Yonasan David
Encyclopedia
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...
("dean") of Yeshiva Pachad Yitzchok
Yeshiva Pachad Yitzchok
Yeshiva Pachad Yitzchok is a yeshiva that was established in Jerusalem, Israel in the late 1970s by Rabbi Yitzchok Hutner. It is located in the Har Nof neighborhood...
and Kollel Ohr Eliyahu in the Har Nof
Har Nof
Har Nof is a neighborhood on a hillside on the western boundary of Jerusalem, Israel, with a population of 20,000 residents, primarily Orthodox Jews.-History:...
section in Jerusalem. He also serves as the co-rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin
Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin
Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin or Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin, is a Haredi Lithuanian-type yeshiva located in Brooklyn, New York. Established in 1904 as Yeshiva Tiferes Bachurim, it is the oldest yeshiva in Kings County...
together with Rabbi Aaron Schechter
Aaron Schechter
Aaron Moshe Schechter is the rosh yeshiva of the Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin and its post-graduate Talmudical division Kollel Gur Aryeh as well as of all the branches of the yeshiva in Brooklyn, New York City that includes an elementary school and a high school for young Jewish boys, teenagers,...
in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Biography
Rabbi David is married to Dr. Bruria David, the only child of Rabbi Yitzchok HutnerYitzchok Hutner
Yitzchok Hutner was an Orthodox rabbi and American rosh yeshiva.-Early years:Yitchok Hutner was born in Warsaw, Poland, to a family with both Ger Hasidic and non-Hasidic Lithuanian Jewish roots. As a child he received private instruction in Torah and Talmud...
. His brother is Rabbi Hillel David a noted posek
Posek
Posek is the term in Jewish law for "decider"—a legal scholar who decides the Halakha in cases of law where previous authorities are inconclusive or in those situations where no halakhic precedent exists....
("decisor [of Jewish law]") in Brooklyn. Rabbi David is often used as a notable source within the Haredi
Haredi Judaism
Haredi or Charedi/Chareidi Judaism is the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism, often referred to as ultra-Orthodox. A follower of Haredi Judaism is called a Haredi ....
world's intellectual circles.
Rabbi David became a disciple of Rabbi Hutner when he enrolled at the Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin as a teenager. He subsequently also spent time at the Mir yeshiva
Mir yeshiva (Jerusalem)
The Mir yeshiva , known as the Mirrer Yeshiva or The Mir, is an Orthodox Jewish yeshiva in Jerusalem, Israel. With 6,000 students, it is the largest yeshiva in Israel. Many of the students are from the United States and Canada. It is also believed to be the largest yeshiva in the world...
in Jerusalem.
Black September hijacking
In 1970 Rabbi and Mrs. David accompanied her father and mother on a trip from New York to Israel. During their return flight on 6 September 1970, their plane was hijackedDawson's Field hijackings
In the Dawson's Field hijackings five jet aircraft bound for New York City were hijacked by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine...
by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine is a Palestinian Marxist-Leninist organisation founded in 1967. It has consistently been the second-largest of the groups forming the Palestine Liberation Organization , the largest being Fatah...
. The terrorists freed the non-Jewish passengers and held the Jewish passengers hostage on the plane for one week, after which the women and children – including Dr. David and her mother – were released and sent to Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
. During a press conference held on the airfield next to the hijacked planes, journalists were invited to interview several hostages, including Rabbi David. He told the press that "the captives were being treated decently, but that the terrorists were circulating among their captives with biks (the Yiddish
Yiddish language
Yiddish is a High German language of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. It developed as a fusion of German dialects with Hebrew, Aramaic, Slavic languages and traces of Romance languages...
word for machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
s) in their hands".
The hijacked airplanes were subsequently detonated and the remaining 40-plus Jewish men – including Rabbi Hutner, Rabbi David, and two students accompanying Rabbi Hutner, Rabbi Meir Fund and Rabbi Yaakov Drillman – and male flight crew continued to be held hostage, first in a refugee camp and then in safe house
Safe house
In the jargon of law enforcement and intelligence agencies, a safe house is a secure location, suitable for hiding witnesses, agents or other persons perceived as being in danger...
s in and around Amman
Amman
Amman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost...
, Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
. On 26 September Rabbi Hutner, Rabbi David and the students were released and flown to Nicosia
Nicosia
Nicosia from , known locally as Lefkosia , is the capital and largest city in Cyprus, as well as its main business center. Nicosia is the only divided capital in the world, with the southern and the northern portions divided by a Green Line...
