Yitzchak (Irving) Breitowitz is an American-born

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

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 ...

, lecturer and rabbinic authority. He is the Rabbi Emeritus of Woodside Synagogue Ahavas Torah in

Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially Unincorporated area, unincorporated, it is an edge city with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 ...

, and the Rav of Kehillas

Ohr Somayach Ohr Somayach may refer to: * Ohr Somayach (book), commentary by Rabbi Meir Simcha of Dvinsk **''Ohr Somayach'', common reference to Rabbi Meir Simcha of Dvinsk *Ohr Somayach, Jerusalem, a network of yeshivas based in Israel * Ohr Somayach, Monsey, ...

, and lecturer at Ohr Somayach in

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 ...

Family background

Rabbi Breitowitz was born in April 1954 in New York, to David (July 15, 1918 - August 22, 2003) and Chaya Esther Tzipora (Helen) Breitowitz (Rakoszynski) (March 31, 1921 - March 4, 2014). Both were Holocaust survivors.

Early life and education

Breitowitz grew up in the Greater Hartford, Connecticut area, where he attended Yeshiva of Hartford. Later he attended Ner Israel Yeshiva in Baltimore, MD. During his time in Ner Israel, Rabbi Breitowitz became a close disciple of the Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Yitzchak Ruderman, and future head of yeshiva, Rabbis

Yaakov Weinberg Shmuel Yaakov Weinberg, known as Yaakov Weinberg (also Jacob S. Weinberg) (1923 – July 1, 1999) was an Orthodox Jewish rabbi, Talmudist, and rosh yeshiva (dean) of Ner Israel Rabbinical College in Baltimore, Maryland, one of the major American ...

, and

Yaakov Moshe Kulefsky Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Kulefsky (December 14, 1925 - November 30, 2000) was an American-born rabbi and teacher. He served as both dean and rosh yeshiva at Yeshivas Ner Yisroel for decades, until the last year of his life. Early life His parents, Rap ...

. He received his

bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

from

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

and his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

in 1979, where he graduated

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

. In 1979 he obtained rabbinic ordination from

Ner Israel Rabbinical College 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 ...

Career

After graduating, Rabbi Breitowitz worked in private practice in Chicago where he also served as law clerk for

Susan Getzendanner Susan Christine O'Meara Getzendanner (born July 24, 1939) is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and in 2013 was listed as a NAFTA adjudicator. Education and career Get ...

of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and taught at the

Chicago-Kent College of Law The Chicago-Kent College of Law is the law school of the Illinois Institute of Technology, a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is the second oldest law school in the state of Illinois (after Northwestern Law). Chicago-Kent wa ...

and at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

. Rabbi Breitowitz returned to Baltimore in 1983, where he joined the faculty of the

University of Maryland School of Law The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law (formerly University of Maryland School of Law from 1924 to 2011) is the law school of the University of Maryland, Baltimore and is located in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1816, it i ...

, as an associate professor of law, specializing in bankruptcy, commercial law and bioethics. In 2001 Rabbi Breitowitz was awarded as "Outstanding Teacher of the Year" by the Maryland University. In 1988 Rabbi Breitowitz became the Rabbi of the Woodside Synagogue Ahavas Torah in

where he served for 22 years. In Baltimore he lectured regularly to the larger Washington community at the Board of Jewish Education, the Edlavitch Jewish Community Center of Washington, D.C., the UJA-

Federation A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

and other venues and also taught at the Girls’ Division of the Yeshiva High School. In April 2010 Rabbi Breitowitz moved to Israel where he became a senior lecturer in Ohr Somayach Yeshiva in Jerusalem and the Rabbi of Kehillas Ohr Somayach. He is also a lecturer at Yiboneh a member of the faculty at the

Tikvah Fund The Tikvah Fund () is an American conservative nonprofit charitable foundation whose stated mission is to promote Jewish thought and ideas. Activities In 2011 the Fund provided a four-year $12.5 million grant to the Shalem Center to form an Ameri ...

, as well as many other yeshivas and seminaries around Jerusalem, including the Mayanot Institute of Jewish Studies, a women's learning program where he teaches an overview of Jewish law.

Written work and lectures

Rabbi Breitowitz has lectured on medical, business, and family ethics. He has written and published on the interface of

Halacha ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is based on biblical commandments ('' mi ...

(Jewish law) and contemporary society with a special interest and expertise in medical, family, business, and legal ethics. His articles discuss topics such as stem cell research, cloning, organ donation, land for peace, and the Jewish perspectives on war and gun control. He has also written many basic source books on Jewish values for

NCSY NCSY (formerly known as the National Conference of Synagogue Youth) is a Jewish youth group under the auspices of the Orthodox Union. Its operations include Jewish-inspired After-school activity, after-school programs; summer programs in Israel, ...

, an organization that does Jewish outreach to teenagers. He also delivers a weekly Q&A session which is popular among many segments of Orthodox Judaism.

Personal life

Rabbi Breitowitz is married to Sally Naiman. They have one son.

Published articles

* "Between Civil and Religious Law: The Plight of the Agunah in American Society" (Praeger, July 20, 1993, , ) * "A Study of the Maryland Bar Exam" (January 1, 1988 Baltimore, Md.) * "Halakhic Approaches to the Resolution of Disputes Concerning the Disposition of Preembryos" (Vol. 31, No. 1, Halakhic Medical Issues (Fall 1996), pp. 64–91 Published By: Rabbinical Council of America (RCA). Published in Jewish Law and New Reproductive Technologies, Edited by Emanuel Feldman and Joel B. Wolowelsky. Hoboken, NJ, KTAV Pub. House, 1997. p. 155-186.) * "New Developments in Consumer Bankruptcies: Chapter 7 Dismissal on the Basis of "Substantial Abuse"" (First Installment, Published in American Bankruptcy Law Journal, v. 59, no. 4, fall 1985, p. 327-355. (Second Installment, Published in American Bankruptcy Law Journal, v. 60, no. 1, winter 1986, p. 33-68.) * "Article 9 Security Interests as Voidable Preferences" (Published in Cardozo Law Review, v. 3, no. 3, spring 1982, p. 357-429. Part 2 of this paper - The Floating Lien - is published in Cardozo Law Review, v. 4, no. 1, fall 1982. * "The Brain Death Controversy in Jewish Law" (Published in the Jewish Action Reader, v. 1, 1996, p. 120-133. Reprinted with permission, 2006.)

References

External links

Rabbibreitowitz.com

Breitowitz at Ohr Somayach
{{DEFAULTSORT:Breitowitz, Yitzchak Harvard Law School alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni American Orthodox rabbis