Yosef Zvi Rimon (born January 18, 1968) is an Israeli Religious Zionist rabbi, author, lecturer and Posek who serves as rabbi of the Gush Etzion Regional Council and the Ashkenazi Synagogue of Alon Shvut Darom.[1][2] He is Rosh Yeshiva of the Jerusalem College of Technology (Machon Lev) and a Rosh Kollel at Yeshivat Har Etzion.[3][4] As of March 2024, Rav Rimon was named President of the World Mizrachi Movement.[5][6]

Rabbi
Yosef Zvi Rimon
Personal
Born1968
ReligionJudaism
NationalityIsraeli
SpouseSharon Blumenzweig
Parent(s)David and Rita Rimon
DenominationOrthodox Judaism
Alma materYeshivat Har Etzion
PositionRosh Kollel
YeshivaYeshivat Har Etzion
PositionFounder, head
OrganisationSulamot, LaOfek
ResidenceAlon Shevut

Biography

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Yosef Zvi Rimon was born in London and grew up in Tel Aviv to Rita and David Rimon, the son of the poet Yosef Zvi Rimon, after whom he is named.[7] He grew up in Tel Aviv, where he attended the Moriah School.[1] He also attended Mechina in Givat Shmuel. He then studied at the Netiv Meir Yeshiva in Jerusalem for high school, and in 1986 he attended Yeshivat Har Etzion which was headed by Rav Yehuda Amital and Rav Aharon Lichtenstein.[1] He served in the Armored Corps as part the Hesder system at Yeshivat Har Etzion. He was in a tank unit in the 188th Armored Brigade and described his army service as "a time that was at times exhausting and challenging, but also constructive and empowering."[1] He subsequently completed a Bachelor of Education degree at Herzog College.[8]

When Yeshivat HaHesder Yerucham was founded in 1993, Rav Rimon began to teach Halacha there.[7] About a year later he married Sharon Blumenzweig, the daughter of Yerucham’s Rosh Yeshiva.[7] They live in Alon Shvut and have eight children.[9]

Rabbinic and pedagogic career

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In 1995, he became a Rav at Yeshivat Har Etzion, and at the same time gave Shiurim to all yeshiva students on various halakhic topics. In 2000 he was appointed as head of the Yeshiva's Kollel Halacha. Today, Rav Rimon serves as the rabbi of the Ashkenazi synagogue of Alon Shvut Darom and teaches at Yeshivat Har Etzion, its sister school, Migdal Oz, and Herzog College.[8] Rimon heads the "Sulamot" association (formerly the "Halacha and Education Center"), which he founded.[10] Sulamot deals with three main areas: Judaism, education and experience. In each area, the association deals with the promotion and refinement of Jewish content, in pedagogical aspects (writing halakhic content, creating study materials for education systems, etc.), in the experiential aspects (developing innovative learning systems, experiential secondary learning and in creating and strengthening ties with Jewish communities around the world.[11]

Rimon hosts the children and youth television series "Ratzim LaMishnah" and appears in the series on a regular basis.[11]

Following the Israeli disengagement from Gaza,[12] Rimon contributed to the rehabilitation of evacuees who were left without homes and jobs by founding the LaOfek association (also called Taasoktif and JobKatif).[13] At first, the association was engaged in finding jobs for Gush Katif residents.[14] The association was awarded the Ot Hanasi Lamitnadev (the President's Volunteer Award) for 2008.[15] Since 2009, the association has worked in cooperation with the government, which covers 75% of its expenses.[16] Today, the association is engaged in activities to promote underprivileged populations, finding jobs for soldiers, assisting Lone Soldiers and in special projects in Israeli society; it provides employment coaching and counseling, business mentoring, professional retraining courses, academic scholarships and other services.[17]

 
Rav Rimon at the Award Ceremony for the Katz Prize in 2018 (Left: Rabbi Aryeh Stern)

In 2015, Rav Rimon was appointed the Rosh Yeshiva of the Jerusalem College of Technology (JCT). Under his auspices, the Madatoratecha - Torah and Technology Research Center has been established at JCT to provide the specialized expertise necessary to respond to the complex ethical and Halachic issues of our times.  The center pioneers an unusual collaboration between Halachic experts and renowned scientists and faculty members from the college’s computer science, engineering and health sciences departments.

