shulchan Aruch" by Rabbi Raphael Baruch Toledano....
.
In the summer of 1988, Machon purchased its own building in Oak Park, Michigan
Oak Park, Michigan
As of the census of 2000, there were 29,793 people, 11,104 households, and 7,595 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,863.8 persons per square mile . There were 11,370 housing units at an average density of 2,263.9 per square mile...
, and the minyan moved there. A Sunday morning 9:00 AM Shacharis was added in the new building. (Prior to the purchase of the new building, Machon held its Sunday morning minyan at Rav Leizer Levin זצ"ל's shul, "Beth Tefilo Emanuel Tikvah").
In 2001, Rabbi Jacobovitz founded Jewish Awareness America
Jewish Awareness America
Jewish Awareness AMerica is an American non-profit organization dedicated to educating Jewish students and graduates about Jewish heritage and values. It was founded in the late 1990s by Rabbi Avraham Jacobovitz of with the aim of producing knowledgeable future Jewish leaders who will make...
(JAAM), whose aim is to produce knowledgeable future Jewish leaders who will help out assimilated college students.
In 2004, Rabbi Jacobovitz launched the Yeshivalite program project, a uniquely designed Yeshiva for individuals who desire to gain learning skills and experience the Yeshiva life in a warm environment with caring, focused, and high caliber staff. It is specifically tailored for those with a limited time period in which to accomplish the above. After its initial extraordinary success in the summer of 2005, this project offers more options and a further improved curriculum.
In 2010, Rabbi Jacobovitz announced that his family will be making Aliyah
Aliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
(moving to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
) in the summer, to continue his kiruv efforts in Eretz Yisrael. Rabbi Jacobovitz lives in Ramat Bet Shemesh and is active in giving classes there.
Rabbi Jacobovitz is known for his unique take on classic Jewish tunes, as well as for coining the phrase "Hoidu LaHashem Ki Toiv" (הודו לה' כי טוב) as a substitute for the familiar "Baruch Hashem" reply to questions such as "How are you?".
External links
- Machon L'Torah - The Jewish Learning Network of Michigan
- YeshivaLite - The Jerusalem Short Term Yeshiva
- JAAM - Jewish Awareness AMerica