Avi Weiss

Avraham Haim Yosef (Avi) haCohen Weiss (Hebrew: אברהם חיים יוסף הכהן ווייס‎; born June 24, 1944) is an American Open Orthodox ordained rabbi, author, teacher, lecturer, and activist who heads the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale in The Bronx, New York, from which he retired in 2015.[1] He is the founder of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, a rabbinical seminary he refers to as "Open Orthodox", a term he coined to describe an offshoot of Orthodoxy, founder of Yeshivat Maharat for Open Orthodox (Neo-Conservative) women,[2] co-founder of the International Rabbinical Fellowship, an Open Orthodox (Neo-Conservative) rabbinical association founded as a liberal alternative to the Orthodox Rabbinical Council of America,[3] and founder of the grassroots organization Coalition for Jewish Concerns – Amcha. He received his rabbinical ordination at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (Yeshiva University) in 1968.

Rabbi

Avi Weiss
Rabbi Weiss, 2007
Personal
Born
Avraham Weiss
אברהם חיים יוסף הכהן ווייס‎

(1944-06-24) June 24, 1944
ReligionJudaism
NationalityAmerican
DenominationOpen Orthodox (Neo-Conservative)
Alma materYeshiva University, RIETS
OccupationRabbi, author
SynagogueHebrew Institute of Riverdale
YeshivaYeshivat Chovevei Torah
Yeshivat Maharat
SemichaRabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, 1968

During the 1970s and 1980s Weiss was best known for his involvement in "1 2 3 4; Open up the Iron Door" (Soviet Jewry).[4][5][6] Increasingly since 2000, his name is associated with a movement[7] to open to women as rabbinical candidates for the "stream" of Judaism from which his own ordination came: Orthodox Judaism.[8]

In the matter of conversion to Judaism, Weiss encountered difficulties with acceptability by the Israeli Rabbinate.[9]

Ordination of women by Weiss' movement is a source of friction.[10]

2000s

In 2013, Newsweek ranked him the 10th most prominent rabbi in the United States,[11] climbing from number 11 in 2012 and number 12 in 2011,[12] after being ranked number 18 in 2010.[13]

On June 29, 2015, Weiss resigned from the Rabbinical Council of America. He resigned before he likely would have been removed as he was denounced as an apikores by many of the leading members of the rabbinate. The Traditional Orthodox communities view his movement as neo-conservative and far removed from orthodoxy.[14] [15][16][17][18]

On November 3, 2015, the Moetzes of Agudath Israel of America declared Open Orthodoxy, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, Yeshivat Maharat and other affiliated entities to be similar to other dissident movements throughout Jewish history in having rejected basic tenets of Judaism.[19][20][21]

Hebrew Institute of Riverdale
Main article: Hebrew Institute of Riverdale

The Hebrew Institute of Riverdale was founded in 1971 in a boiler room of the Whitehall Building off the Henry Hudson Parkway by former members of the Hebrew Institute of University Heights in the Bronx who had moved to Riverdale. Weiss, who had finished his training at Yeshiva University a few years earlier, became the synagogue's rabbi in 1973.[22] The congregation has grown to 850 families, and has served as a platform for Weiss's rabbinical advocacy.[2] In October 2014, Weiss announced that he would step down from his pulpit effective mid-2015. In July 2015 Rabbi Steven Exler became HIR's senior rabbi and Rabbi Weiss continues on its staff.[23]

The synagogue introduced one Friday night "the first woman to lead this service in an established Orthodox synagogue in front of a mixed congregation."[24]

Open Orthodoxy
Main article: Open Orthodoxy

Weiss coined the term "Open Orthodoxy" in 1997. He contrasts it with Conservative Judaism, noting that the latter "is generally not composed of ritually observant Jews."[25]

Rabbis associated with Orthodox Union (OU) and Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) have opposed this approach. Although there are other critics,[26] Weiss is not without defenders.

