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Ilan D. Feldman

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Rabbi
Ilan D. Feldman
Personal
Born
Ilan Daniel Feldman[1]

Atlanta, Georgia
ReligionJudaism
NationalityAmerican
SpouseMiriam Weinberg
Children8
Parent(s)Rabbi Dr. Emanuel Feldman and Estelle Feldman
OccupationOrthodox rabbi, author, speaker
Jewish leader
PredecessorRabbi Dr. Emanuel Feldman
PositionSenior Rabbi
SynagogueCongregation Beth Jacob of Atlanta
Began1991
ResidenceAtlanta, Georgia
SemikhahNer Yisroel

Ilan Daniel Feldman is an American Orthodox Jewish rabbi,[2] public speaker and author. Since 1991 he has been the senior rabbi and spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Jacob of Atlanta, Georgia, succeeding his father, Emanuel Feldman, who founded and led the congregation for 39 years.[3] Feldman brought a community kollel to the city.[4] He is also a founding board member of the Association for Jewish Outreach Programs (AJOP).[5]

Early life

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Feldman was born in Atlanta to Emanuel Feldman, who arrived in that city with his wife, Estelle, in 1952 to become rabbi of Congregation Beth Jacob.[6] At that time the synagogue membership was 40 families.[7] Over the next four decades, the couple helped build a Hebrew academy and Jewish day school,[4] and established a nationally recognized kosher certification organization.[8]

The young Ilan was more interested in politics than the rabbinate.[9] Like his father, he studied at Yeshivas Ner Yisroel of Baltimore, Maryland and was a student of rosh yeshiva (dean) Rabbi Yaakov Weinberg.[7] In 1976 Feldman married the rosh yeshiva's daughter, Miriam.[10] The couple has eight children.[11]

Assistant rabbi

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In 1980 Feldman decided to join his father as assistant rabbi of Congregation Beth Jacob.[12] In addition to his synagogue duties, he assisted his father in the development of the Torah Day School of Atlanta, which opened in 1985.[4]

Atlanta Scholars Kollel

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On his own initiative, the younger Feldman founded the Atlanta Summer Kollel (later renamed the Atlanta Scholars Kollel) in 1987.[4] Feldman secured funding for the project from Torah Umesorah, and brought in three graduates of Yeshivas Ner Yisroel as the first rabbis. Unlike the prevailing community kollel concept which viewed the kollel as an "inreach" organization serving its own, already-committed members, ASK is an outreach program that brings Jewish knowledge and commitment directly to the doorsteps of Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform Jews in Atlanta. ASK rabbis spend only 3 to 4 hours per day on their personal Torah learning and devote the rest of their day to "lunch 'n learn" classes, Hebrew reading crash courses, beginners minyans, campus outreach, and study groups for women, teens and singles. ASK has become a model for other community kollels in the United States.[13] The kollel now has 11 full-time rabbis and 3 part-time women teachers[7] who educate more than 1,000 men, women, students, teens and singles monthly.[14][15]

Upon his father's retirement in 1991, Rabbi Ilan Feldman was elected senior rabbi by the synagogue's board of directors.[7]

Leadership

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Congregation Beth Jacob now exceeds 500 families.[7][16]

Feldman is the dean of the Atlanta Kashruth Commission, which his father founded in the 1960s. It certifies nearly 150 companies, manufacturing plants, bakeries, supermarkets, restaurants, hotels, and caterers nationwide.[8][17]

Feldman is also the head of a rabbinical court recognized by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel as a reliable authority on Conversion to Judaism.[18]

Feldman frequently speaks out on key issues. These include: Jewish conversion,[19] Christian missionizing of Jews,[20] Sabbath desecration,[16][21] and Jewish burial.[22]

Feldman has served as a spiritual advisor for the Atlanta branch of the Jewish Alcoholics, Chemically Dependent Persons and Significant Others (JACS) support network.[23] He also answers questions in the "Adviceline" column in Mishpacha Magazine.[7][24]

Miriam Feldman

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Feldman and his wife Miriam, have been "scholars in residence" on a cruise ship.[25]

She is principal of the Temima High School for Girls, a Bais Yaakov-type school,[26] for which she was named one of the "50 Most Influential Jews in America" by Jewsweek, placing 13th on the magazine's list.[11]

