Kiruv Organisation

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Kiruv Organisation was founded in 1995 by sefardi Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi in New York for the purpose of teaching Musar[1][citation needed] and connecting Jews to Judaism and Torah.

Work of the Kiruv Organisation

The Kiruv Organization provides DVDs, Audio CDs, MP3 CDs for free, sponsored by dedicated Jews, Noahides and Gentile people as well. Some of these films are titled Divine Information, Torah and Science, The Debate Christianity vs. Judaism, and Life after Life and are available to be ordered by internet. As of 2013 Kiruv Organisation has handed out thousands of these audio and video disks for free.[2][3][4]

Mizrachi claims to have made thousands of Baaley Teshuva from all his activities.

All the workers of Kiruv organization are volunteers, there are no mortgages, rent, or money wasted in any way. All funds are used 100% for the very Holy cause of Saving Souls and bring Jewish men and women back to Hashem our G-d (..) Please know that according to the Torah the best investment a person can make is helping others learn Torah and know Hashem. Every mitzvah that is kept thanks to your donation will bless you for eternity and you will inherit a world to come in the highest level as Hashem promised in the Torah (..) Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi
—About Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi’s Kiruv Organization & Divine Information[2][5]

Musar

Main article: Musar movement

Rabbi Mizrachi offers an extended ethical audio and video lecture series, called "The Path of the Just",[1] based on the classical musar text Mesillat Yesharim (Hebrew: מסילת ישרים‎) composed by Moshe Chaim Luzzatto.

The Orthodox Jewish community spawned Musar to help people overcome the inner obstacles that hinder them from living up to the laws and commandments —the mitzvot— that form the code of life."[6]

His lecture series on the Pirkei Avot[7] (engl. Ethics of the Fathers) also draws on Musar and practical ethics.

Rabbi Mizrachi and other rabbinical teachers have also recommended the practice of Musar not only for Jews and Baalei Teshuva but also among Noahides and Gentile people as well. For Gentiles this means the observance of only seven Noahide laws, for Jews and Jewish Baalei Teshuva, this means the acceptance, practice, study and learning of all the 613 mitzvot. In general, today, Musar practices have been incorporated into various curricula and lectures of rabbinical schools and teachers.[8][9]

Yeshiva

In 2001 Rabbi Mizrachi opened a Kolel and a Yeshiva in Alfandari Street, Jerusalem.

Divine Information

In 2002 a movie called Divine Information was produced by Rabbi Yosef Mizrahi and Yuval Ovadia, a former Movie Director with HBO.[10]

In 2004 Rabbi Mizrahi launched a website named DivineInformation.com[11] offering hundreds of audio and videos lectures in English and Hebrew, some with subtitles in Turkish, Español[12] or Russian language, free for download. Followers of these lectures are from more than 50 countries. As of 2013, Rabbi Mizrachi’s FaceBook page[13] has over a million visits per month and more than 56,000 followers.

Controversy

In early 2014, prior to a lecture tour in London, concern was expressed about statements by Rabbi Mizrachi in his previous lectures relating to the behaviour of secular & religious Jews during the Holocaust,[14] suggesting that Down's Syndrome and autism are punishments for sins committed in a previous life, and the psychology of homosexuality, among others.[15] Many detractors criticised Rabbi Mizrachi for his views that he explicitly maintains are Torah sourced. His views also include lectures using Torah Codes to explain the Holocaust.[16]

Rabbi Mizrachi was the subject of criticism by a group of Modern Orthodox Jews who pointed out that such views are neither authoritative nor representative of mainstream contemporary Orthodox Jewish thought. Some members of this group sought to stop his lecture tour. As a result, at least one of his planned lectures in London was initially cancelled.[17] Rabbi Mizrachi replied to members of this group via his Facebook page to answer some of their criticisms[18] by claiming that those who dispute views such as the above cannot be Orthodox and that such views are universally held as part of Orthodox Judaism.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Mizrachi, Rabbi Yosef. "The Path Of The Just Series". Divine Information. Irgun Kiruv - divineinformation.com. Retrieved 2 June 2013.  (21 lectures á c. 1h30min each)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Mizrachi, Yosef. "About". Devine Information. DivineImformation.com 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2013. 
  3. ↑ "About Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi". Radio. Arutz Sheva, IsraelNationalNews.com. Retrieved 17 May 2013. 
  4. ↑ "Yosef Mizrachi". zoominfo.com. Retrieved 17 May 2013. 
  5. ↑ "Rabbi Yossi Mizrachi". Kol Yakov Organisation. TorahAnyTime.com. Retrieved 17 May 2013. 
  6. ↑ The Mussar Institute, "The Mussar Way"
  7. ↑ (26 lectures á c. 1h30min each)Mizrachi, Rabbi Yosef. "Pirkei Avot Series". Divine Information. Irgun Kiruv - divineinformation.com. Retrieved 2 June 2013. 
  8. ↑ http://mussarinstitute.org/Yashar/2012-12/mussar_lens.php
  9. ↑ http://www.rrc.edu/catalogue/mussar
  10. ↑ Mizrahi, Rabbi Yossef. "Rabbi’s Bio". DivineInformation 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2013. 
  11. ↑ Mizrachi, Yosef. "Divine Information". Kiruv & Musar. Kiruv Organization 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2013. 
  12. ↑ Mitzrachi, Rabbi Yossef. "Lectures in Castellano / Español". Divine Information. Divine Information Kiruv Organisation 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013. 
  13. ↑ Rabbi Mizrachi’s FaceBook page - DivineInformation.com
  14. ↑ "Manners - The Right Way To Behave (Section on non-religious Jews during the holocaust - at 1 hour 41minutes into talk)". 
  15. ↑ Jewish Chronicle article
  16. ↑ "Rabbi Mizrachi - Why Did The Holocaust Happen? Torah Codes, Having Faith in God No Matter What". 
  17. ↑ http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/115021/synagogue-cancels-talk-downs-syndrome-a-punishment-rabbi
  18. ↑ Rabbi Mizrachi's Facebook page for 3 February 2014

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.