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 ...

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 ...

Religious Zionist Religious Zionism () is a religious denomination that views Zionism as a fundamental component of Orthodox Judaism. Its adherents are also referred to as ''Dati Leumi'' (), and in Israel, they are most commonly known by the plural form of the fi ...

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 ...

Tanach The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. ''

He is a leader of the " תנ"ך בגובה העיניים" (" Tanach at Eye Level") methodology and has taught several generations of Tanach scholars. He is the founder o
Tanach.org
and teaches at various institutions, including

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 ...

where he previously served as the Director of the overseas program.

Biography

Leibtag was born in 1954 in

Akron, Ohio Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...

, the son of Rabbi Avraham Leibtag. Leibtag moved to Israel following high school, where he attended the

Jerusalem College of Technology The Jerusalem College of Technology - Lev Academic Center (JCT; ) is a private college in Israel, recognized by the Council for Higher Education, which specializes in providing high-level science and technology education to the Jewish community. ...

, and then began learning 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 ...

in 1977 after visiting a friend who was learning there. During this time he began attending the joint Tanach class of Rabbis

Yoel Bin-Nun Yoel Bin-Nun (Hebrew: יואל בן נון; born May 9, 1946 CE; 8 Iyar 5766 AM) is an Israeli religious Zionist rabbi and one of the founders of Yeshivat Har Etzion, Gush Emunim, Michlelet Herzog and the settlements of Alon Shevut and Ofra ...

and

Yaakov Medan Yaaqov Medan (spelled Yaakov or Ya'acov) (; born 1950) is an Israeli Orthodox rabbi, co-Rosh yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion, a respected leader in the Religious-Zionist community, and a lecturer in Tanakh, Gemara, and Jewish philosophy. Biogra ...

, who greatly influenced Leibtag's methodology of Tanach study. He also participated in the

Gush Emunim Gush Emunim (, lit. "Bloc of the Faithful") was an Israeli ultranationalist religious Zionist Orthodox Jewish right-wing fundamentalist activist movement committed to establishing Jewish settlements in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and the Golan ...

movement during this time, helping build the settlement of

Ofra Ofra () is an Israeli settlement located in the northern Israeli occupied territories, Israeli-occupied West Bank. Located on the main road between Jerusalem and Nablus (Route 60), it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Binyamin Regional Counc ...

and maintain a Jewish presence in the Muslim quarter of the

Old City of Jerusalem The Old City of Jerusalem (; ) is a walled area in Jerusalem. In a tradition that may have begun with an 1840s British map of the city, the Old City is divided into four uneven quarters: the Muslim Quarter, the Christian Quarter, the Arm ...

. After completing the

Hesder Hesder ( "arrangement"; also Yeshivat Hesder ) is an Israeli yeshiva program which combines advanced Talmudic studies with military service in the Israel Defense Forces, usually within a Religious Zionist framework. The program allows Orthodox J ...

program at Yeshivat Har Etzion, Leibtag began teaching Tanach there and served as the Director of the Overseas program for over a decade. Leibtag was a member 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 ...

's ''kollel gavoha'' and received his ''semicha'' from Rabbi

Yehuda Amital Yehuda Amital (; born Yehuda Klein; 31 October 1924 – 9 July 2010) was an Orthodox rabbi, the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion, and a member of the Israeli cabinet, associated with the Israeli Left. The concept of a Hesder Yeshiva is att ...

. Leibtag is a pioneer of Jewish Education via the Internet. He was instrumental in creating Yeshivat Har Etzion'
Virtual Beit Midrash
(VBM) and founde
Tanach.org
also known as the Tanach Study Center (TSC). He is an exemplar of the " Tanach at Eye Level" methodology, his style and methodology of Tanach learning constitutes thematic-analytical approach which blends the methods of modern academic scholarship, including

literary criticism A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature's ...

and

archeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeolo ...

, with traditional Jewish approaches. He also integrates textual learning of Tanach with a first-hand understanding of the

geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

,

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the landforms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...

,

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...

, and natural features of the

Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definition ...

. He has served as a mentor and influence for many Tanach educators in North America and Israel, especially in the

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 ...

and

Religious Zionist Religious Zionism () is a religious denomination that views Zionism as a fundamental component of Orthodox Judaism. Its adherents are also referred to as ''Dati Leumi'' (), and in Israel, they are most commonly known by the plural form of the fi ...

communities. Leibtag teaches at Yeshivat Har Etzion in

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 ...

, where he currently resides and has taught at various institutions, including

Matan Women's Institute for Torah Studies The Matan Women's Institute for Torah Studies (, an abbreviation of , ''Machon torani l’nashim'') is an Israeli Midrasha dedicated to teaching the Talmud and other rabbinic literature to women. The institute was established in 1988 by Malke Bina ...

, and

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

's Gruss Kollel in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

.{{Cite web , last=admin , date=2015-01-13 , title=Rabbi Menachem Leibtag , url=https://hods.org/rabbi-menachem-leibtag/ , access-date=2025-03-04 , website=HODS , language=en-US

Personal

Leibtag resides in

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 ...

, where

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 ...

is located.

References

1954 births Jewish biblical scholars Religious Zionist Orthodox rabbis Modern Orthodox rabbis 20th-century American rabbis 20th-century Israeli rabbis 21st-century Israeli rabbis 21st-century American rabbis Israeli educators Israeli Orthodox rabbis Israeli soldiers Jewish military personnel Living people Yeshivat Har Etzion faculty People from Alon Shvut Israeli settlers People from Akron, Ohio