Naftali Rothenberg (; born 14 July 1949) is an Israeli scholar,

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 ...

and author. He is known for his studies on the wisdom of love in Jewish Canonical

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

and his inclusive leadership in the

Israeli rabbinate The Chief Rabbinate of Israel (, ''Ha-Rabbanut Ha-Rashit Li-Yisra'el'') is recognized by law as the supreme rabbinic authority for Judaism in Israel. It was established in 1921 under the British Mandate, and today operates on the basis of the C ...

Education and career

In 1973 Rothenberg was ordained at Yeshivas Kaminetz of Jerusalem and in 1980-1984 studied philosophy and Jewish thought at the

Hebrew University The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. It is the second-ol ...

. He served as the chief rabbi of the

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 ...

community in

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

(1974-1978) and chaplain and senior education officer in the IDF (1978-1989). Served as an Associate Professor of Jewish Studies at the School of Management of

Touro College Touro University is a private Jewish university system headquartered in New York City, with branches throughout the United States as well as one each in Germany, Israel and Russia. It was founded by Bernard Lander in 1971 and named for Isaac a ...

in the Jerusalem branch (1997–2003). He is the Rabbi of Har Adar township (since 1986), and a senior research fellow at the

Van Leer Jerusalem Institute The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute is a center for interdisciplinary study in the humanities and social sciences, and the development of new ways of addressing questions of global concern that hold special importance for Israeli society and the r ...

(since 1994). Since 2014 he has been an associate of the Program on Law and Religion and co-investigator in the Project on Love in Religion at the Center for Religion and Culture at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

. His main fields of studies are: the wisdom of love; democratic education;

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 ...

and state. Rothenberg is the 2011 laureate of the Liebhaber Prize for the encouragement of religious tolerance in Israel.

Thought

The wisdom of love

Love, according to Rothenberg, emanates from the harmony of spirit and matter, mind and body. The texts he analyses in his works seek to promote just such a relationship between man and woman, which exists simultaneously on three planes: the cognitive-intellectual; the spiritual-emotional—expressed in the feelings the partners have for one another; and the physical—that is the physical contact and union between them. Love’s survival depends upon the constant effort to maintain harmony between mind, spirit and body. The repudiation of any of these three elements, according to the harmonious approach, will thus weaken and even destroy the love bond. Most people recognize two approaches to love: the puritan approach, which they associate with religion, Scripture and “spirituality” in general; and the permissive approach, often considered materialistic and anti-spiritual, even in the eyes of its own exponents. In other words, whether one adopts a puritan or permissive approach or life-style, the premise remains that of a spiritual/material dichotomy, with one's choice being limited to choosing one or the other. The harmonious approach to love proposes an alternative to this dichotomy, while rejecting both puritanism and permissiveness. Rothenberg has published extensively during the past two decades on love in Jewish canonical literature. In his book: ''Rabbi Akiva’s Philosophy of Love'' he writes: “Rabbi Akiva's character has intrigued and fascinated me ever since I began to learn and teach the wisdom of love in the canonical Jewish literature, some 25 years ago. He who first appeared in a love story in the legends; rescued the quintessential love song,

Song of Songs The Song of Songs (), also called the Canticle of Canticles or the Song of Solomon, is a Biblical poetry, biblical poem, one of the five ("scrolls") in the ('writings'), the last section of the Tanakh. Unlike other books in the Hebrew Bible, i ...

from oblivion; developed an entire philosophy—and practice—of marital harmony; saw love between man and woman as a sacred perfection of body, mind and spirit; asserted that “love your fellow as yourself” is the great principle from which all morality derives; preached love for all who were created in God’s image; fulfilled the commandment to love God with every fiber of his being, loving Him with all his heart, soul and might, even when all was taken from him—an expression of love to the last breath. R’ Akiva was the only sage that entered and emerged safely from the Orchard of Love. His ideas, theories and praxis laid as a foundation for the study of the wisdom of love. “

Halakha, rabbinate and state

Rabbi Rothenberg maintains that there is no contradiction between

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 ...

and

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

. Expressions such as “halakhic state” or “Jewish

theocracy Theocracy is a form of autocracy or oligarchy in which one or more deity, deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries, with executive and legislative power, who manage the government's ...

