Ilan D. Feldman
Encyclopedia
Ilan Daniel Feldman is an American
Orthodox Jewish
rabbi
, 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, Rabbi Dr. Emanuel Feldman
, who led the congregation for 39 years. Over the past 20 years Feldman has built on his father's work, bringing a community kollel to the city and nurturing the growth of Atlanta as one of the leading centers for Orthodox Jewish life in America. He is also a founding board member of the Association for Jewish Outreach Programs
(AJOP).
was home to 40 families, only two of whom were Shomer Shabbat
, and the city as a whole was a spiritual desert. Over the next four decades, the couple brought hundreds of families closer to Torah observance, helped build a Hebrew academy and Torah day school, and established a nationally-recognized kosher
-certification organization.
Although he was the rabbi's son, the young Ilan was more interested in politics than the rabbinate. Like his father, he studied at Yeshivas Ner Yisroel of Baltimore
, Maryland
and was a talmid of rosh yeshiva
Rabbi Yaakov Weinberg
. In 1976 Feldman married the rosh yeshiva's daughter, Miriam. The couple has eight children.
, 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 minyan
s, campus outreach, and study groups for women, teens and singles. ASK has become a model for other community kollels in the United States. The kollel now has 11 full-time rabbis and 3 part-time women teachers who educate more than 1,000 men, women, students, teens and singles monthly.
Upon his father's retirement in 1991, Rabbi Ilan Feldman was elected senior rabbi by the synagogue's board of directors.
Feldman serves as the dean of the Atlanta Kashruth Commission, which was founded by his father in the 1960s. Today this agency certifies nearly 150 companies, manufacturing plants, bakeries, supermarkets, restaurants, hotels, and caterers nationwide, and is considered one of the most reliable kosher-certification organizations.
Feldman is also the head of a rabbinical court
recognized by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel
as a reliable conversion
authority.
As the rabbi of one of the leading Orthodox Jewish communities in the United States, Feldman frequently speaks out on key issues. These include: Jewish conversion, Christian missionizing of Jews
, Sabbath desecration, and Jewish burial. For his congregants, Feldman reserves one Shabbat
a year to speak about everything he loves about them, and one Shabbat a year to offer gentle criticism for how they can improve.
Feldman has served as a spiritual advisor for the Atlanta branch of the Jewish Alcoholics, Chemically Dependent Persons and Significant Others (JACS) support network. He also answers questions in the "Adviceline" column in Mishpacha Magazine.
Holder of a Bachelor's degree from Yavne Teacher's College and Notre Dame University, and a Master's degree from Loyola University, she was one of the first four teachers of the Torah Day School of Atlanta, which opened with 19 students in 1985 and which today boasts more than 300 students. In 1996 she opened the first girls-only high school in the South, the Temima High School for Girls, a Bais Yaakov
-type school at which she is principal. For this achievement, she was named one of the "50 Most Influential Jews in America" by Jewsweek, placing 13th on the magazine's list.
On the occasion of Rabbi Feldman's tenth anniversary in office, the Georgia General Assembly
passed House
Resolution
131EX2 commending both Rabbi Ilan and Miriam Feldman for their contributions to their synagogue and the community at large.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Orthodox Jewish
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
, public speaker and author. Since 1991 he has been the senior rabbi and spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Jacob of Atlanta, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, succeeding his father, Rabbi Dr. Emanuel Feldman
Emanuel Feldman
Emanuel Feldman is an Orthodox Jewish rabbi and rabbi emeritus of Congregation Beth Jacob of Atlanta, Georgia. During his nearly 40 years as a congregational rabbi, he nurtured the growth of the Orthodox community in Atlanta from a community small enough to support two small synagogues to a...
, who led the congregation for 39 years. Over the past 20 years Feldman has built on his father's work, bringing a community kollel to the city and nurturing the growth of Atlanta as one of the leading centers for Orthodox Jewish life in America. He is also a founding board member of the Association for Jewish Outreach Programs
Association for Jewish Outreach Programs
The Association for Jewish Outreach Programs also known by its abbreviation AJOP The Association for Jewish Outreach Programs also known by its abbreviation AJOP The Association for Jewish Outreach Programs also known by its abbreviation AJOP (originally officially called the Association for Jewish...
(AJOP).
Early life
Feldman was born in Atlanta to Rabbi Dr. Emanuel Feldman and his wife, Estelle, who arrived in that city as newlyweds in 1952 to assume the roles of Rabbi and Rebbetzin of Congregation Beth Jacob. At that time, the synagogueSynagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
was home to 40 families, only two of whom were Shomer Shabbat
Shomer Shabbat
A shomer Shabbat or shomer Shabbos is a person who observes the mitzvot associated with Judaism's Shabbat...
, and the city as a whole was a spiritual desert. Over the next four decades, the couple brought hundreds of families closer to Torah observance, helped build a Hebrew academy and Torah day school, and established a nationally-recognized kosher
Kashrut
Kashrut is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha is termed kosher in English, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew term kashér , meaning "fit" Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus) is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha (Jewish law) is termed...
-certification organization.
Although he was the rabbi's son, the young Ilan was more interested in politics than the rabbinate. Like his father, he studied at Yeshivas Ner Yisroel of Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
and was a talmid of rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva, , , is the title given to the dean of a Talmudical academy . It is made up of the Hebrew words rosh — meaning head, and yeshiva — a school of religious Jewish education...
