David Lau

David Baruch Lau was born in Tel Aviv. He studied at Yeshivat Yishuv HaHadash, and later at Yeshivat Beit Matityahu and Ponevezh Yeshiva. Lau took a semikhah (rabbinic ordination) test in 1993. Dov Lior, the administering rabbi, asserted that Lau brought papers with answers to previous tests into the exam room, causing him to disqualify the results, but Lau vehemently denied the allegations.[2][3] He was retested in 1994 and passed the exam.[4]

Lau 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 Alharar, he established Torah classes in the city, including on the subjects of kashrut, eruvim, and Jewish weddings. Lau is a reserve major in the Intelligence Corps.

Lau was one of the first rabbis 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 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, 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.[5]

In his first week in office, Lau referred to African-Americans who play basketball on Israeli teams as kushim. Although in a biblical context it refers to the ancient Kingdom of Kush, it is currently considered a derogatory term used for Black people. Ethiopian-born MK Pnina Tamanu-Shata called his comment racist and expressed concern that Lau might discriminate against Ethiopian Israelis.[6]

In August 2019, Lau directed the chevra kadisha to delay the burial in Jerusalem of the mother of an American Haredi man, Yisrael Meir Kin, until he would agree to religiously divorce his estranged wife.[7] After it was reported that the burial was allowed to proceed as Kin's relatives in Israel had deposited $20,000 with the Supreme Rabbinical Court and signed a document pledging to do what they could to convince him, Kin accused Lau of corruption and spreading fake news, saying that no one from Lau's office had contacted him, and no one had negotiated on his behalf.[8] He said that a get (religious divorce document) was "waiting for [his wife] for more than 10 years" in a beth din (religious court) in Monsey, New York, and since Lau was related to his wife, he had therefore taken sides in the case.[9] A relative of Lau denied that he was related,[10] but Haaretz determined that they are in fact related, though distantly.[8] Lau’s office responded to Kin's statements, saying that the chief rabbi was not aware of the family relation while dealing with the case,[8] and that they were sorry that Kin, who had denied his wife a get "for more than 15 years" was "continuing his refusal despite the agreements reached... [Lau] will continue his unwavering war on the phenomenon of get-refusal and "will do everything he can, including [imposing] the most severe sanctions, to end any case of get-refusal that may develop."[10]

Lau affixing a mezuzah at the CHAJ centre in The Hague in 2016

Officials in the Ministry of Religious Services said that Lau likely exceeded his authority in this case since normally the chief rabbi has no jurisdiction over burial matters, and a petition against his action to the Supreme Court of Israel would likely have been upheld.[11]

In 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic, Lau declared that no one should touch or kiss mezuzot, in order to prevent further spread of the virus.[12]

Lau is married to Tzipporah Ralbag.

In 2018, it was reported that Lau sought to appoint his brother-in-law Mordechai Ralbag as a replacement for a rabbinical judge who was investigating corruption involving hekdeshot (Haredi non-profit property trusts).[13] Lau and the Ralbag family have denied any wrongdoing.[14]

Media related to David Lau at Wikimedia Commons