Yitzchak Abadi (born March 12, 1933) is an Orthodox Jewish Rabbi 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 ...

and a prominent leader of

Orthodox Judaism Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses ...

in the United States and around the world.

Early life

Yitzchak Abadi was born in

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. He moved with his parents to Tiberias, Mandatory Palestine at age 2. As a child Abadi attended school in Haifa. His studies began in the Yishuv Hachdash in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...

, Israel and continued in Yeshivat Chevron in Jerusalem. At 19 years old, he was sent by the

Chazon Ish Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz (7 November 1878 – 24 October 1953), also known as the Chazon Ish () after his magnum opus, was a Belarusian-born Orthodox rabbi who later became one of the leaders of Haredi Judaism in Israel, where he spent his ...

to study in

Montreux Montreux (, , ; frp, Montrolx) is a Swiss municipality and town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps. It belongs to the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, and has a population of approxima ...

, Switzerland. A year later the

sent Abadi to study in Lakewood,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, under the famed Rabbi Aharon Kotler.Ohel Torah
Retrieved 13 April 2014.

Influence

Rabbi Abadi is a

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 ...

, and his students are rabbis across the globe. After Rav Kotler's death, Rabbi Abadi emerged as one of the leading poskim for the Lakewood community. Rabbi Abadi branched out on his own in 1980, opening a premiere halacha

Kollel A kollel ( he, כולל, , , a "gathering" or "collection" f scholars is an institute for full-time, advanced study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features shiurim (lectures) and learning ''sedarim'' (sessions); ...

in Lakewood. In 1993, Rabbi Abadi transferred his Kollel to

Har Nof Har Nof ( he, הר נוף, lit. ''scenic mountain'') is a neighborhood on a hillside on the western boundary of Jerusalem with a population of 20,000 residents, primarily Orthodox Jews. History In Talmudic times, Har Nof was an agricultural settl ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, where it continued to produce scholars trained to decide halachic questions touching on every aspect of Jewish law. Rabbi Abadi moved back to Lakewood in 2009.

Notable decisions

Owing to his prominence as a

, Rabbi Abadi is asked the most difficult questions, in which he issued a number of innovative and controversial decisions. For instance, his ruling that permits writing a sefer torah through a silk screen process, and a more recent ruling that wigs made with Indian hair may be used. Rav Abadi also composed a short version of

Birkat Hamazon Birkat Hamazon ( he, בִּרְכַּת הַמָּזוׂן, The Blessing of the Food), known in English as the Grace After Meals ( yi, ; translit. ''bentschen'' or "to bless", Yinglish: Bentsching), is a set of Hebrew blessings that Jewish ...

based on the

Rambam Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah s ...

and other

Rishonim ''Rishonim'' (; he, ; sing. he, , ''Rishon'', "the first ones") were the leading rabbis and '' poskim'' who lived approximately during the 11th to 15th centuries, in the era before the writing of the ''Shulchan Aruch'' ( he, , "Set Table", a ...

, if it is difficult for one to say the full version that is customary, one may say this version, even initially as a first choice.

Works

Ohr Yitzchak Vol 1 Ohr Yitzchak Vol 2 Booklet on Niddah Laws Birkat Hamazon Hakatzar (based on the views of the Rambam and the other Rishonim)

References

External links

oheltorah.com
A kashrut and halachah website by Rabbi Abadi's sons, including a Q&A forum answered "according to the opinions of their father, Rabbi Yitzchak Abadi." {{DEFAULTSORT:Abadi, Yitzchak 1933 births Living people People from Lakewood Township, New Jersey American Haredi rabbis Venezuelan emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Israeli expatriates in Switzerland Israeli emigrants to the United States 21st-century American Jews