|
|
|
Yeshivat
Har
Etzion |
HARAV YEHUDA AMITAL
zt”l
Harav Yehuda Amital was born in 1924 to Yekutiel Ze’ev and Devora
Klein, of blessed memory, in Transylvania. He studied Torah in Cheder and Yeshiva, and had virtually no formal secular
education. In 1944, with the Nazi invasion of Hungary, he was taken to a labor camp, while his
entire family - parents, sister and brother - were taken to Auschwitz where they were murdered. After his liberation,
he arrived in Eretz Yisrael
at the end of 1944, on Chanuka 5705.
When he arrived in Israel, Rav Amital continued his yeshiva studies at the
Hevron Yeshiva in Jerusalem and received Semikha from Harav Isser Zalman
Meltzer zt”l. He also studied under Harav
Yaakov Moshe Charlap zt”l. While in yeshiva, he joined the Haganah. The following year he married Miriam Meltzer,
daughter of the Chief Rabbi of Rehovot and
granddaughter of Rav Meltzer. Rav Amital fought in the War of Independence,
in the battles of Latrun and the Galilee. After the war HaRav
Amital became a Safra
de-Dayna (rabbinic secretary) in the Rabbinical Court in Rehovot and two years later, he became a Ram (instructor) in
Yeshivat HaDarom.
Rav Amital predicted that the phenomenon of
Yeshiva students being exempted from army service would increase the friction
between the religious and secular community, on the one hand, and would lead to
emotional and ideological distance between the Yeshiva students and the State of
Israel, on the other. He also felt that the Religious Zionist community needed
to have its own institutions of high level Torah study. He therefore helped formulate the idea of
Yeshivot Hesder, and took an
active role developing the first hesder group at
Yeshivat HaDarom.
After the Six Day War, he was called upon by Mr. Moshe Moskovic - a survivor of the 1948 battle for Gush Etzion - to
found a Yeshivat Hesder in Gush Etzion. In 1968, the
Yeshiva opened in Kfar Etzion, not far from the
settlement of Alon Shevut of
today, with 30 students. It has
since grown into an institution with hundreds of students from
Israel and abroad, a women’s division
in Migdal Oz, and a renowned teacher’s college.
At the yeshiva’s inception, Harav Amital turned to Harav
Aharon
Lichtenstein with the request that he join him as Rosh Yeshiva, and in 1971 Harav Lichtenstein agreed. Their joint leadership resulted
in the unique development of the Yeshiva and to its profound spiritual influence
in Israel and abroad. As exemplified by
its leaders, the yeshiva is open to a variety of opinions and approaches. Harav Amital insisted that the
yeshiva, while maintaining a staunch commitment to Torah study and mitzva observance, be “built with windows,” sensitive to the
needs of the outside world, listening to “hear the baby’s cry.”
For many years Harav Amital represented Yeshivot Hesder in the Army network, holding the rank of Captain in
the Armored Corps.
A prominent public figure in Israel, with abroad impact on matters
of religious and national concern, Harav Amital founded the Meimad movement
in the 1980’s in order to give voice to the moderate camp within Religious
Zionism and to preserve avenues of communication with the broader public. After the assassination of Prime
Minister Rabin z”l in 1995, he was asked by Prime
Minister Shimon Peres to join the government as Minister without Portfolio in
order to bridge the growing divide between the religious and secular populations
in Israel.
Harav Amital returned to
the yeshiva in 1996 and, upon reaching the age of 80, requested that the yeshiva
select his successors before his retirement, so as to avoid conflict or
confusion. Harav Yaakov Medan and
Harav Baruch Gigi were
appointed roshei yeshiva alongside Harav Amital and Harav Lichtenstein in 2006. Harav Amital formally retired in October 2008, and Harav Mosheh Lichtenstein assumed his duties as the fourth
rosh yeshiva.
Harav Amital passed away
at the age of 85 on the 27th of Tamuz, 5770
(2010), and was mourned by thousands of students and admirers. He is survived by his wife of over 60
years, Rabbanit Miriam Amital, as well as their five children (all
of whom are involved, together with their spouses, in Torah education in
Israel), and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Yeshivat Har
Etzion, the institution he founded and guided for over four
decades, will always remain his great legacy to Am Yisrael.
To read Harav Amital’s articles in English, see here. The subjects include:
| Autobiographical Reflections |
Relating to God |
| Prayer |
Relating to Others |
| Torah Study |
Relating to Oneself |
| The Jewish People |
Holidays |
| The Holocaust |
Parashat Shavua |
| Repentance |
Halakha |
| The State of Israel |
Audio lectures |
| Connecting to Mitzvot |
|
Books by Harav Amital: