Rabbi Aaron Rakeffet-Rothkoff, Professor of Rabbinic Literature at YU’s Gruss Kollel in Israel and a noted scholar, author and teacher, is currently visiting the USA on a speaking tour. Rabbi Rakeffet is best known for his two-volume work on his teacher, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, and his scholarly memoir, From Washington Avenue to Washington Street. He has also deeply influenced thousands of students throughout his more than 55 years of teaching. Rabbi Rakeffet’s shiurim are the most popular classes on the YUtorah.org website.
Over the weekend of July 22 & 23, Rabbi Rakeffet will be the Scholar-in-Residence at the Young Israel of East Brunswick (YIEB). Under the overall theme of “Where Torah Meets Jewish Life,” Rabbi Rakeffet will discuss such issues as “A Rebbi’s Adventures as a Mossad Agent in the USSR,” “Subjectivity in Halachah” and “An Optimist’s View of Religious Conflict in Israel.”
On Sunday, July 24 at 10 a.m., Rabbi Rakeffet will deliver a community-wide lecture at YIEB (193 Dunhams Corner Road, East Brunswick) on “Treating Each Daughter of Israel as Their Own: The Care of the Posek for the Agunah.” After the lecture, Rabbi Rakeffet’s latest book, Rakafot Aharon—Vol 3, will be available for purchase and signing. Entry to this event is free and all are welcome. It should be noted that Rabbi Rakeffet is donating all of the proceeds of this book to Shvut Ami, an organization that reconnects unaffiliated Russian Jews to Jewish life and religion, enhances the bonds between Jews in the FSU and Israel and promotes aliyah.
Rabbi Rakeffet has an interesting and varied history. His initial position as a pulpit rabbi was at the Lower Merion Synagogue in Pennsylvania. Subsequently he became the Rabbi of Congregation Beth Ephraim in Maplewood, while simultaneously joining the faculty of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. In 1969 he made aliyah and became the Staff Editor for the Encyclopedia Judaica. Following completion of this work, Rabbi Rakeffet taught at various institutions including Jerusalem Torah College, Machon Gold, Michlalah and Midreshet Moriah, which was a pioneer in providing advanced Torah Studies for women.
Rabbi Rakeffet served in the Israel Defense Forces, including during Operation Peace for Galilee, and continued to serve until the oldest age permissible. During his service in Lebanon, he lectured on various Torah topics to the troops in places as far North as Beirut and the Bekaa Valley.
In 1980, Rabbi Rakeffet joined the Mossad’s secret Nativ operation to covertly teach Torah in the Former Soviet Union (FSU). He visited the FSU three times with his wife and recruited about 200 others to join this clandestine activity. His experiences motivated him to become a founding board member of Shvut Ami, which today has trained and helped to place over 160 rabbis and teachers in the FSU, Israel, Germany and the USA. Shvut Ami’s team of graduates, master teachers and emissaries build Russian Jewish communities, inspire Jewish pride among Russian Jews and offer a wide range of classes and activities for the whole family.
Rabbi Rakeffet will be speaking at the following locations in the tri-state area:
Shabbat July 22/23: Young Israel of East Brunswick, East Brunswick, NJ
Sunday July 24: Young Israel of East Brunswick, East Brunswick, NJ
Shabbat August 5/6: Congregation B’nai Yeshurun, Teaneck, NJ
Sunday August 7: Congregation B’nai Yeshurun, Teaneck, NJ
For more information, please email [email protected] or call Rabbi Dovid Cofnas, Executive Director of American Friends of Shvut Ami at 201-575-9080.
By Anthony Winston