Yeshivat Chovevei Torah
Main article: Yeshivat Chovevei Torah

In 1999 Weiss founded Yeshivat Chovevei Torah (YCT), a rabbinic seminary in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx after resigning from Yeshiva University, where he had taught at Stern College for Women for decades.[27] The school's graduates work as rabbis in synagogues, college Hillels and schools,[28] but the Rabbinical Council of America does not permit membership to the school's graduates unless they have also been ordained by a traditional Orthodox rabbinical school.[29] In June 2013, Weiss handed over the presidency of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah to Chicago rabbi Asher Lopatin.[28]

International Rabbinic Fellowship

With Marc D. Angel, Weiss co-founded International Rabbinic Fellowship (IRF); it accepts YCT graduates.[30]

Ordination of Women

In May 2009, Weiss announced the opening of Yeshivat Maharat, a new school to train women, using a title he created.[31][32] Sara Hurwitz was appointed dean of Yeshivat Maharat.[33][34]

Activism

Weiss has been vocal on many issues, including emigration and absorption of Soviet Jews, clemency for Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard, opposing terrorism, supporting Israel, preserving Holocaust memorials, and exposing anti-semitism. In 1992 he founded Amcha – the Coalition for Jewish Concerns, a grassroots coalition engaging in pro-Jewish activism.[35]

Soviet Jewry

Weiss was an early leader of the Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry, founded in 1964. It was one of the first American organizations working to free Russian Jews, who were not allowed to emigrate during the Soviet era. The group used demonstrations, lobbying, and education[36] to pressure the Soviet authorities into allowing Jews to leave the country.[37][38] In 2015, he published his memoir detailing his efforts to liberate Soviet Jews, Open Up the Iron Door: Memoirs of a Soviet Jewry Activist. The book focuses on how grassroots activism and acts of civil disobedience led to important policy changes for the Soviet Jews.[39]

Holocaust remembrance

A response to his "Holocaust Symbols or Objects of Worship" article in the March/April 2002 issue of Martyrdom and Resistance was printed in the September/October issue. The 2-section article acknowledged that "the most trustworthy guardian of the memory .. is to be found in Judaism itself, in its liturgy and its religious calendar." The closing challenged Weiss to accept her idea of wearing a "yellow six-sided star ... for a few moments every year."[40]

In the United States

Weiss was an official emissary of former New York Governor Mario Cuomo and former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.[35]

Weiss has served as personal rabbi to Jonathan Pollard,[41] an American who spied for Israel sentenced to life in prison in 1987.[35] In 1992 Weiss was one of the signators to a full-page ad in The New York Times calling for the release of Pollard.[42] In 1989 Weiss conducted a "freedom Seder" in front of the prison where Pollard was incarcerated.[43]

At a speech at New York City Hall in 2001 Weiss criticized President George W. Bush for not making a clearer distinction between Arab acts of terrorism and Israeli acts of self-defense. "The trap that he's falling into is that he's drawn a moral equivalency between cold-blooded murder and acts of self-defense," Weiss said. [44]

In April 2002 Weiss organized a pro-Israel rally on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.[45] and a boycott of several large newspapers perceived as having an anti-Israeli bias.[46]

In 2006 Weiss organized a protest in front of Syria's UN mission to denounce a Hezbollah offensive in the Middle East.[47]

In September 2011, Weiss was arrested in front of the U.N. building in New York while protesting the Palestinian statehood bid.[12]

In a July 15, 2015, Haaretz opinion piece, Weiss applauded the U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage, which he saw as a part of maintaining the separation of church and state and protecting his right to refuse to perform gay weddings. He stated that he would not participate in same-sex weddings, because doing so would run contrary to his religious commitments, but that he had met countless gay individuals and couples, some of whom were members of his synagogue, who lived loving, exemplary lives. "If I welcome with open arms those who do not observe Sabbath, Kashrut or family purity laws, I must welcome, even more so, homosexual Jews, as they are born with their orientation."[48]

In Europe

Weiss has travelled worldwide as an activist in various causes.[49] In 1989 Weiss and others protested at a Carmelite convent that had been established at Auschwitz. The group—dressed in concentration camp clothing—scaled the walls of the convent, blew a shofar, and screamed anti-Nazi slogans. Workers evicted them from the site.[50] In 1993 Pope John Paul II ordered the closure of the convent, which had been located in a converted building that had stored Zyklon B gas used to kill prisoners at the camp during World War II.[51]

He protested President Ronald Reagan's visit to an SS cemetery in 1985.[35] He was arrested in 1990 while protesting Kurt Waldheim's visit to the Salzburg Festival,[52] and again in 1994, when he protested in Oslo, Norway, when PLO chief Yasser Arafat received the Nobel Peace Prize.[53]

Along with Rosa Sacharin of Glasgow, Scotland, Weiss sued the American Jewish Committee in New York state court in 2003 to stop the construction of a path through the Belzec extermination camp in Poland. They were concerned that mass graves at the site would be disturbed by the work.[54]

