Rabbi Pesach Wolicki (; born 5 February 1970) is an educator, writer, columnist,

lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

public speaker Public speaking, is the practice of delivering speeches to a live audience. Throughout history, public speaking has held significant cultural, religious, and political importance, emphasizing the necessity of effective rhetorical skills. It all ...

and pro-Israel activist. In previous positions, he served 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 ...

at Yeshivat Yesodei HaTorah from 2003 to 2015 and as the Associate Director of the

Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding and Cooperation Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

(CJCUC) from 2015 to 2019. He is a columnist for

The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is an English language, English-language Israeli broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1932 during the Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate of Mandatory Palestine, Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''Th ...

, ''

The Times of Israel ''The Times of Israel'' (ToI) is an Israeli multi-language online newspaper that was launched in 2012 and has since become the largest English-language Jewish and Israeli news source by audience size. It was co-founded by Israeli journalist Dav ...

'',

Charisma News ''Charisma'' (also known as ''Charisma + Christian Life'' and Charisma News) is a monthly Christian magazine based in Lake Mary, Florida, a suburb of Orlando. It is aimed at Pentecostals and charismatics. Its perspective is influenced by the ch ...

, and ''Breaking News Israel'' and is an outspoken voice regarding Jewish-Christian interfaith relations. He is Executive Director of Israel365action, a faith-based grassroots initiative to educate Christians and Jews of Biblical faith about current events in Israel. He also hosts ''Eyes on Israel'', a weekly 1 hour news magazine show on the Real America's Voice Network. He is co-host of the ''Shoulder to Shoulder'' podcast, with pastor Doug Reed. Rabbi Wolicki is a regular opinion writer for ''

'' and Israel365news.com. From September 2021 to December 2023, Rabbi Wolicki served as Executive Director of the

. From June 2015 to July 2019 he served as its Associate Director. Rabbi Wolicki has appeared on TV and radio programs including Warroom, Human Events Daily, In the Line of Fire with Dr. Michael Brown and Today's Issues with Tim Wildmon. He is a regular contributor to Securing America with

Frank Gaffney Frank J. Gaffney Jr. (born April 5, 1953) is an American defense policy analyst and founder of the Center for Security Policy (CSP). He founded the CSP in 1988, serving as its president until 2023, and thereafter as executive chairman. In the 1 ...

and

American Family Radio American Family Radio (AFR), also known as American Family News (AFN), is a network of more than 180 radio stations broadcasting Christian-oriented programming to over 30 states.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 ...

of Jerusalem, Rabbi Itzhak Kolitz.

Biography

Rabbi Pesach Wolicki was born in

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

on February 5, 1970 to Marsha (née Dubow) and Rabbi Jerome B. Wolicki. During his early childhood years, he lived in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Education

Wolicki studied at

Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh (, lit. ''Vineyard in Yavne Yeshiva'') is a youth village and major yeshiva in southern Israel. Located near the city of Ashdod and adjacent to Kvutzat Yavne, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Yavne Regional Council ...

and later became a

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

at ''Darche Noam Kollel''. He received 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 ...

(rabbinical ordination) from the

Chief Rabbinate 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 ...

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 ...

Career

Wolicki served as a pulpit

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 ...

at Adath Jeshurun Orthodox synagogue in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

and as Development Director of Hillel Academy in

Fairfield, Connecticut Fairfield is a New England town, town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It borders the city of Bridgeport, Connecticut, Bridgeport and towns of Trumbull, Connecticut, Trumbull, Easton, Connecticut, Easton, Weston, Connecticut, W ...

. In 2003, he became

of Yeshivat Yesodei HaTorah. In 2015, Rabbi Wolicki became the Associate Director for the

. He left this position in 2019. In a September 2015 article for ''The Times of Israel'' Wolicki expounded his strong support of Rabbi

Shlomo Riskin Shlomo Riskin (; born May 28, 1940) is an Orthodox rabbi, and the founding rabbi of Lincoln Square Synagogue on the Upper West Side of New York City, which he led for 20 years; founding chief rabbi of the Israeli settlement of Efrat in the Is ...

's global

Day to Praise Day to Praise () is a global interfaith praise initiative set forth by CJCUC Chancellor & Founder, Rabbi Shlomo Riskin and CJCUC Executive Director, David Nekrutman. The initiative takes the form of an annual event on Yom Ha'atzmaut (Israel's ...

interfaith initiative fighting off claims of 'foreign fire' by the

Haredi Haredi Judaism (, ) is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that is characterized by its strict interpretation of religious sources and its accepted (Jewish law) and traditions, in opposition to more accommodating values and practices. Its members are ...

Jewish circles and citing, in regards to the initiative, that ''"While discomfort is understandable, we dare not assume that what is uncomfortable and new is therefore forbidden."''

Blessing Bethlehem

In September 2016, Wolicki launched CJCUC's "

Blessing Bethlehem Blessing Bethlehem is a charity fundraising initiative with the purpose of helping the persecuted Christians living in the city of Bethlehem and its surrounding areas. It was launched in September 2016 by the Center for Jewish–Christian Understa ...

" fundraising initiative at the

LifeLight Festival LifeLight Festival is an annual free outdoor Christian music festival held over Labor Day weekend in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. History LifeLight Festival was started by Alan and Vicki Greene in 1998 as an afternoon concert at Good News Reformed ...

Sioux Falls Sioux Falls ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 117th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into northern Lincoln County. The population was 192 ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

in and effort to create a food giveaway program for persecuted Christians in

Bethlehem Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...

Works

* ''Cup of Salvation'' (Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding and Cooperation, Gefen Publishing, 2017)

Personal life

In 1994, Wolicki made ''

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 ...

'' to

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. Wolicki resides with his wife and eight children in

Bet Shemesh Beit Shemesh () is a city located approximately west of Jerusalem in Israel's Jerusalem District. A center of Haredi Judaism and Modern Orthodoxy, Beit Shemesh has a population of 170,683 as of 2024. The city is named after and located near the ...

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wolicki, Pesach 1970 births American emigrants to Canada American male non-fiction writers Canadian Orthodox rabbis Canadian Zionists Israeli Orthodox rabbis Jewish American non-fiction writers Jewish Canadian writers Living people Rosh yeshivas 21st-century Israeli rabbis Modern Orthodox rabbis Canadian emigrants to Israel Founders of charities Bible commentators Christian and Jewish interfaith dialogue Old Testament scholars People in interfaith dialogue