Yaakov Menken
Encyclopedia
Rabbi Yaakov Menken is an Orthodox Rabbi and early pioneer in the field of Internet-based Orthodox Jewish outreach. He is the founder and Director of Project Genesis
, and creator of its website Torah.org, one of the Internet's largest sites for online
Jewish education. He is the co-founder and a featured writer on Cross-Currents, an online blog
, as well as the author of the Everything Torah Book.
; he adopted Orthodox Jewish observance after initially attending a Conservative
synagogue. He graduated from Princeton University
with a degree in Computer Science
, and then attended Yeshivas Ohr Somayach, Beth Medrash Gavoha in Lakewood and Jerusalem, and the Mirrer Yeshiva Jerusalem.
in 1993, hoping to involve Jewish university students in Jewish education. He began offering online classes, and invited other, less technologically-knowledgeable Rabbis to join him. When the Internet rapidly grew, the subscriber base of Project Genesis grew from 50 to over 80,000 worldwide.
, discussing a variety of Judaic topics.
Rabbi Menken teamed with Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein
, of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, to create the Cross-Currents blog in late 2004. Rabbi Adlerstein describes Cross-Currents as aiming "to expose the intersection between two currents: the timeless flow of authentic Torah thought, and the ebb and tide of current affairs."
In 2005, Adams Media published the The Everything Torah Book: All You Need To Understand The Basics Of Jewish Law And The Five Books Of The Old Testament (Everything: Philosophy and Spirituality), part of the "Everything" series of guides.
Rabbi Menken is also the CEO of Capalon Communications, a company offering web design and hosting, colocation, server management and IP communications. The company states that it was founded with the goal of supporting education and outreach, and offers steeply discounted services to non-profit organizations—like Project Genesis. In 2007, Rabbi Menken became CEO of Baltimore-Washington Telephone Company, a Maryland Competitive local exchange carrier
.
He led the technical development of Contact Loved Ones, an open voicemail system for those displaced by natural disasters. This story was picked up by the general media and especially by technical publications.
Since 2009, Rabbi Menken has written for The Baltimore Sun
's In Good Faith blog, and became a regular contributor in 2011.
Project Genesis (organization)
Project Genesis is an Orthodox Jewish outreach organization based in Baltimore, Maryland and created by Rabbi Yaakov Menken in 1993 to further the goals of the Baal teshuva movement....
, and creator of its website Torah.org, one of the Internet's largest sites for online
Jewish education. He is the co-founder and a featured writer on Cross-Currents, an online blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
, as well as the author of the Everything Torah Book.
History
Rabbi Menken is a Baal TeshuvaBaal teshuva
Baal teshuva or ba'al teshuvah , sometimes abbreviated to BT, is a term referring to a Jew who turns to embrace Orthodox Judaism. Baal teshuva literally means, "repentant", i.e., one who has repented or "returned" to God...
; he adopted Orthodox Jewish observance after initially attending a Conservative
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
synagogue. He graduated from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
with a degree in Computer Science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
, and then attended Yeshivas Ohr Somayach, Beth Medrash Gavoha in Lakewood and Jerusalem, and the Mirrer Yeshiva Jerusalem.
Project Genesis
Rabbi Menken founded Project GenesisProject Genesis (organization)
Project Genesis is an Orthodox Jewish outreach organization based in Baltimore, Maryland and created by Rabbi Yaakov Menken in 1993 to further the goals of the Baal teshuva movement....
in 1993, hoping to involve Jewish university students in Jewish education. He began offering online classes, and invited other, less technologically-knowledgeable Rabbis to join him. When the Internet rapidly grew, the subscriber base of Project Genesis grew from 50 to over 80,000 worldwide.
Other work
In 1998, 1999, and 2000, Rabbi Menken published columns in Jewish World ReviewJewish World Review
Jewish World Review is a free, online magazine updated Monday through Friday , which seeks to appeal to "people of faith and those interested in learning more about contemporary Judaism from Jews who take their religion seriously."It carries informational articles related to Judaism, dozens of...
, discussing a variety of Judaic topics.
Rabbi Menken teamed with Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein
Yitzchok Adlerstein
Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein is an Orthodox rabbi who has played an important role as spokesman, teacher, and writer on behalf of Orthodox Judaism as well as for the Baal teshuva movement in the United States...
, of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, to create the Cross-Currents blog in late 2004. Rabbi Adlerstein describes Cross-Currents as aiming "to expose the intersection between two currents: the timeless flow of authentic Torah thought, and the ebb and tide of current affairs."
In 2005, Adams Media published the The Everything Torah Book: All You Need To Understand The Basics Of Jewish Law And The Five Books Of The Old Testament (Everything: Philosophy and Spirituality), part of the "Everything" series of guides.
Rabbi Menken is also the CEO of Capalon Communications, a company offering web design and hosting, colocation, server management and IP communications. The company states that it was founded with the goal of supporting education and outreach, and offers steeply discounted services to non-profit organizations—like Project Genesis. In 2007, Rabbi Menken became CEO of Baltimore-Washington Telephone Company, a Maryland Competitive local exchange carrier
Competitive local exchange carrier
A competitive local exchange carrier , in the United States, is a telecommunications provider company competing with other, already established carriers ....
.
He led the technical development of Contact Loved Ones, an open voicemail system for those displaced by natural disasters. This story was picked up by the general media and especially by technical publications.
Since 2009, Rabbi Menken has written for The Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun is the U.S. state of Maryland’s largest general circulation daily newspaper and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries....
's In Good Faith blog, and became a regular contributor in 2011.