Organizations

Works
  • Weiss, Avi (2000). Haggadah for the Yom HaShoah Seder. Hackensack, NJ: Jonas Pub. ISBN 0-615-11519-5.
  • Weiss, Avi (2001). Principles of Spiritual Activism. Hoboken, NJ: KTAV Publishing House. ISBN 0-88125-737-0.
  • Weiss, Avi (2001). Women at Prayer: A Halakhic Analysis of Women's Prayer Groups. Hoboken, NJ: KTAV Publishing House. ISBN 0-88125-719-2.
  • Weiss, Avi (2006). "Avigayil: Savior of David". In Helfgot, Nathaniel (ed.). The Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Tanakh Companion to the Book of Samuel. Teaneck, NJ: Ben Yehuda Press. ISBN 0-9769862-4-8.
  • Weiss, Avi (2014). Holistic Prayer: A Guide to Jewish Spirituality. Jerusalem: Maggid Books. ISBN 978-1-592-64334-9.
  • Weiss, Avi (2015). Open Up the Iron Door: Memoirs of a Soviet Jewry Activist. Jerusalem: The Toby Press. ISBN 978-1-592-64385-1.
Articles in Sh'ma: A Journal of Jewish Responsibility:
gollark: OIR is managed from this highly advanced* interface which does NOT consume your soul.
gollark: It is good music because obviously my preferences are always right and anyone who disagrees will [REDACTED] [DATA EXPUNGED] [DATA FILLED WITH BEES].
gollark: https://osmarks.tk/radio/ ← no* cognitohazards present.
gollark: If it damages your ears your volume is set too high, apiosonoform.
gollark: https://osmarks.tk/radio/ ← contains more than 99.03% music.