In 2020 the Gush Etzion Regional Council searched for its first head rabbi. After a year-long process in which the general public nominated candidates, a committee of rabbis and public leaders from the area submitted their recommendations and Rimon was elected as Gush Etzion’s first Chief rabbi.[2]* Rabbi of the Gush Etzion Regional Council (2021)[18]

As of March 2024, Rav Rimon was named President of the World Mizrachi Movement.[5][6]

Rimon is a popular lecturer in Israel, North America, the UK and Australia.[19]

Rimon's Sifrei halakha are written in a way that is structured in "tracing [from] the sources to the practical application of Halacha in our modern reality."[20] In his books, the halakhic sources are presented, sometimes from the Talmud and the Rishonim, sometimes only from the Achronim, depending on the subject. This approach, which stands in contrast to various halakhic books that bring only final rulings, tries to give the learner tools for understanding halakhah even in cases that are not directly addressed in halakhic rulings. His best-known book, "Halacha MiMekorah - Tzava" (Halacha From Its Source - Army), a Halachic work for soldiers fighting in a Jewish army, a subject which became much more practical with the creation of the Jewish State, was published in 2010.[21] He is an expert on Shemitah.

He has written a Pesach Haggadah and a Yom Kippur Machzor.[22][23]

Awards and recognition

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Published works

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  • Shemita: From the Sources to Practical Halakha - Shiurim on the topic of Shmita, published in several editions[27]
  • Tzava: Halacha MiMekora[28]
  • Hilchot Aveilut - Halakhot From the Source[29]
  • Hilchot Shabbat - 2 volumes[30]
  • Birkat HaMazon & Zemirot Shabbat: From Halachic Sources to Practical Halacha[31]
  • Birkat HaChamah VeHilchoteha[32]
  • Hilchot Tefillin - From the Sources to Practical Halakha[33]
  • Purim - Halakha MiMekora[34]
  • Chanukah - Halakha MiMekora[35]
  • Pesach Haggadah - Shirat Miriam[22]
  • The Rimon Yom Kippur Mahzor[23]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Goldfinger, Rivki (24 August 2016). "Personal Matters with Rav Yosef Zvi Rimon". Arutz 7.
  2. ^ a b "Gush Etzion Regional Council elects Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon as head rabbi". Baltimore Jewish Life. 15 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Everything Needs Chesed" (PDF). Mizrachi: 10.
  4. ^ "Faculty". Yeshivat Har Etzion.
  5. ^ a b "Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon appointed new President of World Mizrachi". www.israelnationalnews.com. 12 March 2024. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
  6. ^ a b Gross, Judah Ari (2024-03-13). "Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon named president of World Mizrachi, after role unfilled since 2022". eJewishPhilanthropy. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
  7. ^ a b c רייכנר, אלישיב (14 October 2018). "״המטרה שלי – להביא הלכה אהובה לעם ישראל״". מקור ראשון.
  8. ^ a b "Yosef Zvi Rimon". VBM: Torat Har Etzion.
  9. ^ Desk, Jewish Press News (15 August 2021). "Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon Elected Gush Etzion's Chief Rabbi". Retrieved 2022-02-20. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  10. ^ "Sulamot". OU Torah. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  11. ^ a b See Ratzim LaMishnah
