Mercaz HaRav (officially, , "The Center of Rabbi ook- the Central Universal Yeshiva") is a national-religious ( Hardal)

yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...

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 ...

, founded in 1924 by

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

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 ...

Abraham Isaac Kook Abraham Isaac HaCohen Kook (; 7 September 1865 – 1 September 1935), known as HaRav Kook, and also known by the Hebrew-language acronym Hara'ayah (), was an Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox rabbi, and the first Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbina ...

. Located in the city's Kiryat Moshe neighborhood, it has become the most prominent religious-Zionist yeshiva in the world and synonymous with Rabbi Kook's teachings. Many

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 ...

educators and leaders have studied at Mercaz HaRav.

Role

The yeshiva views its role as Rabbi Kook's vision for a central institution for the spiritual revitalization of the Jewish people. Kook, however, lacked the financial backing necessary to establish a full-fledged academic institution. The yeshiva grew out of an evening program for young scholars who gathered to hear the recently appointed Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem lecture in Halakhah and

Aggadah Aggadah (, or ; ; 'tales', 'legend', 'lore') is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, particularly the Talmud and Midrash. In general, Aggadah is a compendium of rabbinic texts that incorporat ...

. Rabbi Yitchak Levi, a disciple of Rabbi Kook from his years in

Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...

, initiated this evening program in 1920, calling it ''Mercaz HaRav''—"the Rabbi's Center." In a public letter from 1923, Rabbi Kook explained, "In a very small measure compared to the great role of the Universal Yeshiva, I have started leading the small and limited center 'Mercaz HaRav' as the cornerstone to establish the future Universal Yeshiva." The name "Mercaz HaRav" remained, despite the yeshiva's transformation over the years into one of Israel's largest and most influential ''yeshivot''.

History

Mercaz HaRav was founded in 1924 by Rabbi

, the chief

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 ...

during the British Mandate for Palestine. It was housed in Beit HaRav, built by the noted American philanthropist

Harry Fischel Harry Fischel (1865 - 1948) was an American businessman and philanthropist based in New York City at the turn of the 20th century. Fischel was one of the leading pioneers in the growth of American Judaism, in general, during the dynamic and pr ...

. Rabbi Kook's vision was to create a new yeshiva curriculum, integrating traditional Talmudic studies with Jewish philosophy, Bible, Jewish history, geography, and literature. The last three subjects, however, were never taught there. In 1925, Rabbi Kook invited the great European scholar Rabbi Avraham Aharon Borstein (1867–1925) to serve 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 ...

. Tragically, Rabbi Borstein died suddenly at age 58, nine months after taking up his duties. Kook died in 1935, and his student, Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Charlap, succeeded him as

. After Charlap's death in 1951, Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook, Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook's son, took up his father's position. In 1982, after Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook died, Rabbi Avraham Shapira took the position and led the institution until his death in 2007. His son Rabbi Yaakov Shapira is his successor. In its first decades, the yeshiva had few students, and its future was in doubt. However, in the 1950s, graduates of Bnei Akiva religious schools and high-school yeshivas seeking higher religious education entered Mercaz Harav. Bnei Akiva leader Rabbi Moshe Zvi Neria, a disciple of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, encouraged students to go to Mercaz Harav, then headed by Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook. In 1997, Rabbi Zvi Thau strongly opposed the introduction of an academic framework—plans to integrate a teaching institute—into Mercaz HaRav. As a result of the disagreement, he, together with six senior lecturers and many students, left the yeshiva and established the Har Hamor yeshiva. In 2008, the yeshiva has about 500 students, including 200 students in the yeshiva's '' kollel'' (post-graduate division).

Relationship to West Bank settlements

Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook's fundamentalist teachings as the

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 the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva were a major factor in the formation and activities of the

settlement movement The settlement movement was a reformist social movement that began in the 1880s and peaked around the 1920s in the United Kingdom and the United States. Its goal was to bring the rich and the poor of society together in both physical proximity an ...

in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza, mainly through his influence on the Gush Emunim movement, which was founded by his students. His student Rabbi Hanan Porat set out to restore the Jewish settlement in

Gush Etzion Gush Etzion (, ' Etzion Bloc) is a cluster of Israeli settlements located in the Judaean Mountains, directly south of Jerusalem and Bethlehem in the West Bank. The core group includes four Jewish agricultural villages that were founded in 1943� ...

immediately following the Six-Day War.