For Feldman's tenth anniversary in office, the Georgia General Assembly passed House Resolution 131EX2 commending Ilan and Miriam Feldman for their contributions to their synagogue and the community at large.[27]

References

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  1. ^ "International Directory of Rabbinical Courts". Kosher Delight Magazine. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  2. ^ officiating both in and outside of Atlanta: "Staci Siegel, Barry Ritz: Weddings". The New York Times. 30 October 2010. at the Biltmore Ballrooms in Atlanta. Rabbi Ilan D. Feldman officiated; "Elyse Pomerantz, Ira Weinstock". The New York Times. 16 February 2003. Rabbi Ilan Feldman will officiate at the Sheraton Newark Airport Hotel. The bride, 32, is ...
  3. ^ Bayla Sheva Brenner (Summer 2017). "In The Limelight". Jewish Action. ... says Rabbi Ilan Feldman, the son of Rabbi Emanuel Feldman, founding rav of Congregation Beth Jacob of Atlanta, Georgia.
  4. ^ a b c d Klein, Devorah. "Atlanta: A burgeoning Southern metropolis". Hamodia. Archived from the original on 18 December 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  5. ^ Feldman, Rabbi Ilan. "Parking Lot Minyan". Jewish Action Online. ou.org. Archived from the original on 6 September 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  6. ^ Oberstein, Rabbi Elchonon (October 2009). "A Conversation with Rabbi Emanuel Feldman". Where What When. Archived from the original on 2013-02-10. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Gros, Michael (27 January 2010). "A Shul and a Mission". Mishpacha Magazine. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
  8. ^ a b "Atlanta Kashruth Commission". Atlanta Kashruth Commission. 2010. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  9. ^ Rosenstein, Neil (1990). The Unbroken Chain: Biographical sketches and the genealogy of illustrious Jewish families from the 15th-20th century, Volume II. CIS Publishers. ISBN 0-9610578-4-X.
  10. ^ a b "The Jewsweek Fifty: The 50 Most Influential Jews in America" (PDF). Jewsweek. 22 July 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 March 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  11. ^ Olitzky, Kerry M. (1996). The American synagogue: a historical dictionary and sourcebook. Greenwood Press. pp. 111–112. ISBN 0-313-28856-9. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  12. ^ Ferziger, Adam S. (2006). "The Emergence of the Community Kollel: A new model for addressing assimilation" (PDF). The Rappaport Center for Assimilation Research and Strengthening Jewish Vitality, Bar Ilan University. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  13. ^ "Atlanta Scholars Kollel Has Inspired Atlantans For 20 years" (PDF). Jewish Georgian. May–June 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  14. ^ "Atlanta Scholars Kollel". Atlanta Scholars Kollel. 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  15. ^ a b Feldman, Rabbi Ilan (2 June 2009). "Snatching Shabbos Victory From the Jaws of Defeat". cross-currents.com. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  16. ^ Zwickler, Eliezer (2010). "Recommended Kosher Certifications" (PDF). Congregation Ahawas Achim B'nai Jacob and David. Retrieved 20 December 2010.[permanent dead link‍]
  17. ^ "Recognized Rabbinical Courts for Conversion". The Jewish Life Information Center. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  18. ^ Pomerance, Rachel (18 June 2008). "Judaism drawing more black Americans: Blacks make up a significant portion of people learning about Judaism in Atlanta". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  19. ^ "Attempts to Convert Jews: Reaction to the 1996 SBC Resolution". Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. 2009. Archived from the original on 20 July 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  20. ^ Brozman, Suzie (25 July 2008). "Community Outreach or Slippery Slope? JCC Shabbat Opening Stirs Controversy". JT Online. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  21. ^ Abrams, Vivi. "Recovering Our Past: Search for relative reveals ramshackle and forgotten Jewish cemetery". Jewish Times. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  22. ^ Robinson, Ronda (19 September 2010). "Jews Do Drink". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  23. ^ "Adviceline". Mishpacha Magazine. 15 December 2010. Archived from the original on 22 December 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  24. ^ "The Essence of Northern California Aboard the 138-Passenger Yorktown Clipper, Oct. 30-Nov. 6, 2006" (PDF). chosenvoyage.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  25. ^ "Temima, The Richard and Jean Katz High School for Girls". Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta. 2010. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  26. ^ "A Resolution". Georgia General Assembly. 2001. Archived from the original on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
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