Eliezer Waldman

Eliezer Waldman
Waldman in 2008
Faction represented in the Knesset
1984–1990	Tehiya
Personal details
Born	(1937-02-11)11 February 1937 Petah Tikva, Mandatory Palestine
Died	18 December 2021(2021-12-18) (aged 84)

Rabbi Eliezer Waldman

Heads of Nir Yeshiva: Rabbi Waldman (seated on the right), Rabbi Lior (seated in the center), and Rabbi Noam Waldman (standing on the left)

Eliezer Waldman (Hebrew: אליעזר ולדמן, 11 February 1937 – 18 December 2021) was an Israeli Orthodox rabbi and politician. He served as a Member of Knesset in the 11th and 12th Knessets as part of the Tehiya faction. He was co-founder and President of Yeshivat Nir Kiryat Arba, one of the founders of the Jewish community in Hebron and Kiryat Arba, and a member of the Union of Rabbis for the Torah of the Land of Israel organization.

Biography

Waldman was born in Petah Tikva to Rabbi Yoel and Dina Waldman, who made aliyah to Israel in 1932 and worked in orchards and construction. At the age of three, his family relocated to the United States. During his youth in the United States, he was active in Bnei Akiva and later studied under Rabbi Yitzchok Hutner at the Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin. He also attended Yeshiva University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in psychology and philosophy.

Beginning in the month of Elul 5716 (1957), at the age of 20, he studied at Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh as part of a Bnei Akiva training program, where he became close to the head of the yeshiva, Rabbi Chaim Yaakov Goldvicht, and worked at Kibbutz Yavne. During Operation Kadesh, he and his colleagues dug defensive trenches at the kibbutz. After completing the training program, he began studying at Mercaz HaRav Yeshiva under Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook, whom he referred to only as "Our Master and Teacher, Rabbi Zvi Yehuda." In 1969, he even lived in his teacher’s house for a period to assist him.

During his time at Mercaz HaRav, he became friends with Rabbi Chaim Druckman. The two maintained a regular joint study session every week until his passing. He later recounted that as a student of Rabbi Hutner, he felt his teachings were the highest on earth. However, upon arriving in Israel and encountering Rabbi Kook’s teachings, he realized they were beyond anything he had previously known, "as high as the heavens are above the earth," and adhered to them.

Educational endeavors

In 1964, he was one of the founders of the Or Etzion Yeshiva High School and served there as a maggid shiur for several years. In the month of Nisan 5728 (April 1968), he was among the leading founders of the Jewish community in Hebron. There, he began organizing a study group, which he viewed as a branch of Mercaz HaRav Yeshiva, where he had studied.

Starting in 1972, Rabbi Waldman served as the head of the Hesder Yeshiva Yeshivat Nir Kiryat Arba. A few years later, Rabbi Dov Lior joined him. The two served as the yeshiva's heads for approximately 30 years, with Rabbi Lior focusing primarily on Talmudic analysis and halacha and Rabbi Waldman teaching Jewish thought based on the philosophy of Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook. Until his passing, Rabbi Waldman served as the yeshiva's president, while his son, Rabbi Noam Waldman, became the head of the yeshiva.

Rabbi Waldman taught Jewish thought at Mercaz HaRav Yeshiva both before and after the Yom Kippur War. Alongside his educational work, he served as a member of the Kiryat Arba Council.

Public and political activity

In 1974, he instructed soldiers who consulted him to refuse orders aimed at disrupting settlement activities in Judea and Samaria.

He was a member of the global secretariat of the Bnei Akiva movement in 1976 and later joined the national leadership of Bnei Akiva (1980–1986). In 1977, he served as the rabbi of Keshet, a moshav in the Golan Heights, until Rabbi Shlomo Aviner succeeded him in this role.

In 1984, Rabbi Waldman was detained in connection with the Jewish Underground case on suspicion that he was aware of its activities. His arrest shocked his family and students, particularly because he strongly opposed the underground’s activities and urged its members to express regret for their actions. Rabbi Waldman denied the allegations and was released after two days. The case was eventually dismissed.

He was one of the founders and leaders of Gush Emunim and a founding member of the Tehiya party. He served on the party's central secretariat and council until its dissolution and was a Member of Knesset for Tehiya during the 11th Knesset and the 12th Knesset. He resigned from the Knesset in January 1990.

In 1993, Rabbi Waldman joined the Union of Rabbis for the Land of Israel upon its establishment. Before the implementation of the Gaza Disengagement Plan, he temporarily relocated with the students of Yeshivat Nir Kiryat Arba to the settlement of Sa-Nur in northern Samaria as an act of protest. At that time, he joined the call for refusing military orders to evacuate settlements.

In the elections for the 20th Knesset in 2015, Rabbi Waldman was among the elder rabbis of Religious Zionism who urged voting for the Jewish Home party rather than the Yachad party.

During the last decade of his life, Rabbi Waldman participated in the "Peace Discourse" initiative, which facilitated meetings between peace activists and rabbis in Judea and Samaria.

Views

As a student of Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook, Rabbi Waldman emphasized educational instruction primarily based on the writings of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook (e.g., "Orot" and "Ein Ayah"). Following the teachings in Orot Israel, Rabbi Waldman believed that the State of Israel is "the foundation of God's throne in the world," despite its secular character. His teachings placed significant focus on understanding the process of redemption as articulated in the philosophy of Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook. As a devoted student of Rabbi Kook, Rabbi Waldman's attitude toward the State of Israel aligned with the view of it being the "Atchalta DeGeula". He was associated with the stream of Religious Zionism represented by Mercaz HaRav Yeshiva, led by Rabbi Avraham Shapira.

Rabbi Waldman opposed private acts of vengeance against Arabs, asserting that only the State of Israel should take measures in response to terrorist attacks.

He was among the rabbis who called on soldiers ordered to evacuate Jews from parts of Israel to refuse such orders. However, he instructed his students not to resort to violence against soldiers and police officers carrying out evacuations.

As early as the 1980s, Rabbi Waldman expressed that "a Jew praying on the Temple Mount should be the most natural thing for life together in the Land of Israel." Nevertheless, he cautioned against rash actions in this area. He encouraged ascending the Temple Mount in accordance with the ruling of his colleague Rabbi Dov Lior and personally ascended the mount. Regarding claims that the 2015 wave of stabbing attacks was connected to visits to the Temple Mount, Rabbi Waldman responded that such a claim was "audacious."

In a lecture, Rabbi Waldman criticized the isolationist tendencies of the Yeshivot HaKav ("Yeshivot of the Line"). He stated that the students of Rabbi Zvi Tau had no authority to declare their teacher the preeminent Torah leader of the generation, surpassing other students of Tzvi Yehuda Kook, calling such claims "unbecoming arrogance." However, he urged his students to exercise caution and avoid showing disrespect toward rabbis and students associated with the Yeshivot HaKav.

Personal life

Rabbi Waldman was married to Ruti, and they had eight children, including:

• Rabbi Noam Waldman, who serves as the head of Yeshivat Nir Kiryat Arba.
• His daughter, Hedva, is married to Rabbi Azriel Ariel, son of Rabbi Yaakov Ariel and the rabbi of Atarot.
• His daughter, Sarah, is married to Rabbi Yishai Remer (son of Rabbi Avraham Remer).
• His son, Avraham Yitzhak, died at the age of three after falling into a pot of boiling water.

Students

• Rabbi Shneur Katz – Head of the Nachalat Yisrael institutions in Migdal HaEmek, a Hassidic-Emunai rabbi.
• Zev Hever (Zambish) – Secretary-General of the "Amana" movement and a leader in the Yesha Council.
• Benny Katzover – Founder of Gush Emunim, former head of the Samaria Regional Council, and former chairman of the Samaria Settlers' Committee.
• Noam Arnon – Spokesperson for the Jewish community of Hebron.
• Rabbi Yehoshua Schmidt – Rabbi of the settlement Shavei Shomron and head of its yeshiva.
• Rabbi Eitam Henkin – Torah scholar, historian, and author of halachic works.
• Rabbi Daniel Miller – Head of Ataret Nechemia Yeshiva in Tel Aviv.
• Rabbi Menachem Felix – A leader in Gush Emunim.
• Tzviki Bar Hai – Former head of the Har Hebron Regional Council.
• Rabbi Noam Waldman – His son, head of Yeshivat Nir in Kiryat Arba.
• Rabbi Michael Hajaj – Rabbi at Netivot Yisrael Yeshiva in Bat Yam.
• His son-in-law, Rabbi Menachem Neuvirth – Rabbi in the "Apekei Orot" religious core group in Ofakim.
• Rabbi Chaim Zellinger – Head of the girls' high school in Kiryat Arba.
• Rabbi Shimon Ben Tzion – Rabbi at Machon Meir.
• Rabbi Chaim Yerucham Smotrich – Rabbi at Nir Yeshiva in Kiryat Arba and Rabbi of the Beit Yatir settlement.
• Rabbi Yosef Carmel – Head of the Eretz Hemdah Institute.
• Tzvi Zalavsky – Israeli composer, singer, and painter.

External links

• Eliezer Waldman on the Knesset website