Yoel Rappel
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Yoel Rappel () also known as Joel Rappel, is an Israeli historian who specializes in the study of
Jewish history Jewish history is the history of the Jews, their Jewish peoplehood, nation, Judaism, religion, and Jewish culture, culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions and cultures. Jews originated from the Israelites and H ...
and the evolution of
Jewish prayer Jewish prayer (, ; plural ; , plural ; Yinglish: davening from Yiddish 'pray') is the prayer recitation that forms part of the observance of Rabbinic Judaism. These prayers, often with instructions and commentary, are found in the ' ...
.


Early life

Rappel is the son of Israeli historian and grew up on
Kibbutz Yavneh Kvutzat Yavne () is a religious kibbutz in the Central District of Israel. Located in the coastal plain just east of Ashdod, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Yavne Regional Council. In it had a population of . The kibbutz is adjacent t ...
.


Academic career

Rappel received his Ph.D. in Jewish history and rabbinic literature from
Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...
. In addition to teaching at Boston University, Rappel has taught at Bet Berl College and the Avshalom Institute for Israel Studies. He has published 29 books and edited 80 academic articles. As a fellow at the Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies at
Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...
, Rappel specializes in the study of
Jewish history Jewish history is the history of the Jews, their Jewish peoplehood, nation, Judaism, religion, and Jewish culture, culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions and cultures. Jews originated from the Israelites and H ...
and the evolution of
Jewish prayer Jewish prayer (, ; plural ; , plural ; Yinglish: davening from Yiddish 'pray') is the prayer recitation that forms part of the observance of Rabbinic Judaism. These prayers, often with instructions and commentary, are found in the ' ...
. He previously worked for 40 years as a journalist and senior program editor at the
Israel Broadcasting Authority The Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA; ) was Israel's public broadcaster from 1948 to 2017, succeeded by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation. History The Israel Broadcasting Authority was an outgrowth of the radio station '' Kol Yi ...
. In 2018, Rappel's research confirmed that Rabbi
Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog (; 3 December 1888 – 25 July 1959), also known as Isaac Herzog or Hertzog, was the first Chief Rabbi of Ireland, his term lasting from 1921 to 1936. From 1936 until his death in 1959, he was Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of th ...
, the first
Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel 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 ...
and the grandfather of Israeli President
Isaac Herzog Isaac "Bougie" Herzog (; born 22 September 1960) is an Israeli politician who has been serving since 2021 as the president of Israel. He is the first president to have been born in Israel after its Declaration of Independence. Son of former Is ...
, wrote the
Prayer for the Welfare of the State of Israel The Prayer for the Welfare of the State of Israel () (), also known as Avinu Shebashamayim (), is a prayer said in most Jewish denominations in Israel and a lot of denominations in the Jewish Diaspora as part of the prayer service on Shabbat and J ...
, settling a decades-long academic dispute over the prayer's authorship. Rappel's findings were corroborated by the
National Library of Israel The National Library of Israel (NLI; ; ), formerly Jewish National and University Library (JNUL; ), is the library dedicated to collecting the cultural treasures of Israel and of Judaism, Jewish Cultural heritage, heritage. The library holds more ...
.


Elie Wiesel research

In 2009, Boston University professor
Elie Wiesel Eliezer "Elie" Wiesel (September 30, 1928 – July 2, 2016) was a Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, List of Nobel Peace Prize laureates#1980, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He authored Elie Wiesel bibliogra ...
, arguably the most famous Holocaust survivor, asked Rappel to organize and manage his archive, which contained approximately one million documents. Over 7 years, Rappel curated the archive. Rappel was also the Hebrew editor for Wiesel's books. Rappel discovered a never-published Hebrew-language version of ''
Night Night, or nighttime, is the period of darkness when the Sun is below the horizon. Sunlight illuminates one side of the Earth, leaving the other in darkness. The opposite of nighttime is daytime. Earth's rotation causes the appearance of ...
'', Wiesel's famous memoir about his experiences during the
Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
. The archived version included harsh criticisms of Jews who were too optimistic about the future, Jewish leaders who did not speak up, and Wiesel's Hungarian neighbors who "joyously watched the Jews" being deported. These were not included in the originally published 1960 version.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rappel, Yoel Boston University faculty Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Israeli historians 21st-century male writers Historians of the Holocaust Boston University alumni Historians of Jews and Judaism Jewish historians 21st-century Israeli Jews