References
  1. Forward Staff (16 October 2014). "Rabbi Avi Weiss, Progressive Voice in Orthodoxy, Steps Down From Pulpit". The Forward.
  2. Pogrebin, Abigail (July 11, 2010). "The Rabbi and the Rabba". New York. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
  3. Nathan-Kazis, Josh (April 12, 2013). "Top Modern Orthodox Rabbi Michael Broyde Admits Fake Name Scheme". The Jewish Daily Forward. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  4. "200,000 at rally for Soviet Jewry". The New York Times. May 4, 1987.
  5. "Protesters for Soviet Jewry Urge Direct Flights to Israel". The New York Times. April 2, 1990.
  6. "2 say Soviet plans to let Jews leave in larger numbers". The New York Times. March 31, 1987.
  7. Alexander Goldberg (August 13, 2009). "Modern Orthodoxy". open orthodoxy .. This movement has its own rabbinic school in New York, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah.
  8. "Rabbi Avi Weiss". The Jewish Press. .. founding president of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah
  9. Avi Weiss (January 29, 2014). "Rein in Israel's Rabbinate". The New York Times.
  10. "Rabbi Avi Weiss Announces His Retirement". Yeshivaworld. October 19, 2015. ordination of women Rabbis ... semikha to women ... spiritual leadership .. full member of our rabbinic team
  11. "America's Top 50 Rabbis for 2013". The Daily Beast. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  12. "America's Top 50 Rabbis for 2012". The Daily Beast.
  13. Lynton, Michael; Ginsberg, Gary (June 28, 2010). "The 50 Most Influential Rabbis in America". newsweek.com. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
  14. "Will The RCA Expel Rabbi Avi Weiss Over 'Orthodox Woman Rabbi'". Yeshiva World. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  15. JTA. "Rabbi Avi Weiss quits Rabbinical Council of America in protest - Jewish World News". Retrieved 2015-06-30.
  16. "Newly minted female Orthodox rabbis to be called 'rabba' - Jewish World News".
  17. "In protest, Avi Weiss quits Rabbinical Council of America". Retrieved 2015-06-30.
  18. "Avi Weiss Quits Rabbinic Group in Flap Over School - Breaking News". Retrieved 2015-06-30.
  19. "Moetzes: 'Open Orthodoxy' Not a Form of Torah Judaism". Hamodia.
  20. "Breach in US Orthodox Judaism grows as haredi body rejects 'Open Orthodoxy' institutions". The Jerusalem Post - JPost.com.
  21. Josh Nathan-Kazis (3 November 2015). "Avi Weiss Defends 'Open Orthodoxy' as Agudah Rabbis Declare War". The Forward.
  22. Olitzky, Kerry M.; Raphael, Marc Lee (1996). The American Synagogue: A Historical Dictionary and Sourcebook. Greenwood Press. pp. 223–224.
  23. Rabbi Avi Weiss to step down as rabbi of Hebrew Institute of Riverdale
  24. Sarah Breger (March 8, 2013). "Do 1 Rabba, 2 Rabbis and 1 Yeshiva = a New Denomination?". Moment (magazine).
  25. Weiss, Avi (Fall 1997). "Open orthodoxy! A modern Orthodox rabbi's creed". Judaism: A Journal of Jewish Life & Thought. American Jewish Congress.
  26. Agudath Israel of America denounced moves to ordain women, and went even further, declaring Open Orthodoxy, Yeshivat Maharat, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, and other affiliated entities to be similar to other dissident movements throughout Jewish history in having rejected basic tenets of Judaism.
  27. Mark, Jonathan (December 24, 1999). "Modern Orthodox Rabbinical School Planned". The Jewish Week. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  28. Hoffman, Allison (April 29, 2013). "The New 'Morethodox' Rabbi". Tablet Magazine. Retrieved August 6, 2013.
  29. Dickter, Adam (June 12, 2012). "RCA Facing Leadership Challenge". The Jewish Week. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  30. The RCA doesn't.
  31. Harris, Ben (May 18, 2009). "New program to train Orthodox women as non-rabbis". blogs.jta.org. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
  32. "Yeshivat Maharat".
  33. "An Evening with Rabbah Sarah Hurwitz". hillel.harvard.edu. Archived from the original on August 17, 2011. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
  34. Cohen, Anne (June 20, 2013). "Orthodox Schism Over Role of Women Widens After Graduation of Maharats". The Jewish Daily Forward. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  35. "Amcha: The Coalition for Jewish Concerns. Rabbi Avi Weiss, President". amchacjc.org. Archived from the original on February 17, 2006. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
  36. "No Soviet Movement On Jewish Emigration". The New York Times. January 25, 1986.
  37. "Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry". jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved April 17, 2011.
  38. "Soviet Jewry, 40 Years Later". ncsj.org. April 30, 2004. Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved April 17, 2011.
  39. "Social Justice With Roots: What The Memoirs of a Soviet Jewry Activist Can Teach Us About Today". Huffington Post. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  40. Gerda Bikales. "Memory of Our Memories: Who Will Remember Them?". Martyrdom and Resistance. p. 4.
  41. Rabbi Avi Weiss (January 4, 1994). "Walking the Path with Jonathan Pollard". Palm Beach Jewish Journal.
  42. "American Rabbis Ask Bush to Give Pollard Clemency". The Jerusalem Post. October 25, 1992. Archived from the original on June 14, 2006. Retrieved June 10, 2006.
  43. Besser, James D (June 28, 2002). "The Jonathan Pollard Case: A Reflection Of Our Fears". The Jewish Week. Archived from the original on May 27, 2011. Retrieved April 17, 2011.
  44. "It's Self-Defense, Rabbi Tells Bush". Daily News. New York. June 2, 2001. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved April 17, 2011.
  45. McFadden, Robert D. (April 8, 2002). "Demonstrators Roar Support for Israel". The New York Times. Retrieved April 17, 2011.
  46. Fost, Dan (May 2, 2002). "Jewish Groups Battle Media Over Perceived Bias". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on May 24, 2011. Retrieved April 17, 2011.
  47. Egbert, Bill (July 17, 2006). "Dozens Protest At Un Mission". Daily News. New York. Retrieved April 17, 2011.
  48. Weiss, Avi (July 15, 2015). "Why I, as an Orthodox Rabbi, Support Legalizing Same-sex Marriage". Haaretz. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  49. Weiss, Avi. "Principles of Spiritual Activist". amchacjc.org. Retrieved April 17, 2011.
  50. "Auschwitz Convent". Jewish Virtual Library. Archived from the original on May 14, 2011. Retrieved April 16, 2011.
  51. Perlez, Jane (April 15, 1993). "Pope Orders Nuns Out of Auschwitz". The New York Times. Retrieved April 16, 2011.
  52. "Austria: The Trojan Guest". Time. August 6, 1990. Retrieved April 17, 2011.
  53. "Peace Prize Triumvirate Denounced". Times Union. Albany. Associated Press. December 10, 1994. p. A2. Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Retrieved April 17, 2011.
  54. Berkofsky, Joe (July 25, 2003). "Avi Weiss rekindles battle to block camp memorial". The Jewish News Weekly of Northern California. Retrieved June 10, 2006.
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