Roshei Yeshiva

, (1924–1935) * Avraham Aharon Borstein, (1925) * Yaakov Moshe Charlap, (1935–1951) * Tzvi Yehuda Kook, (1951–1982) * Shaul Yisraeli, (1982–1995) * Avraham Shapira, (1982–2007) * Yaakov Shapira, (2007 to present)

Mercaz HaRav massacre

On the night of March 6, 2008, a lone shooter from Jabel Mukaber in

East Jerusalem East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the portion of Jerusalem that was Jordanian annexation of the West Bank, held by Jordan after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel. Captured and occupied in 1967, th ...

, entered the yeshiva with a gun and began firing indiscriminately, murdering eight students and wounding 15 others. The attack ended with the arrival of Yitzhak Dadon, a part-time student of the yeshiva, and David Shapira, an officer in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

, who shot and killed the shooter.

Victims

Notable alumni

Picture of Rav Kook and his Yeshiva Faculty and Students

The list includes a number of Knesset members, rabbis, and community leaders. * Roni Alsheikh, head of the Israel Police * Rabbi Yaakov Ariel, Chief Rabbi of

Ramat Gan Ramat Gan (, ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv, and is part of the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area. It is home to a Diamond Exchange District (one of the world's major diamond exch ...

* Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, Rosh Yeshiva of Ateret Yerushalayim yeshiva, rabbi of Bet El * Rabbi David Bar-Hayim * Michael Ben-Ari, Knesset member * Yoel Bin-Nun, one of the founders of Yeshivat Har Etzion * Ezriel Carlebach, founder of the Maariv newspaper * Rabbi Oury Amos Cherki, lecturer and author * Rabbi Zephaniah Drori, Chief Rabbi of Kiryat Shmona * Rabbi Haim Druckman, former Knesset member, Rosh Yeshiva of Ohr Etzion Yeshiva * Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, Chief Rabbi of

Safed Safed (), also known as Tzfat (), is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of up to , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel. Safed has been identified with (), a fortif ...

* Rabbi Menachem Froman, founding member of Gush Emunim and former rabbi of Tekoa * Daniel Hershkowitz (born 1953), politician, mathematician, rabbi, and president of Bar-Ilan University *

Hillel Kook Hillel Kook (; 24 July 1915 –18 August 2001), also known as Peter Bergson (Hebrew: פיטר ברגסון), was a Revisionist Zionism, Revisionist Zionist activist and politician. Kook led the Irgun's efforts in the United States during W ...

, Knesset member * Rabbi Dov Lior, former Chief Rabbi of

Hebron Hebron (; , or ; , ) is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Hebron is capital of the Hebron Governorate, the largest Governorates of Palestine, governorate in the West Bank. With a population of 201,063 in ...

and Kiryat Arba * Moshe Levinger, founder of post-1967 Hebron Jewish community * Rabbi Eliezer Melamed, rabbi of Har Bracha * Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed, Rosh Yeshiva of Beit El yeshiva * Rabbi Moshe-Zvi Neria, educator, former Knesset member, Rosh Yeshiva of yeshiva in Kfar Haroeh * Hanan Porat, educator and Knesset member * David Raziel, commander of the Irgun * Rabbi Haim Sabato, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Birkat Moshe and author * Rabbi David Samson, educator * Rabbi Yitzchak Sheilat, Rosh Yeshiva at Yeshivat Birkat Moshe and

Maimonides Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (, ) and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam (), was a Sephardic rabbi and Jewish philosophy, philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah schola ...

scholar * Rabbi Zvi Thau, co-founder and president of Yeshivat Har Hamor * Michel Warschawski (aka Mikado), left-wing activist and author; co-founder of the Alternative Information CenterOn the Border: Memoir of a Militant Jew, 2005. * Rabbi Shaul Yisraeli, rabbi of Kfar Haroeh, Rosh Yeshiva at Mercaz HaRav, President of the Eretz Hemdah Institute

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

Official website

Official website
{{Coord, 31.7879, N, 35.1967, E, source:kolossus-hewiki, display=title Abraham Isaac Kook Chardal Educational institutions established in 1924 Orthodox yeshivas in Jerusalem Religious Zionist yeshivot Yeshivot hesder 1924 establishments in Mandatory Palestine