Yitzchak Berkovits
Encyclopedia
Yitzchak Berkovits also spelled Yitzchak Berkowitz, (b. 1953) is a Haredi
Jewish
rabbi
, rosh kollel
and posek
(halakhic
decisor) in Jerusalem, Israel
. Through his 16 years as mashgiach ruchani
of Yeshivas Aish HaTorah
and EYAHT
College of Jewish Studies for Women, he built a reputation as a lucid orator on halakhic and philosophical topics and a caring mentor for hundreds of English-speaking, baalei teshuva
young men and women. He is considered one of the spiritual leaders of the worldwide baal teshuva movement.
Berkovits is the dean and rosh hakollelim of Linas HaTzedek: The Center for Jewish Values
, which is dedicated to spreading the awareness of mitzvot bein adam lechaveiro (mitzvot
between man and his fellow man). He leads the Center's network of evening kollelim in Israel and the United States. He is also the founder and rosh kollel of The Jerusalem Kollel
, an institute dedicated to training rabbis and Orthodox Jewish outreach
counselors for communities in the Jewish diaspora
. Many of his students fill prominent positions around the globe. He is regarded as a "rabbi's rabbi" and as an adviser to hundreds of rabbis.
He is well-known to international audiences for his telephone tapes and book on shemiras halashon
(laws of proper speech) for the Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation
. He serves as a Moreh Tzedek (religious guide) for Jerusalem's Sanhedria Murhevet
neighborhood, where he resides, and leads that community's Congregation Minyan Avreichim.
and Boro Park
neighborhoods of Brooklyn
, New York. He studied at Toras Emes Kamenitz in Boro Park, Brooklyn, New York before leaving to Israel. In Israel he studied at the Mir yeshiva in Jerusalem
. His parents are both Holocaust survivors.
He served as Menahel Ruchani
of Yeshivas Aish HaTorah in Jerusalem for 16 years. He developed and supervised that yeshiva's rabbinic ordination
program, graduating hundreds of students. He also designed and taught the halakha
curriculum at EYAHT, Aish HaTorah's College of Jewish Studies for Women.
Berkovits is a leading proponent of what is known as the "kiruv movement". This means that he actively exhorts his students and followers to enter the field of Orthodox Jewish outreach
.
and is the author of Chofetz Chaim: A Lesson a Day (2 vol.). He has recorded thousands of tapes for the Aish HaTorah Audio Center on a vast range of halakhic and Talmud
ic topics. He speaks without notes in a lucid, pleasant style.
He is currently producing the Mishna Berura Yomi program for the Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation.
He inspired Rabbis Tzvi Muller and Paysach Freedman toward founding Linas HaTzedek: The Center for Jewish Values in Jerusalem in 2001. In addition to its international network of evening kollelim which study the laws of mitzvot bein adam le'chavero, the Center has published eight volumes of Berkovits' writings on the topic.
committee in the Sanhedria Murhevet
neighborhood of Jerusalem, where he resides, in response to price gouging
on the part of landlords renting to non-resident Haredi families. Many other neighborhoods followed his lead, and this policy was adopted by Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman of Bnei Brak and the Belzer Rebbe
. This effort has served to maintain reasonable rental prices for foreigners living in Jerusalem.
Haredi Judaism
Haredi or Charedi/Chareidi Judaism is the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism, often referred to as ultra-Orthodox. A follower of Haredi Judaism is called a Haredi ....
Jewish
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
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...
, rosh kollel
Kollel
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...
and posek
Posek
Posek is the term in Jewish law for "decider"—a legal scholar who decides the Halakha in cases of law where previous authorities are inconclusive or in those situations where no halakhic precedent exists....
