Aharon Lichtenstein

HaRav Aharon Lichtenstein
250px Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein
Born	(1933-05-23)May 23, 1933 Paris, France
Died	Alon Shvut, West Bank
Alma mater	Yeshiva University Harvard University
Spouse(s)	Dr. Tovah (née Soloveitchik) (m. 1960)
Children	6, including Rabbi Mosheh Lichtenstein, Rabbanit Estie Rosenberg
Awards	Israel Prize (2014)

Aharon Lichtenstein (May 23, 1933 – April 20, 2015) was a noted Orthodox rabbi and rosh yeshiva. He was an authority in Jewish law ("Halacha").

Biography

Rabbi Lichtenstein was born in Paris, France, but grew up in the United States, studied in Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin under Rabbi Yitzchok Hutner. He earned a BA and semicha ("rabbinic ordination") at Yeshiva University under Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, whose daughter Tovah he would later marry, and a PhD in English Literature at Harvard University, where he studied under Douglas Bush.

After serving as Rosh yeshiva at Yeshiva University for several years, Rabbi Lichtenstein answered Rabbi Yehuda Amital's request in 1971 to join him at the helm of Yeshivat Har Etzion, located in Gush Etzion, and moved to Jerusalem. He maintained a close connection to Yeshiva University as a Rosh Kollel for the Gruss Institute in Jerusalem, an affiliate of Yeshiva University and its rabbinical school, Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary.

In 2005, he and his wife Dr. Tovah (née Soloveitchik) moved to Alon Shvut, where Yeshivat Har Etzion is located. They were married in 1960 and have six children.

On January 4, 2006, Rabbi Yaaqov Medan and Rabbi Baruch Gigi were officially invested as co-roshei yeshiva alongside Rav Amital and Rav Lichtenstein, with an eye toward Rabbi Amital's intention to retire. On October 28, 2008, Rav Lichtenstein's eldest son, Rabbi Mosheh Lichtenstein, was officially invested as co-Rosh Yeshiva, simultaneous with Rav Amital's official retirement, this time with an eye toward Rav Aharon Lichtenstein's eventual plan to retire.

He was committed to intensive and original Torah study and articulates a bold Jewish worldview that embraces elements of modernity within the framework of a Torah life, reflecting the tradition of his teacher and father-in-law, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik in line with Centrist Orthodoxy.

Lichtenstein was awarded the Israel Prize for Jewish Literature on Israeli Independence Day: May 6, 2014. He died on April 20, 2015. He was a source of inspiration for a wide circle of Jewry, for both his educational attainments and his intellectual and spiritual leadership. He was especially admired by many centrist Modern Orthodox leaders.

Works

• Henry More: The Rational Theology of a Cambridge Platonist, (PhD Dissertation) Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1962.
• By His Light: Character and Values in the Service of God, based on Lichtenstein's addresses and adapted by Reuven Ziegler ISBN 0-88125-796-6
• Leaves of Faith (vol. 1): The World of Jewish Learning
• Leaves of Faith (vol. 2): The World of Jewish Living
• Varieties of Jewish Experience
• Minchat Aviv: Chiddushim veIyyunim baShas

Based on Rabbi Lichtenstein's Talmud classes at Yeshivat Har Etzion, his students' notes have been edited and published as Shiurei Harav Aharon Lichtenstein on Tohorot, Zevahim, the eighth chapter of Bava Metzia, the third chapter of Bava Batra, the Ramban's pamphlet on Dinah DiGarmi, the first chapter of Pesahim, Masechet Horayot, and several critical chapters of Gittin.

External links

• Developing a Torah Personality - Series of shiurim based on addresses by Harav Aharon Lichtenstein, posted by The Israel Koschitzky Virtual Beit Midrash of Yeshivat Har Etzion
• "An Ideal Rosh Yeshiva". "a broad overview of the recent volumes of Rav Aharon Lichtenstein’s thought. "Edah Journal 5:1 (Tammuz, 2005)] (PDF), Dr Alan Brill
• Bibliography of Harav Aharon Lichtenstein - Posted by the Israel Koschitzky Virtual Beit Midrash of Yeshivat Har Etzion
• "In Search of the Moderate Voice", Jewish Ideas Daily
• Tribute to Rabbi Lichtenstein
• An archive of eulogies, in written, audio and video format