Dayan Avrohom Dov (Berel) Berkovits
(; 3 June 1949 – 15 April 2005),
[ known as Berel Berkovits,][ was a Rabbi and Dayan who served on the beit din of London's Federation of Synagogues. His knowledge of secular law allowed him to extend how he carried out his religious communal service. This covered a range of "contemporary social issues" but most particularly in the area of family law. It was in completing one such attempt on an international level that his years ended.
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Berkovits amendment
Berkovits used his dual skills in Jewish and secular law[ to draft an amendment to Great Britain's 1996 Family Law Act which gave judges discretion to refuse a decree to a divorcing Jewish couple until any issues of Jewish law are cleared up.]
Education
His secondary religious studies were at Gateshead Talmudical College
Gateshead Talmudical College (), popularly known as Gateshead Yeshiva, is located in the Bensham area of Gateshead in North East England. It is the largest yeshiva in Europe and considered to be one of the most prestigious advanced yeshivas in ...
.["then on to further Jewish studies at Gateshead Yeshivah (seminary)."][
]
Family
His father, Rabbi Moshe Dovid Berkovits, was a rabbi in Oradea
Oradea (, , ; ; ) is a city in Romania, located in the Crișana region. It serves as the administrative county seat, seat of Bihor County and an economic, social, and cultural hub in northwestern Romania. The city lies between rolling hills on ...
(Yiddish
Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...
: גרויסווארדיין ''Groysvardeyn'') in Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
and subsequently in London. In his youth Dayan Berkovits was close with his maternal grandfather, Rabbi Yosef Adler, and later on was involved with the publication of that grandfather's rabbinical works.[
Berkovits was approaching age 56 when he predeceased his mother. Other survivors include siblings, his wife, and four sons.
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References
1949 births
2005 deaths
20th-century English rabbis
21st-century English rabbis
Rabbis from London
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