(halakhic
Halakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...
decisor) in Jerusalem, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. Through his 16 years as mashgiach ruchani
Mashgiach ruchani
Mashgiach ruchani or mashgiach for short, means a spiritual supervisor or guide. It is a title which usually refers to a rabbi who has an official position within a yeshiva and is responsible for the non-academic areas of yeshiva students' lives.The position of mashgiach ruchani arose with the...
of Yeshivas Aish HaTorah
Aish HaTorah
Aish HaTorah is a Jewish Orthodox organization and yeshiva. Aish HaTorah is actively pro-Israel and encourages Jewish people to visit Israel and connect to the land and its history. Some consider the organisation to reflect a more Religious Zionist philosophy in its attachment to Israel, promoting...
and EYAHT
EYAHT
EYAHT , is a full-time college for advanced Jewish learning for women in Jerusalem, Israel.Geared to unaffiliated, college-educated and professional women aged 22-30 from English-speaking countries, EYAHT introduces women to the basics of Torah Judaism and encourages them to integrate Torah values...
College of Jewish Studies for Women, he built a reputation as a lucid orator on halakhic and philosophical topics and a caring mentor for hundreds of English-speaking, baalei teshuva
Baal 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...
young men and women. He is considered one of the spiritual leaders of the worldwide baal teshuva movement.
Berkovits is the dean and rosh hakollelim of Linas HaTzedek: The Center for Jewish Values
Center for Jewish Values
The Center for Jewish Values was founded in 2001 by Rabbis Tzvi Muller and Paysach Freedman. The Center researches, teaches and promotes specifically the interpersonal mitzvot, Judaism's guidelines on responsibility towards one's fellow man...
, which is dedicated to spreading the awareness of mitzvot bein adam lechaveiro (mitzvot
Mitzvah
The primary meaning of the Hebrew word refers to precepts and commandments as commanded by God...
between man and his fellow man). He leads the Center's network of evening kollelim in Israel and the United States. He is also the founder and rosh kollel of The Jerusalem Kollel
The Jerusalem Kollel
The Jerusalem Kollel is a rabbinic education program with the intent of training kollel students to assume positions of leadership in waning Jewish communities worldwide....
, an institute dedicated to training rabbis and Orthodox Jewish outreach
Orthodox Judaism outreach
Orthodox Jewish outreach commonly referred to as Kiruv or Keruv , is the collective work or movement of Orthodox Judaism that reaches out to non-Orthodox Jews to believe in God, engage in Torah study, and practice the Mitzvot in the hope that they will live according to Orthodox Jewish law...
counselors for communities in the Jewish diaspora
Jewish diaspora
The Jewish diaspora is the English term used to describe the Galut גלות , or 'exile', of the Jews from the region of the Kingdom of Judah and Roman Iudaea and later emigration from wider Eretz Israel....
. Many of his students fill prominent positions around the globe. He is regarded as a "rabbi's rabbi" and as an adviser to hundreds of rabbis.
He is well-known to international audiences for his telephone tapes and book on shemiras halashon
Lashon hara
The Hebrew term lashon hara is a term for gossip. It also refers to the prohibition in Jewish Law of telling gossip....
(laws of proper speech) for the Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation
Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation
The Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation is a non-profit Orthodox Jewish organization based in Monsey, New York, United States, dedicated to spreading the teachings of Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan who was known as the Chofetz Chaim based on his work of Jewish ethics of the same name dealing with the...
. He serves as a Moreh Tzedek (religious guide) for Jerusalem's Sanhedria Murhevet
Sanhedria Murhevet
Sanhedria Murhevet is a Haredi neighborhood in Jerusalem, Israel. Its name translates as "expanded Sanhedria"....
neighborhood, where he resides, and leads that community's Congregation Minyan Avreichim.
Biography
Berkovits was raised in the BrownsvilleBrownsville
Brownsville may refer to:United States*Brownsville, California , the name of several places*Brownsville, Florida**Brownsville , located at the above location...
and Boro Park
Borough Park, Brooklyn
Borough Park , is a neighborhood in the southwestern part of the borough of Brooklyn, in New York City in the United States....
neighborhoods of 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...
