Rabbi Herbert W. (Chaim Zev) Bomzer (August 16, 1927 - February 8, 2013), was a prominent member in the American Jewish community. He was known for his expertise and erudition in

Halakha ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Torah, Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is ...

(Jewish Law). Ordained at

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

, he received

smicha ''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 revered Rabbis

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

Moshe Feinstein Moshe Feinstein (; Lithuanian pronunciation: ''Moishe Fainshtein''; ; March 3, 1895 – March 23, 1986) was a Russian-born American Orthodox Jewish rabbi, scholar, and ''posek'' (authority on ''halakha''—Jewish law). He has been called ...

. He held a Doctorate in

Jewish Education Jewish education (, ''Chinuch'') is the transmission of the tenets, principles, and religious laws of Judaism. Jews value education, and the value of education is strongly embedded in Jewish culture. Judaism places a heavy emphasis on Torah ...

and Administration, as well as a Master of Arts in

Jewish History Jewish history is the history of the Jews, their Jewish peoplehood, nation, Judaism, religion, and Jewish culture, culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions and cultures. Jews originated from the Israelites and H ...

and

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 ...

. He was the President and Chairman of the Political Action Committee of the Vaad Harabonim of

Flatbush Flatbush is a neighborhood in the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood consists of several subsections in central Brooklyn and is generally bounded by Prospect Park (Brooklyn), Prospect Park to the nort ...

and Assistant Professor of Judaic Studies at

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

, where he taught

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 ...

and Judaic Law. A recognized expert in Orthodox

conversion to Judaism Conversion to Judaism ( or ) is the process by which non-Jews adopt the Jewish religion and become members of the Jewish ethnoreligious community. It thus resembles both conversion to other religions and naturalization. "Thus, by convertin ...

, Rabbi Bomzer was given approval to conduct conversion administration from the

Lubavitcher Rebbe Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (; ; ), is a dynasty in Hasidic Judaism. Belonging to the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) branch of Orthodox Judaism, it is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, as well as one of ...

, Rav Dvorkin, the Kaizmarker Rav, Rabbi

, and Rabbi

Aaron Soloveitchik Ahron (Aaron) Soloveichik (; 1918 – October 4, 2001) was an Orthodox Jewish ''rosh yeshiva'' (seminary dean) and scholar of Talmud and ''halakha''. Biography The youngest of five children, Ahron Soloveichik was born to Moshe Soloveichik in ...

. He presided over conversions for more than forty years. Rabbi Bomzer also served as a chaplain for the New York City Department of Corrections at

Rikers Island Rikers Island is a prison island in the East River in the Bronx, New York (state), New York, United States, that contains New York City's largest jail. Named after Abraham Rycken, who took possession of the island in 1664, the island was orig ...

. He served two pulpits in his career, presiding over the building of a new synagogue,

Young Israel The National Council of Young Israel (NCYI) or Young Israel (in Hebrew: , ), is a synagogue-based Orthodox Judaism organization in the United States with a network of affiliated "Young Israel" synagogues. Young Israel was founded in 1912, in it ...

of Ocean Parkway, during the second pulpit, which he held for forty years. As

Rosh Yeshiva Rosh yeshiva or Rosh Hayeshiva (, plural, pl. , '; Anglicized pl. ''rosh yeshivas'') is the title given to the dean of a yeshiva, a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and th ...

of Yeshiva University, he taught Talmud to over 3,000 students for over 50 years. As a Rabbinical leader, he served twice as President of the Rabbinical Board of Flatbush, was Chairman and President of the Halakhic Committee of the Council of Young Israel Rabbis, was Chairman and an Officer of the Committee for Hizuk Hadat of the

Rabbinical Council of America The Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) is one of the world's largest organizations of Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox rabbis; it is affiliated with The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, more commonly known as the Orthodox Union (OU). ...

, was an Officer in the administration of the National Council of

, and a board member of various organizations including the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada (Agudath Harabonim), and the Iggud HaRabbonim and Poale Agudat Yisroel. The recipient of multiple awards, Rabbi Bomzer has been recognized by Yeshiva University, which conferred an honorary Doctor of Divinity in 1985. A distinguished lecturer, teacher, and scholar, his 1985 study, "The Kolel in America" was published by Shengold Publishers. The Chosen Road, Rabbi Bomzer's influential book on conversion to

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

, was first published in 1996. A revised edition followed in 2004, garnering a very positive review in the Jewish Press.http://www.jewishpress.com/pageroute.do/15943/ In 2014, a grandson of Rabbi Bomzer, Aryeh Sklar, edited and published Rabbi Bomzer's sermons and notes on the weekly Torah portion (until the end of Leviticus), for the anniversary of Rabbi Bomzer's passing (''yahrtzeit''), entitled, "Keter HaRachzav" (Rachzav is the Hebrew acronym for "Rabbi Chaim Zev Bomzer"). Rabbi Aaron Ziegler, as well as Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, friends and colleagues of Rabbi Bomzer, wrote forewords for the book. In 2016, on the occasion of his wedding, Mr. Sklar published the completed book, including Numbers, Deuteronomy, as well as many separate essays and recollections of Rabbi Bomzer's teachers (such as Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik and Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson). Both the earlier publishing and the later more complete version were reviewed favorably by Alan Jay Gerber of the ''Jewish Star'' newspaper.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bomzer, Herbert Yeshiva University alumni Orthodox rabbis from New York City American Modern Orthodox rabbis 1927 births 2013 deaths 21st-century American rabbis