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...

 Mordechai Piron or Mordechai Peron , born Egon Pisk 28 December 1921 in Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

, Austria, was the second chief military rabbi

Military Rabbinate

The Military Rabbinate is a corps in the Israel Defense Forces that provides religious services to soldiers, primarily to Jews but also including non-Jews, and makes decisions on issues of religion and military affairs. The Military Rabbinate is headed by the Chief Military Rabbi, who is ranked a...

 in the history of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), after his predecessor, Rabbi Shlomo Goren

Shlomo Goren

Shlomo Goren , was an Orthodox Religious Zionist rabbi in Israel who founded and served as the first head of the Military Rabbinate of the Israel Defense Forces and subsequently as the third Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1973 to 1983.He served in the Israel Defense Forces during three wars,...

, created the position in 1948. Rabbi Piron served in the position from 1969 to 1980, with a rank of general

General

A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....

. Upon his retirement from his IDF position, he relocated to Zürich

Zürich

Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...

, to serve till 1992 as rabbi of the Israelitische Cultusgemeinde Zürich, the biggest Jewish congregation in Switzerland.

Rabbi Piron has published several books on Jewish philosophy and theology and heads the Sapir Center for Jewish Education and Culture in Jerusalem. He is an advocate of interfaith dialogue among world religions and currently chairs The Israel Jewish Council for Interreligious Relations (IJCIR), and sits on the board of world religious leaders for The Elijah Interfaith Institute

The Elijah Interfaith Institute

The Elijah Interfaith Institute is a nonprofit, international, interfaith organization which was founded by Rabbi Alon Goshen-Gottstein in 1997. Its mission is to foster peace between the world's diverse faith communities through interfaith dialogue, education, research and dissemination...

.

Biography

Piron is the only child of Viennese religious Jewish parents of Eastern European origins. He grew up in the Leopoldstadt

Leopoldstadt

Leopoldstadt is the 2nd municipal District of Vienna . There are inhabitants over . It is situated in the heart of the city and, together with Brigittenau , forms a large island surrounded by the Danube Canal and, to the north, the Danube. It is named after Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor...

, and first went to a religious Jewish school and later to the Sperlgymnasium. He left Vienna for Palestine on 28 October 1938 with the Youth Aliyah

Youth Aliyah

Szold was initially skeptical about the merits of Freier's proposal, as she believed that Germany offered better educational opportunities for Jewish children than Palestine. However, Hitler's rise to power convinced her otherwise. The Nuremberg Laws were enacted in 1935 and on 31 March 1936 German...

 and joined its agricultural school Mikveh Yisrael. After a year and a half, he enrolled in 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...

t Mercaz HaRav Kook, studying under rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook

Zvi Yehuda Kook

Zvi Yehuda Kook was a rabbi, leader of Religious Zionism and Rosh Yeshiva of the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva...

. In 1946 he married Ahuva Gardi and settled in Jerusalem. In 1952 he was ordained

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...

 as a rabbi.

Piron served in the IDF since 1948, becomming second-in-command to chief military rabbi Shlomo Goren and succeeding him in 1969.

Controversy

Rabbi Piron officiated at the wedding of Chanoch Langer, whose disputed legitimacy was settled in 1972 with "The Brother and Sister verdict" of Rabbi Goren as chief rabbi of Tel Aviv

Tel 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...

, a years-long case that made front-page headlines in Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

.