David Lapin

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David Lapin was born in South Africa to a Jewish family of Lithuanian descent. He is the son of the late Rabbi A.H. Lapin (1912-1991), senior rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregation of Johannesburg, and chief rabbi of the Cape Town Hebrew Congregation and brother of well known Rabbi Daniel Lapin and of Rabbi Raphael Lapin.

Lapin is currently the CEO of Strategic Business Ethics, Inc., now a California-based international consulting company that he founded in 1981 and Chairman of YSA-LAPIN, a consulting company based in South Africa specializing in strategy, culture, and leadership. He lives in Los Angeles but spends much of his time traveling internationally on lecture tours and consulting projects. He has over 30 years of global speaking experience and has been widely published.

David Lapin is also an internationally renowned Rabbi and teacher of Torah. His Torah website, iAwaken.org, hosts nearly 1,000 of his audio tapes (in MP3 format) and written essays. iAwaken.org has members from around the globe.

Lapin’s career has included many years of international business at senior levels and rabbinic leadership. He was a formerly a leader of the Pacific Jewish Center, an Orthodox synagogue in Venice, California founded by his brother Daniel Lapin. He founded the Keter Torah Congregation in Johannesburg South Africa in 1975 and led it until his emigration from South Africa in 1997.

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Lapin met Jack Abramoff while Abramoff was visiting South Africa during his International Freedom Foundation/Red Scorpion years. He tutored Abramoff in Talmud and Jewish law, during Abramoff's process of embracing Orthodox Judaism.[1]

Abramoff introduced Lapin’s consulting firm to the Marianas government when it sought assistance with aligning its ethical standards with that of the US Federal Government. The 18-month project was reportedly worth $1.2 million [citation needed].

In 2002 Lapin agreed to leave his part time job of Senior Rabbi at Pacific Jewish Center in Los Angeles in order to become the Dean of the Judaic Studies at Eshkol Academy, an orthodox Jewish school in Maryland founded by Abramoff. Lapin accepted the title of Dean. According to emails revealed during the US Senate hearings into the Abramoff-Reed Indian Gambling Scandal, Lapin was through Abramoff's Capital Athletic Foundation[citation needed]. The Eshkol Academy closed in 2004 after questions were raised in the press about Abramoff's financial dealings with Indian tribes.