Larry Yudelson
Encyclopedia
Larry Yudelson also known by his pen name Reb Yudel, is editorial director and owner of Ben Yehuda Press, a specialty publisher of Jewish religious texts. He is also an independent journalist, a writer of political and social commentary, both in his own blogs and in Jewish newspapers and periodicals.
Yudelson’s pen name is derived from a Hebrew
novel published in 1932, Haknasat Kala (The Bridal Canopy
), by Shmuel Yosef Agnon
. Agnon's novel describes the fictional wanderings of Reb Yudel through the Jewish villages of Galicia at the beginning of the 19th century, in search of a bridegroom and a dowry for his daughter. A modern critic described the fictional Reb Yudel as "naively pious." Others have characterized Agnon's protagonist as a Jewish archetype of Don Quixote.
Yudelson is a graduate of Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim and Yeshiva University
. Within the Orthodox educational world, Chofetz Chaim Yeshiva is noteworthy for its emphasis on analytical thinking and musar (moral discipline). Its namesake, a rabbi known as the Chofetz Chaim
, was famed for his commentary on avoiding lashon hara
(Hebrew
, hurtful, libelous, or slanderous speech). Graduates of Chofetz Chaim Yeshiva are encouraged to found their own Jewish schools.
tradition, his publications include a range of alternative and non-Orthodox Jewish materials. Yudelson worked for ten years as a journalist for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
, which functions as a syndicate and wire service for Jewish weekly newspapers. He has published in many other Jewish periodicals as well.
In 1995 he was a founding editor of the Jewish Communication Network (known as JCN, no longer in operation), an on-line directory of Jewish news and opinion. JCN functioned as a clearinghouse for independent Jewish commentary at a time in the mid-1990s before there were organized blogging sites. He also operated his own Internet consultancy, YudelCom Communications.
Yudelson was an early member of the WELL, a pioneering on-line community. He has been active in creating a variety of Jewish online communities. Since the early 1990s, he has also maintained a webpage dedicated to Jewish aspects of the persona and identity of Bob Dylan
. Yudelson's Dylan page began as a page within The Well's community website, but it later moved.
In American politics, Yudelson has been a staunch critic of the Bush Administration, especially of its conduct of the Iraq War. Within the Jewish community, his editorial activities have often focused attention on elements of the "right wing" of Orthodox Judaism:
He has published a work together with Yori Yannver refuting Klinghoffer. Specifically, Yudelson defends the Jewish tradition of seeking health care against Klinghoffer’s rejection. He defends Cardozo law school’s defense of innocent people who get falsely accused of the death penalty against Klinghoffer’s assertion that defense of innocents is against the Bible. He also defends evolution, social justice, and Jewish values. Yudelson considers Klinghoffer’s approach to divorce and family as more dependent on the ethics of the Pauline Letters than on Judaism.
Yudelson has been a resident of Teaneck, New Jersey
.
Yudelson’s pen name is derived from a Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
novel published in 1932, Haknasat Kala (The Bridal Canopy
The Bridal Canopy
The Bridal Canopy , a novel by Shmuel Yosef Agnon, is considered to be one of the first classics of modern Hebrew literature. At the time of its publication in 1931, Hebrew had only recently been revived as a spoken language. Although Jewish commentators and writers continued to write in Hebrew, it...
), by Shmuel Yosef Agnon
Shmuel Yosef Agnon
Shmuel Yosef Agnon , was a Nobel Prize laureate writer and was one of the central figures of modern Hebrew fiction. In Hebrew, he is known by the acronym Shai Agnon . In English, his works are published under the name S. Y. Agnon.Agnon was born in Galicia, Austro-Hungarian Empire...
. Agnon's novel describes the fictional wanderings of Reb Yudel through the Jewish villages of Galicia at the beginning of the 19th century, in search of a bridegroom and a dowry for his daughter. A modern critic described the fictional Reb Yudel as "naively pious." Others have characterized Agnon's protagonist as a Jewish archetype of Don Quixote.
Yudelson is a graduate of Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim and Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a private university in New York City, with six campuses in New York and one in Israel. Founded in 1886, it is a research university ranked as 45th in the US among national universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2012...
. Within the Orthodox educational world, Chofetz Chaim Yeshiva is noteworthy for its emphasis on analytical thinking and musar (moral discipline). Its namesake, a rabbi known as the Chofetz Chaim
Yisrael Meir Kagan
Yisrael Meir Poupko , known popularly as The Chofetz Chaim, was an influential Eastern European rabbi, Halakhist, posek, and ethicist whose works continue to be widely influential in Jewish life...