, New York. He studied at Toras Emes Kamenitz in Boro Park, Brooklyn, New York before leaving to Israel. In Israel he studied at the Mir yeshiva in Jerusalem
Mir yeshiva (Jerusalem)
The Mir yeshiva , known as the Mirrer Yeshiva or The Mir, is an Orthodox Jewish yeshiva in Jerusalem, Israel. With 6,000 students, it is the largest yeshiva in Israel. Many of the students are from the United States and Canada. It is also believed to be the largest yeshiva in the world...
. His parents are both Holocaust survivors.
He served as Menahel Ruchani
Mashgiach ruchani
Mashgiach ruchani or mashgiach for short, means a spiritual supervisor or guide. It is a title which usually refers to a rabbi who has an official position within a yeshiva and is responsible for the non-academic areas of yeshiva students' lives.The position of mashgiach ruchani arose with the...
of Yeshivas Aish HaTorah in Jerusalem for 16 years. He developed and supervised that yeshiva's rabbinic ordination
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...
program, graduating hundreds of students. He also designed and taught the halakha
Halakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...
curriculum at EYAHT, Aish HaTorah's College of Jewish Studies for Women.
Berkovits is a leading proponent of what is known as the "kiruv movement". This means that he actively exhorts his students and followers to enter the field of Orthodox Jewish outreach
Orthodox Judaism outreach
Orthodox Jewish outreach commonly referred to as Kiruv or Keruv , is the collective work or movement of Orthodox Judaism that reaches out to non-Orthodox Jews to believe in God, engage in Torah study, and practice the Mitzvot in the hope that they will live according to Orthodox Jewish law...
.
Halakhic expertise
Berkovits is a leading authority on mitzvot bein adam le'chavero, the Torah's guidelines for interpersonal relationships. He is well-known for his expertise in the laws of lashon haraLashon hara
The Hebrew term lashon hara is a term for gossip. It also refers to the prohibition in Jewish Law of telling gossip....
and is the author of Chofetz Chaim: A Lesson a Day (2 vol.). He has recorded thousands of tapes for the Aish HaTorah Audio Center on a vast range of halakhic and Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
ic topics. He speaks without notes in a lucid, pleasant style.
He is currently producing the Mishna Berura Yomi program for the Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation.
He inspired Rabbis Tzvi Muller and Paysach Freedman toward founding Linas HaTzedek: The Center for Jewish Values in Jerusalem in 2001. In addition to its international network of evening kollelim which study the laws of mitzvot bein adam le'chavero, the Center has published eight volumes of Berkovits' writings on the topic.
Rent control committee
In 2007 Berkovits founded a rent controlRent control
Rent control refers to laws or ordinances that set price controls on the renting of residential housing. It functions as a price ceiling.Rent control exists in approximately 40 countries around the world...
committee in the Sanhedria Murhevet
Sanhedria Murhevet
Sanhedria Murhevet is a Haredi neighborhood in Jerusalem, Israel. Its name translates as "expanded Sanhedria"....
neighborhood of Jerusalem, where he resides, in response to price gouging
Price gouging
Price gouging is a pejorative term referring to a situation in which a seller prices goods or commodities much higher than is considered reasonable or fair. In precise, legal usage, it is the name of a crime that applies in some of the United States during civil emergencies...
on the part of landlords renting to non-resident Haredi families. Many other neighborhoods followed his lead, and this policy was adopted by Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman of Bnei Brak and the Belzer Rebbe
Yissachar Dov Rokeach (II)
Yissachar Dov Rokeach is the fifth and present Rebbe of the Hasidic dynasty of Belz. He is the son of Rabbi Mordechai of Bilgoray, the grandson of the third Belzer Rebbe, Rabbi Yissachar Dov Rokeach, and the nephew of the fourth Belzer Rebbe, Rabbi Aharon Rokeach, who raised him...
. This effort has served to maintain reasonable rental prices for foreigners living in Jerusalem.