” have no basis in halakhic sources. Civil suits concerning financial matters should be brought before rabbinical court ( Beth din) if both sides agree. Halakha does not assert, however, that the existing juridical system should be replaced by a system of religious court. A totalitarian regime (even headed by “religious” Jews) would commit acts and enact legislation contrary to Halakha, while democracy is in fact the only political system that does not inherently clash with Jewish religious law. Through his long career, rabbi Rothenberg as a town rabbi, is a member of the Israeli official rabbinate. On one hand, his activities and positions reflect independence and originality but on the other hand, he criticized publicly alternative initiatives on issues of conversion and

Kashrut (also or , ) is a set of Food and drink prohibitions, dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to halakha, Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed ko ...

. Nevertheless, on the most fundamental issue of the rabbinate: Marriage and divorce Rothenberg is an advocate of the two tracks solution 1. Marriage: Every couple in Israel will be permitted to choose one of two tracks for marriage: a) Marriage according to traditional Jewish law, through the rabbinate b)

Civil marriage A civil marriage is a marriage performed, recorded, and recognized by a government official. Such a marriage may be performed by a religious body and recognized by the state, or it may be entirely secular. History Countries maintaining a popul ...

by a civil functionary to be determined by the law 2. Divorce: A couple that wishes to divorce will be able to do so in the same track through which it married. Those married through the rabbinate who wish to divorce will do so in a rabbinical court. Those who contracted a civil marriage will dissolve it in the Family Courts. Rabbi Rothenberg strongly opposes any form of

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...

in Israel. An article he wrote served as the basis for a bill submitted to the

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

to eliminate the possibility of capital punishment in Israel. According to Rabbi Rothenberg, civil equality and

minority rights Minority rights are the normal individual rights as applied to members of racial, ethnic, class, religious, linguistic or gender and sexual minorities, and also the collective rights accorded to any minority group. Civil-rights movements oft ...

are not only democratic principles but Jewish religious obligations. He fought against any form of discrimination and incitement against minorities and for the full integration of Arabs and other minorities in all governmental systems.

Democratic and peace education

As a response to the increased polarization within Israeli society as a reaction to the

Oslo Accords The Oslo Accords are a pair of interim agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): the Oslo I Accord, signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993; and the Oslo II Accord, signed in Taba, Egypt, in 1995. They marked the st ...

, Rothenberg established in 1984 an Active Learning Program: Learning the Peace Process, implemented weekly in 500 high-schools throughout the country. This program gave the opportunity to students, teachers and parents, from all political backgrounds and sectors, to learn and discuss the process in real-time, and express their fears, hope and opinions. Rothenberg argue that the underlying problem in Israeli democracy is the absence of a shared civic language. The way to create a situation in which groups that differ in their ethnic origin, ideology, religion or attitude towards religion, or political views can share the same civic concepts is the formal education system. Rothenberg established a team at the

of Jews and Arabs, religious and secular, holders of diverse political views—who took it upon themselves to address the challenges that face Israeli democracy and lead a process of change and improvement by writing a civics textbook. Their joint effort has been approved in 2014 by the Israeli Ministry of Education. Thousands of pupils in Israeli public schools—both secular and religious—are being using his book to study

civics In the field of political science, civics is the study of the civil and political rights and obligations of citizens in a society. The term ''civics'' derives from the Latin word ''civicus'', meaning "relating to a citizen". In U.S. politics ...

every year.

Inclusive Judaism: streams and interface

Rabbinic traditions viewed study and knowledge as open to all and opposed the recurrent attempts to consolidate hegemony over knowledge. Committed to the Democratization of knowledge and Exegetical Freedom, Rothenberg established in 1995 a national project of lectures series and publications at the

and at over 20 other venues throughout Israel. The lecturers and the writers in the series represent a broad range of interpretations and approaches to the canon. Also in 1995, he established dozens of “Learning Communities” as frameworks for study and social activities totally independent from the rabbinic establishment. He worked extensively on frameworks and expressions of secular Jewish culture, including the right to secular expression alongside the religious expressions in the official memorial ceremonies for soldiers who fell in Israel's wars. Rothenberg criticizes the fact that

Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish religious movements, Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its Jewish ethics, ethical aspects to its ceremo ...

and other streams are not officially recognize in Israel: “Israel is the Jewish nation state and a democratic country; hence every single Jewish community should be allowed to express itself and uphold its culture and customs.” A rare voice to be heard from an Orthodox rabbi and a member of the state rabbinate. Since the beginning of his long rabbinic career, Rothenberg participates in interface dialog. His main efforts were to reduce religious tensions in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

and to prevent the conflicts from being based on religious disputes. He is a strong voice to the rabbinate majority position prohibited Jews to step on

Temple Mount The Temple Mount (), also known as the Noble Sanctuary (Arabic: الحرم الشريف, 'Haram al-Sharif'), and sometimes as Jerusalem's holy esplanade, is a hill in the Old City of Jerusalem, Old City of Jerusalem that has been venerated as a ...

