Religionמאיר קסלר

Meir Kessler

Meir Kessler is an Israeli rabbi who serves as Chief Rabbi and head of the rabbinical court of Modi'in Illit.

born 1961Chief Rabbi of Modi'in IllitRulings on community lifeRabbinical Committee on Education

Born: 17 February 1961, Bnei Brak
Occupation: rabbi
Education: Ponevezh Yeshiva, Kol Torah

Meir Kessler was born in 1961 in Bnei Brak

Meir Kessler was born in Bnei Brak on February 17, 1961. His parents were Rabbi Simcha Kessler and Tova Gitel Kessler.

He studied at the Ponevezh yeshiva and then at Kol Torah under Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach. In 1981 he married Rachel, daughter of Rabbi Yisrael Kleiner, head of Yeshivat Beit HaKerem. He then moved to Jerusalem and studied at the Brisk yeshiva under Rabbi Avrohom Yehoshua Soloveitchik.

He later lived in Hadera. After his father died in June 1996, he succeeded him as the second rabbi of Modi'in Illit. He is also active in the Rabbinical Committee on Education, linked to the Council of Torah Sages, and in the Rabbinical Committee on Communications.

His rulings include barring yeshiva students from city buses at peak hours for reasons of modesty. He also barred Kollel men from volunteering for city security patrols and from holding firearms, and banned riding a ride-on toy on Shabbat. His wife is an educator and writer who publishes under the pen name Rachel Ben Menachem.