David Lau

Rabbi David Baruch Lau דוד ברוך לאו
Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel

Began	2013
Predecessor	Yona Metzger
Other	Chief Rabbi of Shoham Chief Rabbi of Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut
Personal details
Birth name	David Baruch Lau
Born	(1966-01-13) 13 January 1966 Tel Aviv, Israel
Nationality	Israeli
Denomination	Orthodox
Residence	Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut
Parents	Rabbi Yisrael (Israel) Meir Lau

David Baruch Lau (Hebrew: דוד לאו‎‎; born 13 January 1966) is the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel achieving a majority of the vote on July 24, 2013.^[1] He previously served as the Chief Rabbi of Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut, Israel and as the Chief Rabbi of Shoham. Lau is the son of former Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau.

Biography

Lau was born January 13, 1966 in Tel Aviv to Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau. He studied at Yeshivat Yishuv HaHadash, and later at Yeshivat Beit Matityahu and Yeshivat Ponevitch. He was the first rabbi of the town of Shoham. When the city of Modi'in was established, he was chosen as its Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi alongside the Sephardi Chief Rabbi Eliyahu Alharar. Along with Rabbi Alharar, he established an array of Torah classes in the city, including on the subjects of kashrut, eruvim, and Jewish weddings. Rabbi Lau is a reserve major in the Intelligence Corps.

Lau was the first rabbi in Israel to teach responsa over the internet. Since the summer of 2006, he has appeared every Friday on the show "Ask the Rabbi" on HaArutz HaRishon, a show about halakhic questions and answers. Since 1999, he broadcast the daily program "Jewish Point" on the radio station Kol Chai.

He has published articles in different journals, such as Tehumin. Similarly, he edited a book of his father's responsa titled Yichil Yisrael. He also edited and published a book in memory of his grandfather, Rabbi Yitzchak Yedidya Frankel. In 2008, he published his book Maskil LeDavid on issues of genealogy, conversion, military law, and other matters.

On June 24, 2013, he was elected Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel. At the time of his election, he was the youngest person (at 47) to be elected Chief Rabbi of Israel. The inauguration took place on 14 August 2013 at the official residence of the President of Israel.^[2]

During his visit to the Netherlands in 2016, Rabbi David Baruch Lau placed a Mezuzah at the Centrum voor Haagse Jiddisjkeit (the centre for Yiddishkeit in The Hague ) CHAJ in The Hague.^[3]

Rabbi David Lau at the CHAJ centre in The Hague.

Family

Rabbi Lau is married to Tzipporah, daughter of Hadassah and Yitzhak Ralbag, a political activist and a member of the Chief Rabbinate and former chairman of the Jerusalem Religious Council, respectively.

Jewish titles
Preceded by Yona Metzger	Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel 2013–present	Incumbent

Chief Rabbinate of Israel

Chief Rabbis of
Old Yishuv
(Ottoman Jerusalem)

Rishon L'Tzion	Moshe ben Yonatan Galante (1665–1689) Moshe ibn Habib (1689–1696) Moshe Hayun Avraham Yitzhaki (1715–1722) Binyamin Maali Elazar Nahum (1730–1748) Nissim Mizrahi (1748–1754) Yitzhak Rapaport (?–?) Israel Algazy (1754–1756) Raphael Meyuchas ben Shmuel (1756–1771) Haim ben Asher (1771–1772) Yom Tov Algazy (1772–1802) Moshe Yosef Mordechai Meyuchas (1802–1805) Yaakov Aish (1806–1817) Yaakov Coral (1817–1819) Yosef Hazzan (1819–1822) Yom Tov Danon (1822–1824) Shlomo Suzin (1824–1836) Yonah Navon (1836–1841) Yehuda Navon (1841–1842)

Hakham Bashi (1842–1918)	Chaim Abraham Gagin (1842–1848) Yitzhak Kovo (1848–1854) Haim Abulafia (1854–1861) Haim David Hazzan (1861–1869) Avraham Ashkenazi (1869–1880) Raphael Meir Panigel (1880–1893) Yaakov Shaul Elyashar (1893–1906) Yaakov Meir (1906) Eliyahu Moshe Panigel (1907–1908) Nahman Batito (1909-1911) Nissim Danon

Chief Rabbis of
New Yishuv
(Mandatory Palestine)

Acting Chief Rabbi	Haim Moshe Elyashar (1918–1921)

Ashkenazi	Abraham Isaac Kook (1921–1935) Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog (1936–1948)

Sephardi	Yaakov Meir (1921–1939) Ben-Zion Meir Hai Uziel (1939–1948)

Chief Rabbis of Israel

Ashkenazi	Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog (1948–1959) Isser Yehuda Unterman (1964–1973) Shlomo Goren (1973–1983) Avraham Shapira (1983–1993) Yisrael Meir Lau (1993–2003) Yona Metzger (2003–2013) David Lau (2013– )

Sephardi	Ben-Zion Meir Hai Uziel (1948–1954) Yitzhak Nissim (1955–1973) Ovadia Yosef (1973–1983) Mordechai Eliyahu (1983–1993) Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron (1993–2003) Shlomo Amar (2003–2013) Yitzhak Yosef (2013– )

Chief Rabbinate Council
(current as of 2008)

Permanent	Yona Metzger Shlomo Amar Yisrael Meir Lau Shlomo Chelouche She'ar Yashuv Cohen Yehuda Deri

Ashkenazi	Aryeh Stern Yaakov Shapira Yitzchak Dovid Grossman Yosef Glicksburg Yaakov Rojza Yitzhak Ralbag

Sephardi	Shimon Elituv Avraham Yosef Ratzon Arusi Shmuel Eliyahu Yitzhak Peretz

References

↑ http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/.premium-1.537765
↑ "New Chief Rabbis David Lau & Yitzchak Yosef Sworn In". Arutz Sheva. 14 August 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
↑ http://www.christelijknieuws.nl/news/7785/Opperrabbijn--opent-nieuw-Joods-cultureel-centrum-Den-Haag

External links

Mascil LeDavid book published in 2008

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