Scienceנפתלי רוטנברג

Naftali Rothenberg

Naftali Rothenberg is an Israeli rabbi and scholar who studies the wisdom of love in Jewish sources and has served as rabbi of Har Adar since 1986.

born 1949Study of love in Jewish sourcesRabbi of Har AdarWork at the Van Leer InstituteWriting on halakha and democracy

Born: 14 July 1949, Haifa
Occupation: philosopher, rabbi
Education: Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Kaminetz Yeshiva

Naftali Rothenberg was born in 1949 in Haifa

Naftali Rothenberg was born in Haifa on 14 July 1949 to Shlomo and Yehudit Rothenberg. His family moved to Jerusalem when he was 6 months old, and he grew up there.

He studied at Haredi yeshivas, including the Negev Yeshiva in Netivot and the Kaminetz Yeshiva in Jerusalem. He was ordained as a rabbi in 1973. From 1980 to 1984 he studied philosophy and Jewish thought at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

From 1974 to 1978 he was rabbi of the Ashkenazi community in Lima, Peru. He then served in the IDF as a rabbi and education officer, and was discharged as a lieutenant colonel.

He headed the Torah education department of the Jewish Agency in North America from 1989 to 1993. He has been rabbi of Har Adar since 1986 and a senior research fellow at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute since 1994, where he founded the journal Zehuyot and led civics and education programs. He has written on love in Jewish canonical literature, democratic education, and halakha and state, arguing that halakha does not clash with democracy.

He taught Jewish studies at Touro College in Jerusalem from 1997 to 2003 and has been part of a project on love in religion at Oxford University since 2014. He is married to Riki, an artist, and they have 5 children.

Milestones in Naftali Rothenberg's life

1949
Born in Haifa.
1973
Ordained as a rabbi.
1974
Became rabbi of the Ashkenazi community in Lima, Peru.
1984
Returned to active IDF service as head of the Judaism and Zionism section.
1986
Became rabbi of Har Adar.
1994
Became a senior research fellow at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute.
2011
Won the Liebhaber Prize for religious tolerance.
2014
Joined a project on love in religion at Oxford University.

Naftali Rothenberg served in the military

He served in the IDF from 1978 to 1989 as rabbi of the officers' school, head of the Judaism and Zionism section in the Chief Education Officer's headquarters, and from 1986 to 1989 commander of the commanders' education school. He graduated from the IDF Command and Staff College and was discharged as a lieutenant colonel.