  12. ^ Dromi, Shai M. (2014). "Uneasy Settlements: Reparation Politics and the Meanings of Money in the Israeli Withdrawal from Gaza". Sociological Inquiry. 84 (1): 294–315. doi:10.1111/soin.12028.
  13. ^ Bleich, Judith, et al. "Contributors ix Series Editor’s Preface xiii Editors’ Introduction xv Adam Mintz and Marc D. Stern Part I: Intermarriage."
  14. ^ Rotenberg, Chagit (7 August 2008). "Neeman Torah V'Avodah". Arutz 7.
  15. ^ "אות ההתנדבות מהנשיא ל'תעסוקטיף'". Arutz 7. 2 July 2008.
  16. ^ דו"ח מנהלת תנופה במשרד ראש הממשלה עמ' 12
  17. ^ Greenwald, Toby Klein (2015). "The Miracle Worker Behind JobKatif: Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon". Jewish Action.
  18. ^ "Gush Etzion Regional Council elects Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon as head rabbi". Israel National News. 15 August 2021.
  19. ^ "Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon". OU Torah. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  20. ^ "Rav Rimon inspires during visit to HANC High School". The Jewish Star. 9 December 2015.
  21. ^ "הלכה ממקורה צבא (סט שני כרכים) / הרב יוסף צבי רימון".
  22. ^ a b Pesach Haggadah Shirat Miriam : Haggadah MiMekorah : for Ashkenazim and Sefardim. Halacha MiMekorah : the Seder night : Kinor David. Yosef Tsevi Rimon, Kehat Ra'anan, Itay Levy, Shmuel Himelstein, Yonatan Shai Freedman, Daniel Landman. Jerusalem. c. 2012. ISBN 978-965-7265-13-0. OCLC 793022517.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  23. ^ a b <>. יוסף צבי בן דוד רימון, מרכז הלכה והוראה. קורן. c. 2013. ISBN 978-965-301-348-3. OCLC 875056569.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  24. ^ Gravé-Lazi, Lidar (28 May 2014). "Zionists to receive Moskowitz Prize in Jerusalem". Jerusalem Post.
  25. ^ "Rav Yosef Zvi Rimon Appointed Rabbinic Head of the Jerusalem College of Technology and the Head of its Batei Midrash".
  26. ^ "Bringing halacha into the 21st century". Israel National News. 27 January 2019.
  27. ^ Rimon, Yosef Tsevi (2008). Shemita. [Alon Shevut]: Yeshivat Har Etzion in cooperation with Maggid Books. ISBN 978-1-59264-257-1. OCLC 297239876.
  28. ^ "הלכה ממקורה - צבא ב' כרכים / הרב יוסף צבי רימון". אוצר הספרים.
  29. ^ Rimon, Yosef Tsevi; רמון, יוסף צבי (2019). Hilkhot avelut : dinim, meḳorot u-minhagim le-vet ha-avel, la-Ashkenazim ṿela-Sefaradim : Halakhah mi-meḳorah. Itzhak Riger, Daniel Fleishman, יצחק ריגר. Alon shevot. ISBN 978-965-526-293-3. OCLC 1193228376.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  30. ^ RIMON, YOSEF ZVI (2018). SHABBAT : halacha from its source. [Place of publication not identified]: MAGGID. ISBN 978-965-526-263-6. OCLC 1048940745.
  31. ^ Tsevi., Rimon, Yosef (2010). Birkat HaMazon & Zemirot Shabbat : from halachic sources to practical halacha. Halacha Education Center. OCLC 819588074.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  32. ^ והלכותיה, ברכת החמה (2013). ברכת החמה והלכותיה. [חמו"ל]. OCLC 868689031.
  33. ^ Rimon, Yosef Tsevi; רימון, יוסף צבי. (2019). Halakhah mi-meḳorah : Tefilin. Daniel Fleishman, דניאל. פליישמן. Alon Shevut: Sulamot. ISBN 978-965-526-285-8. OCLC 1118419312.
  34. ^ Rimon, Yosef Tsevi; ‏רימון, יוסף צבי. (2016). Halakhah mi-meḳorah : Purim. Alon Shevut. ISBN 978-965-7513-24-8. OCLC 945734850.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  35. ^ Rimon, Yosef Tsevi; רימון, יוסף צבי. (c. 2021). Halakhah mi-meḳorah : Ḥanukah. Alon Shevut. ISBN 978-965-526-305-3. OCLC 1275432546.