Leonard Matanky
Leonard A. Matanky (born October 26, 1958) is a prolific Modern Orthodox rabbi and Jewish leader in the United States. Based in Chicago, Illinois, Matanky is the co-president of the Religious Zionists of America,[1] pulpit rabbi of Congregation K.I.N.S of West Rogers Park[2]. and Dean of Ida Crown Jewish Academy[3] and past president of the Rabbinical Council of America. He has written extensively on curriculum issues.
Leonard A. Matanky | |
---|---|
Personal | |
Born | Leonard A. Matanky October 26, 1958 |
Religion | Judaism |
Nationality | United States |
Spouse | Margaret Matanky |
Children | 7 |
Denomination | Modern Orthodox |
Alma mater | Hebrew Theological College (MA), Loyola University (MEd), New York University (PhD) |
Occupation | Rabbi |
Position | Rabbi |
Synagogue | Congregation K.I.N.S. |
Position | President |
Organization | Rabbinical Council of America |
Began | 2013 |
Residence | Chicago, Illinois |
Semicha | Hebrew Theological College |
Biography
Matanky was born in Chicago in 1958. In 1978 he wrote Shabbat Games - Games for Youth Groups, published as a joint venture between American Zionist Youth Foundation Inc. and Bnei Akiva. In 1981, he received rabbinical ordination and a master's degree in Religious Education from Hebrew Theological College. That year, he began teaching Judaic studies at Ida Crown Jewish Academy, a coeducational Modern Orthodox high school in Skokie, a suburb of Chicago, IL. Matanky subsequently earned a Masters in Educational Administration from Loyola University in 1982, and a Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences New York University in 1989.[4] In 1994 he assumed the pulpit of Congregation K.I.N.S. in Chicago's West Rogers Park neighborhood. He was appointed Interim Dean of ICJA in 1996; he would later drop the "interim" title and become the Dean. In 2013, he succeeded Rabbi Shmuel Goldin as President of the Rabbinical Council of America. He had previously served as Vice-President of the RCA under Goldin.
Rabbi Matanky has served as President of the Chicago Rabbinical Council, and (as of 2018) is on the boards of the Religious Zionists of Chicago and Camp Moshava. He is also co-Chairman of the Rabbinic Action Committee of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago and serves on the rabbinic advisory committees of the YU Torah MiTzion Kollel of Chicago, and World Bnei Akiva.
Family
Matanky is married to Margaret Novick, with whom he has three sons and four daughters.[5] His eldest child, Yaakov, died in a car accident in 2002 near Camp Moshava Wild Rose.[6] The outdoor synagogue at the camp "Beit Yaakov Levi" was named in his memory. Matanky has sixteen grandchildren (as of March 2018).
References
- "Leadership". The Religious Zionists of America. 2015-04-15. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
- "Rabbi Matanky". www.congkins.org. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
- "Rabbi Dr. Leonard A. Matanky - Ida Crown Jewish Academy". Ida Crown Jewish Academy. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
- Thesis: Matanky, Leonard A. (1989). The status of primary and elementary school teachers as reflected in rabbinic responsa and communal taqqanot of the Germanic states during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Thesis (Ph. D.). New York City: New York University. OCLC 649013872.
- IdaCrown JewishAcademy (2018-03-19), Honoring Rabbi Leonard and Margaret Matanky, retrieved 2018-04-15
- Bazak, Yaakov (2002). ""And Yaakov Was an Ish Tam"".
Sources
- "Administration: Head Administrators: Rabbi Dr. Leonard A. Matanky, Dean". Ida Crown Jewish Academy.
- "Rabbi Leonard A. Matanky". Rabbinical Council of America. 2014.
- "New York - Rabbi Leonard Matanky Selected As New RCA Head". Vos Iz Neias?. 11 July 2013. Archived from the original on 15 July 2013.