Benzion Zvi Klatzko (born June 11, 1968) is a

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

-based

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

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 t ...

best known as the founder of

Shabbat.com Shabbat.com is an online social network service aimed at the Jewish community. Shabbat.com connects users with "Hosts" for Shabbat as well as serving as an online dating platform and social network. Currently the site claims 100,000 members. Hist ...

Education

Klatzko graduated from

Hebrew Academy of Cleveland The Hebrew Academy of Cleveland is a private day school in Cleveland, Ohio with over 1,000 students. It provides Judaic and secular education from pre-school through high school. The Hebrew Academy was established in 1943 by the Telshe Yeshiva an ...

in 1981, followed by Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem of

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

. He was ordained at the Mir Yeshiva in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

on August 13, 1993 by Rabbi Shmuel Berenbaum.

Career

After completing his studies, Klatzko was Rabbi of the Agudath Israel synagogue of 14th Ave (Pirchei Minyan) in

, and was then the rabbi of congregation Shaarey Tefiloh in

Perth Amboy, New Jersey Perth Amboy is a city (New Jersey), city in northeastern Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, within the New York metropolitan area, New York Metro Area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city' ...

. In 1999, he was appointed campus rabbi of the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

(UCLA), where he organized outreach programs for college students through the Jewish Awareness Movement. During this period, he ran monthly classes on Jewish thought in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

for many writers, producers, actors, and directors in the movie industry earning the moniker "The Hollywood Rabbi". Starting in 2003, Klatzko began to seed other campuses throughout

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

with Jewish programming (e.g., Classes, Trips, and organizational structure) including

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

UCSB The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an independent teachers college, UCSB joine ...

UCSD The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing ...

SDSU San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...

SMC SMC may refer to: Organisations * IEEE Systems, Man, and Cybernetics Society * Special Metals Corporation, an alloy manufacturer * Supreme Muslim Council, former organization in Mandatory Palestine * San Miguel Corporation, a Philippine conglomera ...

, and

CSUN California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge), is a public university in the Northridge, Los Angeles, Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. With a total enrollment of 36,848 students (as o ...

. Additionally, he helped start the CLE program in Florida and the JEM program in Madison Wisconsin. In 2006, the Klatzko family moved to

Monsey, New York Monsey (, ) is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States, north of Airmont, east of Viola, south of New Hempstead, and west of Spring Valley. The village of Kaser is surrounded by ...

, where Rabbi Klatzko was appointed national educational director for Olami Worldwide. In which position he is tasked with seeding North American college campuses with Jewish life. Each year Rabbi Klatzko visits and lectures at over 100 campuses.

Shabbat.com

In 2010, Rabbi Klatzko founded

, a social networking website intended to bring Jews together to celebrate the Sabbath. Shabbat.com is a website as well as an app available on IOS and Android.

Awards and recognition

U.S. Congressman

Bob Menendez Robert Menendez (; born January 1, 1954) is an American former politician and lawyer who represented New Jersey in the United States Senate from 2006 until his resignation in 2024. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ...

described Klatzko during a 1997 session of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

as a "distinguished gentleman making a difference to his community". '' Jewish Forward'' magazine included him in their 2014 list of "America's Most Inspiring Rabbis".

Personal life

Klatzko married his wife Shoshana Juravel on June 27, 1988. She is a daughter of the noted children's author and lecturer Rabbi Dovid Juravel. The family currently resides in Monsey, New York.

Works

* ''The Kuntrus'' (Maznaim Publications 1999).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Klatzko, Benzion 1968 births People from Monsey, New York Rabbis from New York (state) American Orthodox rabbis Orthodox Jewish outreach Living people 21st-century American rabbis