Benjamin Blech

Rabbi Benjamin Blech
Position Rabbi Emeritus
Synagogue Young Israel of Oceanside
Position Professor of Talmud
Yeshiva Yeshiva University
Personal details
Born (1933-10-23) 23 October 1933
Zurich, Switzerland
Nationality American
Denomination Orthodox
Residence New York City, United States
Parents Rabbi Benzion and Mrs. Gittel Blech
Spouse Elaine
Profession Rabbi, Professor of Talmud at Yeshiva University , Author, Speaker
Alma mater Yeshiva University, Columbia University
Semicha RIETS
Website www.benjaminblech.com

Benjamin Blech, born in Zurich in 1933, is an Orthodox rabbi who now lives in New York City.

Rabbi Blech has been a Professor of Talmud at Yeshiva University since 1966, and was the Rabbi of Young Israel of Oceanside for 37 years.[1] In addition to his work in the rabbinate, Rabbi Blech has written many books on Judaism and the Jewish people and speaks on Jewish topics to communities around the world.

Education

Rabbi Blech received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yeshiva University, a Master of Arts degree in psychology from Columbia University, and rabbinic ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary.[2]

Milestones

Rabbi Blech is the author of twelve books with combined sales of close to half a million copies, including three as part of the highly popular Idiot's Guide series. His book Understanding Judaism: The Basics of Deed and Creed was chosen by the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations as "the single best book on Judaism in our generation". Together with an accompanying six-hour video, filmed by the producers of 20/20, featuring Rabbi Blech, it is used as the basis for study groups in numerous synagogues and universities around the country.

In the 1980s, Blech was asked by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson to travel to the Far East on a speaking tour. Rabbi Schneerson paid for all Blech's travel and hotel expenses for the duration of his trip.[3]

Rabbi Blech at one point invested $50,000 in the stock market and, over a number of years turned it into $7 million, before he lost almost all of it. The experience was the catalyst for his 2003 book titled Taking Stock: A Spiritual Guide to Rising Above Life's Financial Ups and Downs.

In 2010 he was diagnosed with cardiac amyloidosis and given six months to live. In what Rabbi Blech considers a gift from God, he survived.[4][5]

Relationship with the Vatican

In January 2005, Rabbi Blech, along with Rabbis Barry Dov Schwartz and Jack Bemporad, became the first rabbis in history to publicly confer a blessing on a pope, when they were invited by the Vatican to visit and bless Pope John Paul II at Clementine Hall in the Apostolic Palace.[6]

Published works

  • Understanding Judaism: The Basics of Deed and Creed. KTAV. January 1991. ISBN 978-0-87668-291-3.
  • The Secrets of Hebrew Words. Jason Aronson. August 1991. ISBN 978-0-87668-610-2.
  • More Secrets of Hebrew Words: Holy Days and Happy Days. Jason Aronson. January 1993. ISBN 978-0-87668-223-4.
  • The Complete Idiot's Guide to Jewish History and Culture. Alpha. December 1998. ISBN 978-0-02-862711-3.
  • Your Name Is Your Blessing: Hebrew Names and Their Mystical Meanings. Jason Aronson. June 1999. ISBN 978-0-7657-6053-1.
  • The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Judaism. Alpha. August 1999. ISBN 978-0-02-863191-2.
  • The Complete Idiot's Guide to Learning Yiddish. Alpha. January 2000. ISBN 978-0-02-863387-9.
  • Taking Stock: A Spiritual Guide to Rising Above Life's Financial Ups and Downs. Amacom Books. March 2003. ISBN 978-0-8144-0787-5.
  • If God Is Good, Why Is The World So Bad?. Simcha Press. September 2003. ISBN 978-0-7573-0123-0.
  • The Book of Passover: A Celebration. Citadel. March 2005. ISBN 978-0-8065-2580-8.
  • The Book of Passover. Citadel. March 2006. ISBN 978-0-8065-2737-6.
  • Eyewitness to Jewish History. John Wiley & Sons. March 2007. ISBN 978-0-470-05313-3.
  • The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo's Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican. HarperOne. April 2008. ISBN 978-0-06-146904-6. , with Roy Doliner
  • Redemption, Then and Now: Pesah Haggada. Menorah Books. April 2007. ISBN 978-1940516738.

See also

References

  1. ↑ RCA Member Biography http://www.rabbis.org/news/article.cfm?id=100638 Accessed 17 Aug 2008
  2. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2010-08-27. Accessed 17 August 2008
  3. ↑ Rabbi Benjamin Blech, video interview
  4. ↑ http://m.thejewishweek.com/news/new_york/midnight_sun_benjamin_blech
  5. ↑ http://www.aish.com/sp/pg/How_to_Die.html
  6. ↑ "Largest Gathering of Jewish Leaders to Ever Meet With a Sitting Pope". Archived from the original on 2009-04-08. Retrieved 2008-10-23.
  • Deutsch, Claudia H. (December 2003). "At Lunch With: Rabbi Benjamin Blech". The New York Times.
  • My Encounter with the Pope, May 15, 2009
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