Kiruv Organisation

For other uses, see Kiruv.

Kiruv Organisation is an Orthodox Judaism outreach organization founded in 1995 by Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi in New York for the purpose of teaching Torah to both secular and religious Jews.

Yosef Mizrachi

Yosef Mizrachi (Hebrew: יוסף מזרחי‎‎) is a Sefardi Haredi rabbi. He was born in 1968 in Israel. After his mandatory military service in the Israel Defense Forces he worked in finance in New York City. In 1997, Mizrachi left his professional career and began teaching Torah in a yeshivah in Monsey, New York. Mizrachi taught at Yeshivat Ohr Yisrael in Monsey.

He is presently devoted to Orthodox Judaism outreach. In 2004 he launched the "DivineInformation.com" website posting many of his video and audio lectures.[1]

Kiruv Organisation

The Kiruv Organization provides DVDs, Audio CDs, MP3 CDs at no charge sponsored by donors. The subjects covered are "Divine Information," "Torah and Science," "Christianity versus Judaism" and "Life after Life" also available on the internet. As of 2013, the organisation has handed out thousands of these audio and video disks.[2][3][4]

Ethics

Mizrachi offers an extended ethical audio and video lecture series, called "The Path of the Just",[5] based on the classical musar text Mesillat Yesharim (Hebrew: מסילת ישרים‎‎) composed by Moshe Chaim Luzzatto. His lecture series on Pirkei Avot[6] draws on Musar and practical ethics.

Mizrachi and other rabbinical teachers have also recommended the practice of Musar not only for Jews and Baalei Teshuva but also for Noahides and non-Jews. For non-Jews this means the observance of the Seven Laws of Noah, for Jews and Jewish Baalei Teshuva, this means the acceptance, practice, study and learning of the 613 commandments.

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

In 2002 a movie called Divine Information was produced by Mizrahi and Yuval Ovadia.[7]

Controversies

In early 2014, prior to a lecture tour in London, concern was expressed about statements by Mizrachi in his previous lectures relating to the behaviour of secular and religious Jews during the Holocaust[8] suggesting that Down's Syndrome and autism are "punishments for sins committed in a previous life" and among others.[9] Mizrachi was criticized for his views while he explicitly maintains are "Torah sourced." His views also include lectures using Bible Codes to "explain" the Holocaust.[10] As a result, at least one of his planned lectures in London was initially cancelled.[11]

In December 2015, in one of his lectures, Mizrahi claimed that it is possible that only one million Jews died in The Holocaust as opposed to the well accepted figure of 6 million, since many of them were not Jewish according to Jewish law which requires a person's mother to be Jewish.[12][13] Mizrahi was criticized by academics and Jewish leaders including Efraim Zuroff, director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, who said that he "made up history to suit an agenda."[12] He was also criticized by Berel Wein who stated that "It is too damaging a matter to be left unanswered and unrefuted."[14] Later Mizrahi issued an apology.[13][15][16] According to The Times,[17] Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis has spoken out against the travel plans of this "Jewish hate preacher"; and the UK Home Office has suggested that the Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, was considering banning Mizrahi should he apply to visit Britain.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "About Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi - Radio - Arutz Sheva". Arutz Sheva.
  2. ↑ 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. ↑ 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)
  6. ↑ (26 lectures á c. 1h30min each)Mizrachi, Rabbi Yosef. "Pirkei Avot Series". Divine Information. Irgun Kiruv - divineinformation.com. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
  7. ↑ Mizrahi, Rabbi Yossef. "Rabbi's Bio". DivineInformation 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  8. ↑ "Manners - The Right Way To Behave (Section on non-religious Jews during the holocaust - at 1 hour 41minutes into talk)".
  9. ↑ "Synagogue cancels talk by 'Down's Syndrome is a punishment' rabbi".
  10. ↑ "Rabbi Mizrachi - Why Did The Holocaust Happen? Torah Codes, Having Faith in God No Matter What".
  11. ↑ "Synagogue cancels talk by 'Down's Syndrome is a punishment' rabbi".
  12. 1 2 "Orthodox rabbi: Only one million Jews killed in Holocaust". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2015-12-31.
  13. 1 2 "Rabbi apologizes for challenging number of Jews killed in Holocaust". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2015-04-01.
  14. ↑ "THE NEWEST HOLOCAUST DENIERS: Rabbi Wein: Jewish Destiny".
  15. ↑ "Rabbi Mizrachi apologizes to Holocaust survivor" (Google YouTube). Official channel. Yeshiva World News.
  16. ↑ "#1 Threat To Our Nation, Gossip, False Hate, The Media Murder Machine, 31 Violations Of Loshon Hara" (Google YouTube). Official channel. Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi.
  17. ↑ "The Times" -September 9 2016, page 17

External links

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