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 ...

Rosh yeshiva Rosh yeshiva ( he, ראש ישיבה, pl. he, ראשי ישיבה, '; 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, primar ...

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 Gush Etzion. It is considered one of the leading institutions of advanced Tora ...

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

Gemara The Gemara (also transliterated Gemarah, or in Yiddish Gemo(r)re; from Aramaic , from the Semitic root ג-מ-ר ''gamar'', to finish or complete) is the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishna ...

, and

Jewish philosophy Jewish philosophy () includes all philosophy carried out by Jews, or in relation to the religion of Judaism. Until modern ''Haskalah'' (Jewish Enlightenment) and Jewish emancipation, Jewish philosophy was preoccupied with attempts to reconci ...

.

Biography

Yaakov Medan was a member of the first class 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 Gush Etzion. It is considered one of the leading institutions of advanced Tora ...

, and has lived in

Gush Etzion Gush Etzion ( he, גּוּשׁ עֶצְיוֹן, ' 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 v ...

since 1968. He served in the Airborne Nahal Infantry unit during his

Hesder Hesder ( he, הסדר "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 al ...

army service. During the

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Eg ...

, he fought in the

Golan Heights The Golan Heights ( ar, هَضْبَةُ الْجَوْلَانِ, Haḍbatu l-Jawlān or ; he, רמת הגולן, ), or simply the Golan, is a region in the Levant spanning about . The region defined as the Golan Heights differs between d ...

as a liaison officer in the

Yiftach Brigade The Yiftach Brigade (also known as the Yiftah Brigade, the 11th Brigade in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War) was an Israeli infantry brigade. It included two Palmach battalions (the 1st and 7th), and later also the 2nd, which was transferred from the ...

. Medan holds a B.Ed degree from Michlalah Jerusalem College, and an MA degree from

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 ...

.

Rabbinic career

Together with Rabbi

Baruch Gigi Official picture of rav Baruch Gigi Baruch Gigi ( he, ברוך גיגי) is a co-Rosh yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion in Gush Etzion. Biography Baruch Gigi was born in Morocco and immigrated to Israel at the age of 11. He first attended Yeshivat ...

, Rabbi Medan joined Rabbi

Yehuda Amital Yehuda Amital ( he, יהודה עמיטל, 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. The concept of a Hesder Yeshiva is attributed ...

and Rabbi

Aharon Lichtenstein Aharon Lichtenstein (May 23, 1933 – April 20, 2015) was a noted Orthodox rabbi and rosh yeshiva. He was an authority in Jewish law ('' Halakha''). Biography Aharon Lichtenstein was born to Rabbi Dr. Yechiel Lichtenstein and Bluma née Schwartz ...

as a

Rosh Yeshiva Rosh yeshiva ( he, ראש ישיבה, pl. he, ראשי ישיבה, '; 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, primar ...

on January 4, 2006. His Biblical analysis does not shy away from nuanced analysis of the patriarchs and other Biblical figures in innovative commentaries on

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

realia, and of a vast body of Jewish tradition. He has published book-length studies on

Daniel Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength" ...

,

Ruth Ruth (or its variants) may refer to: Places France * Château de Ruthie, castle in the commune of Aussurucq in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département of France Switzerland * Ruth, a hamlet in Cologny United States * Ruth, Alabama * Ruth, Ar ...

, and the Batsheva story. A much wider variety of lectures which he has given 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 Gush Etzion. It is considered one of the leading institutions of advanced Tora ...

have not yet been published in written form. He was a partner in drafting the

Gavison-Medan Covenant The Gavison-Medan Covenant is a proposal for the relation of religion and state in Israel, intended to retain the state's Jewish character, while minimizing religious coercion. It is named after Professor Ruth Gavison and Orthodox Rabbi Yaaqov M ...

,Gavison Medan FAQ
/ref> a proposed

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princip ...

for the State of Israel which is intended to benefit Israel's religious and secular communities simultaneously (despite their disagreement on a number of issues).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Medan, Yaaqov Religious Zionist rosh yeshivas 1950 births 21st-century rabbis in Jerusalem Living people Religious Zionist Orthodox rabbis Israeli Orthodox Jews Israeli Orthodox rabbis Yeshivat Har Etzion Israeli settlers Israeli people of Polish-Jewish descent Israeli soldiers Jewish military personnel