Abraham Hecht

Abraham Hecht (Avraham Berl Hecht) born on April 5, 1922 in Brooklyn, New York; is an American Orthodox rabbi affiliated with the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, and is president of the Rabbinical Alliance of America - Igud HaRabanim.[1] [2] [3]

Some regard Rabbi Abraham B. Hecht as one of America's most articulate Orthodox rabbinic leaders. Known as a "rabbi's rabbi" and a scholar of Torah, he is rabbi emeritus of Congregation Shaare Zion of Brooklyn, New York; the largest Sephardic congregation in North America, comprising more than 3500 families which he served for more than fifty years.

Biography

Rabbi Hecht is an author, and has published two books entitled, Spiritual Horizons and Spiritual Freedom; as well as a recently published autobiography.

Known as a distinguished orator, he has inspired many to study the teachings of the Torah and mitzvot. He has been a frequent contributor for over fifty years to various Jewish publications in English, Hebrew and Yiddish.

He is an advocate for Mihu Yehudi- Giyur K'halacha Who is a Jew?, Shleimus HaTorah (see Torah study) and Shleimus HaAretz - Pikuach Nefesh (see Land of Israel).

He led protests against the film Monty Python's Life of Brian, claiming that it "was produced in hell".

His promoted awareness on behalf of "Family Values" within the Jewish community as well as in society at large and his work on behalf of the Seven Universal Laws of Noah (Sheva Mitzvoth Bnei Noach).

Rabbi Hecht was a Hasid (disciple) of the last Lubavitcher Rebbi Menachem Schneerson and of the previous Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn, and had the distinction of being of the first 10 students of Yeshiva Tomchei Tmimim in America. He also served as a Shliach ("emissary") in Boston, MA; Buffalo, NY; Newark, NJ; and New Haven, CT; establishing Yeshiva Achei T'mimim elementary schools for both boys and girls.

Controversy

Hecht was featured in a June 23, 1995 article by Larry Yudelson, for his assertion at a rabbinical gathering, that Jewish Law (Halakha) could permit the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres for their proposal at Oslo to withdraw from parts of the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories.[3] On June 19, 1995, Hecht had told the gathered members of the International Rabbinical Coalition for Israel "that by handing over Israeli land and property, Israeli leaders are betraying Jews to non-Jews" and that, according to Maimonides, "such people should be killed before they can perform the deed."[3][4] An October 1995 article in New York Magazine referred to Hecht as the rabbi who "sentenced" Yitzak Rabin to death, and quoted Hecht as praising Israeli mass murderer and American expatriate Baruch Goldstein, as "a great man, a holy man."[4] At the time, Hecht was a senior rabbi of Congregation Shaare Zion in Brooklyn, the largest Sephardic Jewish congregation in the U.S.[5]

Rabin was assassinated in Israel on November 4, 1995 by Yigal Amir for signing the Oslo Accords. After the assassination, Hecht was placed on a six-month paid leave by his synagogue and was, along with six other American Jews, barred for "security" reasons by the Israeli government from entering the country.[6][7] According to Samuel G. Freedman, author of Jew vs. Jew: The Struggle for the Soul of American Jewry, Hecht also influenced Harry Shapiro, who planted a pipe bomb at a Jacksonville synagogue in 1997 in order to prevent Peres from speaking in support of the Oslo Accords.[8][9]

References

  1. ^ Marquis Who's Who (2006). Abraham Berl Hecht. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC. Retrieved 2007-03-26. 
  2. ^ Siegel, Jennifer (2005-07-15). "Speech Reflects Chabad Split". Jewish Daily Forward. http://www.forward.com/articles/speech-reflects-chabad-split/. Retrieved 2007-03-26. 
  3. ^ a b c Yudelson, Larry (1995-06-23). "Rabbis against peace treaty mull assassination, revolts". Jewish Telegraphic Agency (reprinted in the Jewish news weekly of Northern California). http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/21019/edition_id/20/format/html/displaystory.html. Retrieved 2007-03-26. 
  4. ^ a b Friedman, R. I. (1995-10-09). "The Rabbi Who Sentenced Yitzak Rabin to Death". New York Magazine: p. 24. 
  5. ^ Sexton, Larry (1995-11-17). "Synagogue Debates Dismissing Rabbi Over View on Violence". New York Times: p. B1. 
  6. ^ Sexton, Larry (1995-12-03). "How a Rabbi's Rhetoric Did, Or Did Not, Justify Assassination". New York Times: p. 51. 
  7. ^ Reuters (1995-12-21). "Israel Bars Seven U.S. Jews, Calling Them Security Risks". New York Times: p. A12. 
  8. ^ Brownfeld, Allan C. (January 2001). "Extremism in Israel Is Fueled by a Growing Ultra-Orthodox Movement in the U.S.". Washington Report on Middle East Affairs: p. 71. 
  9. ^ "Man Admits Placing Bomb At Synagogue.(National Desk).". New York Times: p. NA. 1997-03-20.