Rabbi Yissocher Frand is an American Orthodox

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 a senior lecturer at

Yeshivas Ner Yisroel Ner Israel Rabbinical College (ישיבת נר ישראל), also known as NIRC and Ner Yisroel, is a Haredi yeshiva (Jewish educational institution) in Pikesville, Maryland. It was founded in 1933 by Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman, a discipl ...

Baltimore, MD Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-larges ...

. Raised in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

, he attended Ner Yisrael as a student and progressed to become a '' maggid shiur'' (lecturer). He is well known within the Orthodox Jewish community as a skilled orator, and has given thousands of invited lectures over the past decades. Frand produces Torah Tapes of his lectures.

Career

Rabbi Frand is best known for his popular parsha '' shiurim'' (lectures). His weekly lectures, started in the late 1980s, are hosted live at the Agudath Yisrael synagogue in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, and are broadcast all over the world by the Torah Conferencing Network in synagogues or Jewish community centers in over 70 cities in North America, Europe, Israel, South Africa, and Australia. The wide distribution of his lectures make them one of the best-attended Jewish lectures in the world. Building on points from the weekly Torah reading, his lectures generally follow a particular style. He typically addresses a matter of ''

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 ...

''/Jewish law for the bulk of his lecture, while reserving the closing portion for a

midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; or ''midrashot' ...

ic/homiletic talk which evinces an ethical or religious character. The Yad Yechiel Institute was founded to distribute audio recordings of Rabbi Frand's lectures, and they are sold over the Internet and in Jewish bookstores everywhere. Project Genesis publishes the midrashic portions of his weekly talks online, and the distribution of these transcriptions via email have added to his popularity. Revised versions of these shiurim have been collected and republished in book form. Rabbi Frand also gives a popular yearly lecture before

Yom Kippur Yom Kippur ( ; , ) is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, corresponding to a date in late September or early October. For traditional Jewish people, it is primarily centered on atonement and ...

known as his annual "Teshuva Drasha." He is a board member and frequent speaker on behalf of the Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation, an organization dedicated to educating the Jewish public on the laws of ''

lashon hara ''Lashon hara'' (or ''loshon horo'', or ''loshon hora'') (; "evil tongue") is the halakhic term for speech about a person or persons that is negative or harmful to them, even though it is true. It is speech that damages the person(s) who is tal ...

'' (harmful speech). Rabbi Frand has also been a featured speaker multiple times at the Siyum HaShas, held once every seven and a half years, the past few having taken place before sold-out crowds at major sporting venues in the

New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also called the Tri-State area and sometimes referred to as Greater New York, is the List of cities by GDP, largest metropolitan economy in the world, with a List of U.S. metropolitan areas by GDP, gross metropo ...

.Shani Ratzker, "Remembering the Siyum Hashas," ''The Jewish Press'' (March 16, 2005)
/ref>

Bibliography

* Rabbi Yissocher Frand in print: Contemporary and classic issues through the prism of Torah,

Artscroll ArtScroll is an imprint of translations, books and commentaries from an Orthodox Jewish perspective published by Mesorah Publications, Ltd., a publishing company based in Rahway, New Jersey. Rabbi Nosson Scherman is the general editor. ArtScro ...

, September 1995. * Listen to Your Messages: And Other Observations on Contemporary Jewish Life,

, August 1999. * An Offer You can't Refuse: and other essays on the art of living,

, January 2004. * Rabbi Frand on the Parashah: Insights, stories and observations ... on the weekly Torah reading,

, 2001. * Oholei Yissocher (Printed in Hebrew): Insights on Tractates Moed Katan and Temurah, Self-Published, 1986 * Rabbi Frand On the Parashah volume 2: More insights, stories and observations by Rabbi Yissocher Frand on the weekly Torah reading

, 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frand, Yissocher American Haredi rabbis Living people Yeshivas Ner Yisroel Religious leaders from Washington (state) Rabbis from Baltimore Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American rabbis

Career

Bibliography

External links

References