, was famed for his commentary on avoiding lashon hara
Lashon hara
The Hebrew term lashon hara is a term for gossip. It also refers to the prohibition in Jewish Law of telling gossip....
(Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
, hurtful, libelous, or slanderous speech). Graduates of Chofetz Chaim Yeshiva are encouraged to found their own Jewish schools.
Career as a publisher and journalist
In his career as a publisher, Larry Yudelson's efforts have focused on independent journalism, both on-line and in print. Although educated within the Orthodox JewishOrthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
tradition, his publications include a range of alternative and non-Orthodox Jewish materials. Yudelson worked for ten years as a journalist for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency is an international news agency serving Jewish community newspapers and media around the world. The JTA was founded on February 6, 1917, by Jacob Landau as the Jewish Correspondence Bureau in The Hague with the mandate of collecting and disseminating news among and...
, which functions as a syndicate and wire service for Jewish weekly newspapers. He has published in many other Jewish periodicals as well.
In 1995 he was a founding editor of the Jewish Communication Network (known as JCN, no longer in operation), an on-line directory of Jewish news and opinion. JCN functioned as a clearinghouse for independent Jewish commentary at a time in the mid-1990s before there were organized blogging sites. He also operated his own Internet consultancy, YudelCom Communications.
Yudelson was an early member of the WELL, a pioneering on-line community. He has been active in creating a variety of Jewish online communities. Since the early 1990s, he has also maintained a webpage dedicated to Jewish aspects of the persona and identity of Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
. Yudelson's Dylan page began as a page within The Well's community website, but it later moved.
In American politics, Yudelson has been a staunch critic of the Bush Administration, especially of its conduct of the Iraq War. Within the Jewish community, his editorial activities have often focused attention on elements of the "right wing" of Orthodox Judaism:
- The real significance of Yudelson's most famous story as a reporter was not recognized when it first appeared, but it became noteworthy in retrospect. He reported in June 1995 that Rabbi Abraham HechtAbraham HechtAbraham Hecht born on April 5, 1922 in Brooklyn, New York; is an American Orthodox rabbi affiliated with the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, and is president of the Rabbinical Alliance of America - Igud HaRabanim....
had claimed that Israel's offer at Oslo to return occupied lands in a peace agreement justified the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin and other Israeli leaders. When Rabin was assassinated a few months later, by a young, ultra-nationalist Jew, Yigal AmirYigal AmirYigal Amir is the Israeli assassin of Prime Minister of Israel Yitzhak Rabin. The assassination took place on November 4, 1995 at the conclusion of a rally in Tel Aviv. Amir is currently serving a life sentence for murder plus six years for injuring Rabin's bodyguard, Yoram Rubin, under...
, the prescience of the story was recognized. After the assassination, Hecht was placed on a leave of absence by his synagogue, and was one of several religious leaders barred from entering Israel for security reasons. - Yudelson has responded to commentators such as David KlinghofferDavid KlinghofferDavid Klinghoffer is an author and essayist, and a proponent of intelligent design. He is a Senior Fellow of the Discovery Institute, the organization that is the driving force behind the intelligent design movement...
and Avi ShafranAvi ShafranAbraham Shafran is a Haredi rabbi who serves as the Director of Public Affairs for Agudath Israel of America and who is Editor-at-Large of Ami . Agudath Israel was established to meet the needs and viewpoint of many Haredi Jews, while Ami, launched on November 24, 2010, promises to serve a broader...
on a variety of theological and social issues, including intelligent designIntelligent designIntelligent design is the proposition that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." It is a form of creationism and a contemporary adaptation of the traditional teleological argument for...
.
He has published a work together with Yori Yannver refuting Klinghoffer. Specifically, Yudelson defends the Jewish tradition of seeking health care against Klinghoffer’s rejection. He defends Cardozo law school’s defense of innocent people who get falsely accused of the death penalty against Klinghoffer’s assertion that defense of innocents is against the Bible. He also defends evolution, social justice, and Jewish values. Yudelson considers Klinghoffer’s approach to divorce and family as more dependent on the ethics of the Pauline Letters than on Judaism.
Yudelson has been a resident of Teaneck, New Jersey
Teaneck, New Jersey
Teaneck is a township in Bergen County, New Jersey, and a suburb in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 39,776, making it the second-most populous among the 70 municipalities in Bergen County....
.