Ezra Aharon Bick (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

: עזרא אהרן ביק; born 1950) is an American–Israeli

Modern Orthodox Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosophy ...

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 ...

, author, editor and lecturer, as well as a scion of the Rapoport-Bick rabbinic dynasty. He is a Ram at

Yeshivat Har Etzion Yeshivat Har Etzion (YHE; ), commonly known in English as "Gush" and in Hebrew as "Yeshivat HaGush", is a Hesder yeshiva located in Alon Shvut, an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. It is considered one of the leading institutions of advanced T ...

Alon Shevut Alon Shvut () is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, established in June 1970 over lands confiscated from the nearby Palestinian town of Khirbet Beit Zakariyyah. It is part of the Etzion bloc of the West Bank, administered by the Gush Etz ...

. Rav Bick is director of the Israel Koschitzky Virtual Beit Midrash and Halacha editor-in-chief of Deracheha]p.

Biography

Rav Bick was born in America to Charles (Yeshayah) Bick, son of Rabbi Hayyim Yechiel Mikhel Bick of the Rapoport-Bick rabbinic dynasty which dates past Rabbi

Simcha Rappaport Rabbi Simcha Hagadol Kohen, HaKohen Rappaport (Hebrew language, Hebrew: שמחה הכהן ראפאפארט; b. 1650 - August 4, 1718) was a 17th-century Ukrainians, Ukrainian rabbi and progenitor of the Rappaport family, Rappaport rabbinic dynas ...

and even has connections to Rabbi

Jacob Emden Jacob Emden, also known as the Yaʿavetz (June 4, 1697 – April 19, 1776), was a leading German rabbi and talmudist who championed traditional Judaism in the face of the growing influence of the Sabbatean movement. He was widely acclaimed for ...

. Yeshayah was a well-known Mizrachi figure, and his

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

activities were encouraged by his father, Rabbi Hayyim Yechiel. Rav Bick grew up in

Forest Hills, Queens Forest Hills is a neighborhood in the central portion of the borough of Queens in New York City. It is adjacent to Corona to the north, Rego Park and Glendale to the west, Forest Park to the south, Kew Gardens to the southeast and Flushing ...

. Rav Bick earned his

Semicha ''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 ...

from the

Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS ) is the rabbinical seminary of Yeshiva University (YU). It is located along Amsterdam Avenue in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Named after Yitzchak Elchanan S ...

, and holds an M.S. degree in

Jewish Philosophy Jewish philosophy () includes all philosophy carried out by Jews or in relation to the religion of Judaism. Until the modern ''Haskalah'' (Jewish Enlightenment) and Jewish emancipation, Jewish philosophy was preoccupied with attempts to reconc ...

from

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a Private university, private Modern Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City.

. Rav Bick was a student of both Rabbi

Joseph B. Soloveitchik Joseph Ber Soloveitchik ( ''Yosef Dov ha-Levi Soloveychik''; February 27, 1903 – April 9, 1993) was a major American Orthodox rabbi, Talmudist, and modern Jewish philosopher. He was a scion of the Lithuanian Jewish Soloveitchik rabbinic ...

and of Rabbi

Aharon Lichtenstein Aharon Lichtenstein (; May 23, 1933 – April 20, 2015) was an Orthodox rabbi, Israel Prize laureate and rosh yeshiva who was an authority in Jewish law (''Halakha''). Biography Aharon Lichtenstein was born to Yechiel Lichtenstein and Bluma née ...

at Yeshiva University. Rav Bick also holds a Masters in

Philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. Rav Bick learned with Rabbi

Mordechai Willig HaRav Mordechai Yitzchak HaLevi Willig (born April 25, 1947; 5th of Iyyar, 5707 on the Hebrew calendar) is an Orthodox rabbi and rosh yeshiva at Yeshiva University in Washington Heights, Manhattan. He is often known to his students as the Ramu ...

, while they were both studying under Rav Lichtenstein at Yeshiva University. Rav Bick served as an instructor at the

Stern College for Women The Stern College for Women (SCW) is the undergraduate women's college of arts and sciences of Yeshiva University. It is located at the university's Israel Henry Beren Campus in the Murray Hill section of Manhattan. The college provides program ...

during his time

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. Rav Bick went on

Aliyah ''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine (region), Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the Israel ...

in 1977, moving from New York to

and taking on the role of Ram at

. Rav Bick is the author of ''In His Mercy: Understanding the Thirteen Midot'' and ''Shemoneh Esrei: Exploring the Fundamentals of Faith through the Amida Prayer''.'''' Rav Bick has published numerous articles and is the editor of the Torah MiEtzion series. He has been director of the Israel Koschitzky Virtual Beit Midrash of Yeshivat Har Etzion since 1995. He is the Halacha editor-in-chief of Deracheha.

Personal

Rav Bick married Etta Pauline Zablocki on January 4, 1976. They live in Alon Shevut.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bick, Ezra 1946 births Living people Modern Orthodox rabbis American Orthodox rabbis Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary semikhah recipients 21st-century American rabbis Religious Zionist Orthodox rabbis 21st-century Israeli rabbis Yeshivat Har Etzion faculty People from Alon Shvut Yeshiva University alumni