Avigdor Nebenzahl (born 1935) is an Israeli Orthodox

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as '' semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form o ...

and

Posek In Jewish law, a ''Posek'' ( he, פוסק , pl. ''poskim'', ) is a legal scholar who determines the position of ''halakha'', the Jewish religious laws derived from the written and Oral Torah in cases of Jewish law where previous authorities a ...

. He is the senior

rosh yeshiva Rosh yeshiva ( he, ראש ישיבה, pl. he, ראשי ישיבה, '; Anglicized pl. ''rosh yeshivas'') is the title given to the dean of a yeshiva, a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primar ...

Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh (in Hebrew: ישיבת נתיב אריה) is a Religious Zionist yeshiva located at the Western Wall Plaza in the Old City of Jerusalem. Netiv Aryeh was founded in 2003 by the current rosh yeshiva, Aharon Bina. Avigdor Nebe ...

, a faculty member at

Yeshivat HaKotel Yeshivat HaKotel ( he, ישיבת הכותל, lit=Yeshiva of the Western Wall) is a religious Zionist Hesder yeshiva situated in the Old City of Jerusalem. The yeshiva's building is located opposite the Temple Mount and overlooks the Kotel (W ...

, and rabbi of the

Ramban Synagogue The Ramban Synagogue ( he, ), is the second oldest active synagogue in the Old City of Jerusalem (after only the Karaite Synagogue). It dates back in its current location to sometime around 1400. Tradition holds that as an institution, it was f ...

. Nebenzahl previously served as rabbi of the

Old City of Jerusalem The Old City of Jerusalem ( he, הָעִיר הָעַתִּיקָה, translit=ha-ir ha-atiqah; ar, البلدة القديمة, translit=al-Balda al-Qadimah; ) is a walled area in East Jerusalem. The Old City is traditionally divided into ...

, before the post was handed over to his son

Chizkiyahu Nebenzahl Chizkiyahu Nebenzahl is the current Rabbi of the Old City of Jerusalem. Nebenzahl is the youngest son of Rabbi Avigdor Nebenzahl, the previous Rabbi of the Old City. He also serves on the faculty of Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh (in ...

Biography

Avigdor Nebenzahl was born to

Yitzhak Nebenzahl Yitzhak Ernst Nebenzahl ( he, יצחק ארנסט נֶבֶּנְצָל; 1907–1992) was appointed State Comptroller of the State of Israel after the establishment of the state in 1948. He served as State Comptroller and Ombudsman from 1961&nd ...

, the State Comptroller of the State of Israel from 1948 to 1981, Israel's Ombudsman from 1961 to 1981, and a senior officer in the Bank of Israel and the Postal Bank. His sister, Plia Albeck, was head of the Civil Department of the State Prosecutor's Office for 24 years.27 September 200
"Plia Albeck, Who Paved Legal Way for 100 Settlements, Dies"
''Haaretz'' Nebenzahl's first wife, Shifra Nebenzahl (née Finkel), died on February 12, 2016. Shifra was a member of the Mirrer Yeshiva family; her paternal grandfather,

Eliezer Yehuda Finkel Eliezer Yehuda Finkel may refer to one of the two rosh yeshivas of the Mir yeshivas: * Eliezer Yehuda Finkel (born 1879) (1879–1965), also known as Reb Leizer Yudel, rosh yeshiva of the Mir yeshiva in Poland and Jerusalem * Eliezer Yehuda Finke ...

was its rosh yeshiva for 48 years. Her father, Chaim Zev Finkel, was a ''

mashgiach ruchani A mashgiach ruchani ( he, משגיח רוחני; pl., ''mashgichim ruchani'im'') or mashgicha ruchani – sometimes mashgiach/mashgicha for short – is a spiritual supervisor or guide. He or she is usually a rabbi who has an official position wit ...

'' (spiritual guidance counselor) of the yeshiva. Her brother-in-law, Aaron Chodosh, was a ''mashgiach'' there, and her brother

Aryeh Finkel Aryeh Finkel (1931–2016) was a Haredi Rabbi and Rosh Yeshiva of the Mir Brachfeld branch of the Mir Yeshiva. Before assuming his post at the new yeshiva branch in 2005, he served as the ''Mashgiach'' at the Mir in Jerusalem for many decades. ...

was the rosh yeshiva of its Brachfeld branch until his death on August 10, 2016. Nebenzahl remarried at age 83.