. “Al Taalu Bahar”, Y-net, 03.08.2008 Rothenberg was one of the initiators and signatories of the Declaration of the Orthodox Rabbis on a new era in the relations between the Jewish people and Christianity. At the 50th anniversary of the

Nostra Aetate (from Latin: "In our time"), or the Declaration on the Relation of the Church with Non-Christian Religions, is an official declaration of the Second Vatican Council, an Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. I ...

he said: “First World War and more even the Second World War and the Holocaust caused severe subversion to the ideas of humanism and progress as the foundations for moral behavior and hope for better future…. It is in this crucial juncture that The Second Vatican Ecumenical Council reflected tremendous importance for humanity as a whole as the Nostra Aetate becomes foundation for reality-changing process. We are witnessing one of the main cultures: The Catholic Church goes beyond its own particularity, beyond the limits of religious discourse and inner spirit. The Nostra Aetate process teaches us brave, revolutionary and fascinating of presenting "The Other", even opposer, even seemingly competing in a particular religious discourse.” (Rabbi Naftali Rothenberg lecture at the Episcopal, Warsaw 26 of November 2015).

Works

Books written

# ''Ta'am VaDa'at'' (Reason and Opinion), (Hebrew), Jerusalem 2022. # ''Rabbi Akiva’s Philosophy of Love'', Palgrave-Macmillan, 2017. Hebrew Version: ''Torat HaAhavah Shel Rabi Akiva" - Carmel Publishers - Jerusalem 2018. # ''Arakhim VeEzrakhim'': (Values and Citizens: Civic Education for Public Schools, textbook and teacher's guide (author and editor with a team of 6 others).

, 2014. (Hebrew) # ''Akhdut Metokh Shonut'' – (Unity within Diversity: Common Core Curriculum to all Children in Israel), (with Libat Avishai), The

, 2011. (Hebrew) # ''The Wisdom of Love: Man, Woman and God in Jewish Canonical Literature'', Academic Studies Press, Boston, 2009. Hebrew version:''Ayelet Ahavim'' – (Beloved Doe – Studies in the Wisdom of Love) – Yediot Aharonot Publishers – Tel Aviv 2005. # ''BeIkvot Ha’Ahava'' – (Where Love Leads – Love and Partnership in Jewish Sources) – Carmel Publishers – Jerusalem 2000 (Hebrew) # ''Reflections on Jerusalem: The City of David in Classical Texts'' (with Leora Tanenbaum and Sara M. Silberman) – Hadassah publications - New York 1995

Books edited

# ''Wisdom by the Week: The Weekly Torah Portion as an Inspiration for Thought and Creativity'', Yeshiva University Press and VLJI, New York, 2011. Hebrew version: ''Hogim Baparashah – the weekly Torah portion as an inspiration for Jewish thought and creativity''– Yediot-Sefarim Publishers – Tel Aviv 2005 # ''Rav Baolam Hakhadash – Rabbi in the New World: The Influence of Rabbi J. B. Soloveitchik on Culture, Education and Jewish Thought'', (with Avinoam Rosenak) Magnes Hebrew University Press and the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, Jerusalem, 2011. (Hebrew) # ''Leom Meleom - Studies on Jewish People, Identity and Nationality'', (with Eliezer Schweid), Hakibutz Hameuchad Publishers and the VLJI, Tel Aviv, 2008 (Hebrew) # ''Jewish Identity in Modern Israel – Proceedings on Secular Judaism and Democracy'' – (with Eliezer Schweid), Urim, Jerusalem & Lambda Publishers, New York, 2002. # ''Potkhim Shavua - Opening the Week – 54 articles on the Torah'' – Yediot-Sefarim Publishers – Tel Aviv 2001 (Hebrew)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rothenberg, Naftali Israeli philosophers Israeli Orthodox rabbis 1949 births Living people Peruvian rabbis