Bezalel Rakow (15 May 1927 – 20 July 2003) was a British

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 ...

who headed

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

’s Jewish community. He was the chair of the Council of Torah Sages of Agudas Yisroel of Great Britain. Born in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

into a distinguished rabbinical family, Bezalel Rakow was a direct descendant of Rabbi

Yom-Tov Lipmann Heller Rabbi Gershon Shaul Yom-Tov Lipmann ben Nathan ha-Levi Heller (c. 157919 August 1654), was a Bohemian rabbi and Talmudist, best known for writing a commentary on the Mishnah called the ''Tosefet Yom-Tov'' (1614–1617). Heller was one of the majo ...

, (author of the ''Tosafos Yomtov'' commentary on the

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...

). His father, Rabbi Yomtov Lipman Rakow, a pupil of the great

Volozhin yeshiva Yeshivas Etz Ḥayyim (), commonly called the Volozhin Yeshiva (), was a prestigious LItvak yeshiva located in the town of Volozhin in the Russian Empire (now Valozhyn, Belarus). It was founded around 1803 by Khayim Volozhiner, a student of the ...

, had been a rosh yeshiva in Frankfurt-on-Main. In 1939, he, aged 10, his parents and his brother

Benzion Rakow Benzion Rakow (1925–1985) was a British communal rabbi and rosh yeshiva of Chayei Olam Yeshiva in Golders Green, London. He was also active in World Agudath Israel, Agudas Yisroel of Great Britain. Born in Frankfurt, Germany into a distinguish ...

were granted

asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea * ...

, and settled in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Aged 18, he enrolled in

Gateshead Kollel This is a list of Jewish communities in the United Kingdom, including synagogues, yeshivotA yeshiva (Hebrew language, Hebrew: ישיבה) is a centre for the study of Torah and the Talmud in Orthodox Judaism. and Hebrew schools. For a list of b ...

where he obtained rabbinical ordination and gained a reputation as a Talmudic scholar. In 1948, he married Miriam, daughter of Gateshead's then communal rabbi Naftoli Shakovitzky. The couple moved to

Montreux Montreux (, ; ; ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, Swiss municipality and List of towns in Switzerland, town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Swiss Alps, Alps. It belongs to the Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut (district), Riviera-Pays ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, where he took up a position teaching in the local yeshivah. In 1964, following his father-in-law's death, he returned to Gateshead to assume his position, thus becoming one of Orthodox Judaism's recognised world leaders. In 2002, Rabbi Rakow was at the center of debate between Jewish orthodoxy and the features of modernity that he perceived as threatening orthodox values. When British

Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi () is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a capitulation by Ben-Zion Meir ...

Jonathan Sacks Jonathan Henry Sacks, Baron Sacks (8 March 19487 November 2020) was an English Orthodox rabbi, philosopher, theologian, and author. Sacks served as the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth from 1991 to 2013. As ...

, in his book The Dignity of Difference (2002), expressed the notion that Judaism might learn from other faiths, Rabbi Rakow publicly demanded that Sacks repudiate the thesis of the book and withdraw it from circulation.

External links

The Guardian, Obituary: Rabbi Bezalel Rakow, from: Geoffrey Alderman
1927 births 2003 deaths 20th-century English rabbis 20th-century Swiss rabbis English Haredi rabbis Burials at Har HaMenuchot Haredi rabbis in Europe People from Gateshead People from Montreux {{Switzerland-reli-bio-stub