Daniel Landes is the former director of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem and New York City.

Biography

Born in Chicago, Landes studied in Chicago with Rabbi M.B. Sacks, the Menachem Tzion; in Israel with Reb

Aryeh Levin Aryeh Levin (; March 22, 1885 - March 28, 1969) was an Orthodox rabbi dubbed the "Father of Prisoners" for his visits to members of the Jewish underground imprisoned in the Central Prison of Jerusalem in the Russian Compound during the Britis ...

Zvi Yehuda Kook Zvi Yehuda Kook (, 23 April 1891 – 9 March 1982) was an ultranationalist Orthodox rabbi. He was the son of Abraham Isaac Kook, the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of British Mandatory Palestine. Both father and son are credited with developing K ...

, and the

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 ...

, R. Avrum Shapiro; in New York with Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik; and in Los Angeles with Din R. Shmuel Katz (on whose rabbinical court he served). Landes was a founding faculty member of The

Simon Wiesenthal Center The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) is a Jewish human rights organization established in 1977 by Rabbi Marvin Hier. The center is known for Holocaust research and remembrance, hunting Nazi war criminals, combating antisemitism, tolerance educati ...

in Los Angeles (director of education) and of Yeshiva of Los Angeles (The Van Lennop Chair of Social Ethics). He was also an adjunct associate professor of law at

Loyola Law School Loyola Law School is the law school of Loyola Marymount University, a private Jesuit university in Los Angeles, California. Loyola was established in 1920. Academics Degrees offered include the Juris Doctor (JD); Master of Science in Legal ...

. Landes taught for the Wexner Foundation for over 20 years. Landes came to Pardes in 1995 as director and has been active in creation of advanced

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

classes, Bekiut Talmud, the Fellows, PEP, the

Kollel A kollel (also kolel) (, , , , a "gathering" or "collection" f scholars is an institute for full-time, advanced Torah study, study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features Shiur (Torah), shiurim (lectures) and ...

, the Executive Seminar Programs, the annual Blaustein and Brettler Scholar Series, Pardes USA and strengthening of the Pardes

Beit Midrash A ''beth midrash'' (, "house of learning"; : ''batei midrash''), also ''beis medrash'' or ''beit midrash'', is a hall dedicated for Torah study, often translated as a "study hall". It is distinct from a synagogue (''beth knesseth''), although ...

. Landes was the first rabbi to be invited by

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

to speak publicly (at the Forum of Religions). Pardes announced in July 2016, that " ter 21 years of dedicated service to Pardes, Rabbi Daniel Landes will be leaving at the end of the summer." Landes is director of YASHRUT, having founded the institute in 2018 to build civil discourse through a theology of integrity, justice, and tolerance. YASHRUT includes a

semikhah ''Semikhah'' () is the traditional term for rabbiinic ordination in Judaism. The original ''semikhah'' was the formal "transmission of authority" from Moses through the generations. This form of ''semikhah'' ceased between 360 and 425 CE. Si ...

initiative as well as programs for rabbinic leaders. Landes has ordained forty-three rabbis during his career, seven of which received semikhah from Landes under the auspices of YASHRUT in 2019. In 2019 in Jerusalem, Landes ordained Daniel Atwood; Atwood thus became the first openly gay person to be ordained as an Orthodox rabbi.

Publications

Landes and his wife Sheryl Robbin, a social worker and author, write on Biblical and ethical issues. *Co-editor with Alex Grobman of ''Genocide: Critical Issues/ The Holocaust'' *Editor of ''Confronting Omnicide: Jewish Reflections of Weapons of Mass Destruction'' *

Jewish Law ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is based on biblical commandments ('' mit ...

commentator for the ten-volume interdenominational work ''My People’s Prayer Book'' (recipient of the

National Jewish Book Award The Jewish Book Council (Hebrew: ), founded in 1943, is an American organization encouraging and contributing to Jewish literature. The goal of the council, as stated on its website, is "to promote the reading, writing and publishing of qual ...

) *Published articles in '' Tikkun'' and ''

Jewish Review of Books The ''Jewish Review of Books'' is a quarterly magazine with articles on literature, culture and current affairs from a Jewish perspective. It is published in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. The magazine was launched in 2010 with an editorial board that ...

'', as well as other magazines, journals and newspapers.

References

External links

Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, Jerusalem and New York City

Articles by Rabbi Landes on ''Haaretz''

Blog posts by Rabbi Landes on ''Times of Israel''

Israeli Orthodox rabbis American Orthodox rabbis Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American rabbis {{MEast-rabbi-stub