Rabbi Avraham Jacobovitz (1952) is an

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i-born

Charedi Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...

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 of ...

, who founde
Machon L'Torah
and

Jewish Awareness America Jewish Awareness AMerica (JAAM) is an American non-profit organization dedicated to educating Jewish students and graduates about Jewish heritage and values. It was founded in the late 1990s by Rabbi Avraham Jacobovitz oMachon L'Torahwith the ai ...

(JAAM), to educate Jewish college students about Jewish heritage and values.

Early life

Born in 1952 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 G ...

to Hagaon Rav Yehuda Jacobovitz זצ"ל and Mrs. Sheina Dvora ע"ה, the young Avraham Jacobovitz studied in the Slabodka

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are stu ...

Bnei Brak Bnei Brak or Bene Beraq ( he, בְּנֵי בְּרַק ) is a city located on the central Mediterranean coastal plain in Israel, just east of Tel Aviv. A center of Haredi Judaism, Bnei Brak covers an area of 709 hectares (1752 acres, or 2.74 s ...

, under the tutelage of Hagaon Rav

Mordechai Shulman Mordecai (; also Mordechai; , IPA: ) is one of the main personalities in the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. He is described as being the son of Jair, of the tribe of Benjamin. He was promoted to Vizier after Haman was killed. Biblical ...

זצ"ל. At the age of seventeen, his family moved to

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

, where his father gave the

semicha Semikhah ( he, סמיכה) is the traditional Jewish name for rabbinic ordination. The original ''semikhah'' was the formal "transmission of authority" from Moses through the generations. This form of ''semikhah'' ceased between 360 and 425 ...

shiur Shiur (, , lit. ''amount'', pl. shiurim ) is a lecture on any Torah topic, such as Gemara, Mishnah, Halakha (Jewish law), Tanakh (Bible), etc. History The Hebrew term שיעור ("designated amount") came to refer to a portion of Jud ...

in the Mirrer Yeshiva. A few years later, R' Avraham married Bayla, a daughter of the famed

mohel A ( he, מוֹהֵל , Ashkenazi pronunciation , plural: , arc, מוֹהֲלָא , "circumciser") is a Jew trained in the practice of , the "covenant of circumcision". Etymology The noun ( in Aramaic), meaning "circumciser", is derived ...

Hagaon Rav Moshe Bunim Pirutinsky זצ"ל.

Learning in Kollel

After spending a few years in the Mirrer

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); ...

, the young couple moved to

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

, where Rabbi Jacobovitz studied in the Kollel Institute of Greater Detroit. It was in Detroit where the Rosh Kollel Rabbi Moshe Schwab זצ"ל encouraged Rabbi Jacobovitz to enter the

kiruv Orthodox Jewish outreach, often referred to as ''Kiruv'' or ''Qiruv'' ( he, קירוב "bringing close"), is the collective work or movement of Orthodox Judaism that reaches out to non-observant Jews to encourage belief in God and life accord ...

world.

Career of Kiruv

Starting with shiurim in the Kollel's basement, in the summer of 1980, Rabbi J. (as he is affectionately known) founded Machon L'Torah, the Jewish Learning Network of

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. Throughout the years, Machon flourished to be a world-class kiruv organization, where Rabbi Jacobovitz lectured to college students throughout Michigan, primarily at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

, and

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

East Lansing East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County with a smaller portion extending north into Clinton County. At the 2020 Census the population was 47,741. Located directly east of the state capital ...

. As a result, hundreds have found their faith, and became

baalei teshuva In Judaism, a ''ba'al teshuvah'' ( he, בעל תשובה; for a woman, , or ; plural, , , 'master of return God) is a Jew who adopts some form of traditional religious observance after having previously followed a Jewish secularism">secular lif ...

. He has also become an expert on the topic of intermarriage, and has authored a book title
Perfect Strangers: Redefining Intermarriage
Machon also had a weekly

Shabbos 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 storie ...

minyan In Judaism, a ''minyan'' ( he, מניין \ מִנְיָן ''mīnyān'' , lit. (noun) ''count, number''; pl. ''mīnyānīm'' ) is the quorum of ten Jewish adults required for certain religious obligations. In more traditional streams of Jud ...

, which started in Rabbi Jacobovitz's private basement. Following

Mussaf Mussaf (also spelled Musaf or Musof) is an additional service that is recited on Shabbat, Yom Tov, Chol Hamoed, and Rosh Chodesh. The service, which is traditionally combined with the Shacharit in synagogues, is considered to be additional to t ...

, Rabbi Jacobovitz teaches a few halachos from the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch. In the summer of 1988, Machon purchased its own building in

Oak Park, Michigan Oak Park is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population of Oak Park was 29,560. As a northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Oak Park shares its southern border with the city of Detroit. History This ...

, and the minyan moved there. A Sunday morning 9:00 AM

Shacharis ''Shacharit'' ( he, שַחֲרִית ''šaḥăriṯ''), or ''Shacharis'' in Ashkenazi Hebrew, is the morning ''tefillah'' (prayer) of Judaism, one of the three daily prayers. Different traditions identify different primary components of ...

was added in the new building. (Prior to the purchase of the new building, Machon held its Sunday morning minyan at Rav Leizer Levin זצ"ל's

shul A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of wors ...

, "Beth Tefilo Emanuel Tikvah" in Southfield.) In 2001, Rabbi Jacobovitz founded

(JAAM), whose aim is to produce knowledgeable future Jewish leaders who will help out assimilated college students. In 2004, Rabbi Jacobovitz launched the Yeshivalite program project, a uniquely designed Yeshiva for individuals who desire to gain learning skills and experience the Yeshiva life in a warm environment with caring, focused, and high caliber staff. It is specifically tailored for those with a limited time period in which to accomplish the above. After its initial extraordinary success in the summer of 2005, this project offers more options and a further improved curriculum. In 2010, Rabbi Jacobovitz announced that his family will be making

Aliyah Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the State of Israel. Traditionally descri ...

(moving to

) in the summer, to continue his

efforts in

Eretz Yisrael 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 ...

. Rabbi Jacobovitz currently lives in

Ramat Bet Shemesh Beit Shemesh ( he, בֵּית שֶׁמֶשׁ ) is a city located approximately west of Jerusalem in Israel's Jerusalem District, with a population of in . History Tel Beit Shemesh The small archaeological tell northeast of the modern city wa ...

and is active in giving classes there. Rabbi Jacobovitz is known for his unique take on classic Jewish tunes, as well as for coining the phrase "Hoidu LaHashem Ki Toiv" (הודו לה' כי טוב) as a substitute for the familiar " Baruch Hashem" reply to questions such as "How are you?".

References

External links

Machon L'Torah
- The Jewish Learning Network of Michigan
JAAM
- Jewish Awareness AMerica {{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobovitz, Avraham 1952 births Living people Israeli Orthodox rabbis People from Tel Aviv Mir Yeshiva alumni