Rabbi Yaakov Weinberg
Yaakov Weinberg
Shmuel Yaakov Weinberg, known as Yaakov Weinberg was an Orthodox Jewish rabbi, Talmudist, and rosh yeshiva of Ner Israel Rabbinical College in Baltimore, Maryland one of the major American non-Hasidic yeshivas...
. In 1976 Feldman married the rosh yeshiva's daughter, Miriam. The couple has eight children.
Assistant rabbi
In 1980 Feldman decided to join his father as assistant rabbi of Congregation Beth Jacob. In addition to his synagogue duties, he assisted his father in the development of the Torah Day School of Atlanta, which opened in 1985.Atlanta Scholars Kollel
On his own initiative, the younger Feldman founded the Atlanta Summer Kollel (later renamed the Atlanta Scholars Kollel) in 1987. 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, ConservativeConservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
, and Reform
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism refers to various beliefs, practices and organizations associated with the Reform Jewish movement in North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In general, it maintains that Judaism and Jewish traditions should be modernized and should be compatible with participation in the...
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 minyan
Minyan
A minyan in Judaism refers to the quorum of ten Jewish adults required for certain religious obligations. According to many non-Orthodox streams of Judaism adult females count in the minyan....
s, campus outreach, and study groups for women, teens and singles. ASK has become a model for other community kollels in the United States. The kollel now has 11 full-time rabbis and 3 part-time women teachers who educate more than 1,000 men, women, students, teens and singles monthly.
Upon his father's retirement in 1991, Rabbi Ilan Feldman was elected senior rabbi by the synagogue's board of directors.
Leadership
Feldman has perpetuated the outreach work his father began. Congregation Beth Jacob now exceeds 500 families, and the Orthodox community, centered around the synagogue's location in Toco Hills, is now attracting more Torah-observant families from New York, Baltimore and other cities to relocate here. Besides nurturing his congregants' growth in religious observance, Feldman stresses the importance of taking responsibility for non-religious Jews and making visitors to Atlanta feel welcome.Feldman serves as the dean of the Atlanta Kashruth Commission, which was founded by his father in the 1960s. Today this agency certifies nearly 150 companies, manufacturing plants, bakeries, supermarkets, restaurants, hotels, and caterers nationwide, and is considered one of the most reliable kosher-certification organizations.
Feldman is also the head of a rabbinical court
Beth din
A beth din, bet din, beit din or beis din is a rabbinical court of Judaism. In ancient times, it was the building block of the legal system in the Biblical Land of Israel...
recognized by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel
Chief Rabbinate of Israel
The Chief Rabbinate of Israel is recognized by law as the supreme halakhic and spiritual authority for the Jewish people in Israel. The Chief Rabbinate Council assists the two chief rabbis, who alternate in its presidency. It has legal and administrative authority to organize religious...
as a reliable conversion
Conversion to Judaism
Conversion to Judaism is a formal act undertaken by a non-Jewish person who wishes to be recognised as a full member of the Jewish community. A Jewish conversion is both a religious act and an expression of association with the Jewish people...
authority.
As the rabbi of one of the leading Orthodox Jewish communities in the United States, Feldman frequently speaks out on key issues. These include: Jewish conversion, Christian missionizing of Jews
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
, Sabbath desecration, and Jewish burial. For his congregants, Feldman reserves one Shabbat
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
a year to speak about everything he loves about them, and one Shabbat a year to offer gentle criticism for how they can improve.
Feldman has served as a spiritual advisor for the Atlanta branch of the Jewish Alcoholics, Chemically Dependent Persons and Significant Others (JACS) support network. He also answers questions in the "Adviceline" column in Mishpacha Magazine.
Miriam Feldman
Feldman's wife, Miriam, is a full partner in his synagogue and community work. Like her husband, she is a popular speaker for groups; the two have even appeared as "scholars in residence" on a cruise ship. She has also taped many audio shiurim (Torah lectures) for Torah Media Atlanta.Holder of a Bachelor's degree from Yavne Teacher's College and Notre Dame University, and a Master's degree from Loyola University, she was one of the first four teachers of the Torah Day School of Atlanta, which opened with 19 students in 1985 and which today boasts more than 300 students. In 1996 she opened the first girls-only high school in the South, the Temima High School for Girls, a Bais Yaakov
Bais Yaakov
Bais Yaakov is a common name for Orthodox full-time Jewish elementary and secondary schools throughout the world for Jewish girls from religious families...
-type school at which she is principal. For this achievement, she was named one of the "50 Most Influential Jews in America" by Jewsweek, placing 13th on the magazine's list.
On the occasion of Rabbi Feldman's tenth anniversary in office, the Georgia General Assembly
Georgia General Assembly
The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, being composed of the Georgia House of Representatives and the Georgia Senate....
passed House
Georgia House of Representatives
The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly of the U.S. state of Georgia.-Composition:...
Resolution
Resolution (law)
A resolution is a written motion adopted by a deliberative body. The substance of the resolution can be anything that can normally be proposed as a motion. For long or important motions, though, it is often better to have them written out so that discussion is easier or so that it can be...
131EX2 commending both Rabbi Ilan and Miriam Feldman for their contributions to their synagogue and the community at large.