Rabbinic career

Nebenzahl was a faculty member of the Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem before accepting positions at

and

, where he has given weekly lectures. He hosts many of those students in his home for

kiddush Kiddush (; he, קידוש ), literally, "sanctification", is a blessing recited over wine or grape juice to sanctify the Shabbat and Jewish holidays. Additionally, the word refers to a small repast held on Shabbat or festival mornings after th ...

after

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical stori ...

morning prayer services. Nebenzahl's scholarly works include a commentary on the

Mishnah Berurah The ''Mishnah Berurah'' ( he, משנה ברורה "Clear Teaching") is a work of ''halakha'' (Jewish law) by Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan (Poland, 1838–1933, also known as ''Chofetz Chaim''). It is a commentary on ''Orach Chayim'', the first section ...

, books about the laws of the

Jewish holidays Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' ( he, ימים טובים, , Good Days, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed in Judaism and by JewsThis article focuses on practices of mainst ...

and Shabbat (Talmud), tractate Shabbat. He is the author of essays on the weekly Torah portion. Nebenzahl was

Shlomo Zalman Auerbach Shlomo Zalman Auerbach ( he, שלמה זלמן אויערבאך; July 20, 1910 – February 20, 1995) was a renowned Orthodox Jewish rabbi, posek, and rosh yeshiva of the Kol Torah yeshiva in Jerusalem. The Jerusalem neighborhood Ramat Shlomo ...

's study partner for over 40 years.

Joel Landau Joel Landau is an American entrepreneur and health care expert. He is the founder of the Allure Group, which specializes in purchasing and improving nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities in the United States that are in danger of closing, ...

assisted Nebenzahl in publishing one of his first works.

Views and opinions

Nebenzahl opposes Jewish tour groups to the

Temple Mount The Temple Mount ( hbo, הַר הַבַּיִת, translit=Har haBayīt, label=Hebrew, lit=Mount of the House f the Holy}), also known as al-Ḥaram al-Sharīf (Arabic: الحرم الشريف, lit. 'The Noble Sanctuary'), al-Aqsa Mosque compou ...

. In 2004 he stated before an Israeli court that any Jew guilty of selling parts of what he termed the

Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isr ...

falls under the law of Din Rodef, meaning he is subject to being killed legally under religious law. In October of that year, Nebenzahl was one of the signatories to a letter of rabbis calling on members of the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

to refuse to follow orders in connection with the

Israeli disengagement from Gaza The Israeli disengagement from Gaza ( he, תוכנית ההתנתקות, ') was the unilateral dismantling in 2005 of the 21 Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip and the evacuation of Israeli settlers and army from inside the Gaza Strip. T ...

. In 2017, Nebenzahl penned a letter to

Chaim Kanievsky Shmaryahu Yosef Chaim Kanievsky ( he, שמריהו יוסף חיים קַניֶבסקִי; January 8, 1928 – March 18, 2022) was an Israeli Haredi rabbi and '' posek''. He was a leading authority in Haredi Jewish society on legal and ethical ...

, in which he decried the

Jerusalem Municipality The Jerusalem Municipality ( he, עיריית ירושלים; Iriyat yerushalayim), the seat of the Israeli municipal administration, consists of a number of buildings located on Jaffa Road in the city of Jerusalem. History British Manda ...

for sponsoring interfaith

Hanukkah or English translation: 'Establishing' or 'Dedication' (of the Temple in Jerusalem) , nickname = , observedby = Jews , begins = 25 Kislev , ends = 2 Tevet or 3 Tevet , celebrations = Lighting candles each nig ...

parties. In the letter, he implored Kanievsky to "instruct the members of the Knesset, Rabbi Gafni and Rabbi Maklev, to cancel this disgrace and remove the wrath of God from our people even before this matter becomes a big phenomenon that will be much more difficult to stop afterwards".

Published works

Teshuvot Avigdor Halevi: She'elot u-teshuvot be-4 ḥelḳe ha-shulḥan ʻarukh tanakh ṿe-nośʼim shonim Sefer Mi-Tsiyon mikhlal yofi : ḥidushim u-veʼurim ṿe-heʻarot Yerushalayim be-moʻadeha Sichot al ha-Torah

References

External links

Shiurim by NebentzahlYeshivat HaKotel SiteKollel KotelNetiv Aryeh Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nebenzahl, Avigdor 1935 births 20th-century rabbis in Jerusalem 21st-century rabbis in Jerusalem Haredi rabbis in Israel Rosh yeshivas Living people