, Cyprus. Israeli Knesset
Knesset
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
Member Rabbi Menachem Porush
Menachem Porush
Menachem Porush was an Israel politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Agudat Yisrael and its alliances between 1959 and 1975, and again from 1977 until 1994.-Biography:...
chartered a private plane to meet them in Nicosia, and reported that the men looked emaciated. On 28 September Rabbi Hutner, Rabbi David, their wives and students were flown back to New York via Europe, and were home in time for the first night of Rosh Hashana.
Rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin
A number of years prior to his passing in 1980, Rabbi Hutner officially announced that Rabbi Aaron Schechter and Rabbi Yonasan David would both serve as equal rosh yeshivaRosh 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...
s of the Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin
Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin
Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin or Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin, is a Haredi Lithuanian-type yeshiva located in Brooklyn, New York. Established in 1904 as Yeshiva Tiferes Bachurim, it is the oldest yeshiva in Kings County...
. This was done when the yeshiva moved to its location on Coney Island Avenue
Coney Island Avenue
Coney Island Avenue is a roadway in the New York City borough of Brooklyn that runs north-south for a distance of roughly five miles, almost parallel to Ocean Parkway. It begins at Brighton Beach Avenue in Coney Island and goes north to Park Circle at the southwest corner of Prospect Park, where...
in 1966 and Rabbi Hutner declared to all present that henceforth Rabbis Schechter and David would both sit at the front of the main beth midrash
Beth midrash
Beth Midrash refers to a study hall, whether in a synagogue, yeshiva, kollel, or other building. It is distinct from a synagogue, although many synagogues are also used as batei midrash and vice versa....
(the main study hall of the yeshiva), with Rabbi Schechter sitting at the front right and Rabbi David at the front left, and with Rabbi Hutner sitting in the center. Even after the death of Rabbi Hutner, the center seat has been left empty as a kind of "holy spot", with Rabbi Schechter continuing to occupy the front right position. When Rabbi David returns for brief visits from Israel he assumes his position in the front left of the beth midrash
Beth midrash
Beth Midrash refers to a study hall, whether in a synagogue, yeshiva, kollel, or other building. It is distinct from a synagogue, although many synagogues are also used as batei midrash and vice versa....
. The seating arrangements reflect both Rabbi Schechter's and Rabbi David's positions of supreme authority within the totality of the yeshiva.
Rabbi Yitchok Hutner's legacy
- Rabbi and Rebbetzin David have edited the works of Rabbi Hutner, known as Pachad Yitzchok ("Fear of Isaac" also: "Isaac's Fear/Awe").
- The couple complied and published the official biography of Rabbi Hutner known as "Sefer HaZikaron" ("Book of Remembrance").
- Edited a subsequent volume of Rabbi Hutner's "Igros Ukesavim" ("Letters and Writings"): "This volume consists of 264 letters and other writings. The unique character of this volume, as distinct from the other published volumes of the Pachad Yitzchak series, is spelled out in a brief, masterful introduction consisting of divrei Torah contributed by Rabbi Yonasan David shlita (son-in-law of the Rosh Yeshivah). The volume is divided into several sections: The first section contains letters dealing primarily with Hilchos De'os Vechovas Halevavos (duties of the heart and mind.)"
- Rabbi David has issued his own contributions based on Rabbi Hutner's thoughts known as "Ma'amarei Pachad Yitzchok" ("Talks/Teachings of Pachad Yitzchok").
Trans-Atlantic rosh yeshiva
Rabbi David resides in Jerusalem for most of the year, but he returns to Brooklyn for most of the Hebrew month of NisanNisan
Nisan is the first month of the ecclesiastical year and the seventh month of the civil year, on the Hebrew calendar. The name of the month is Babylonian; in the Torah it is called the month of the Aviv, referring to the month in which barley was ripe. It is a spring month of 30 days...
to celebrate Passover
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
and for some of Tishrei
Tishrei
Tishrei or Tishri , Tiberian: ; from Akkadian "Beginning", from "To begin") is the first month of the civil year and the seventh month of the ecclesiastical year in the Hebrew calendar. The name of the month is Babylonian. It is an autumn month of 30 days...
to celebrate the start of Sukkot
Sukkot
Sukkot is a Biblical holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei . It is one of the three biblically mandated festivals Shalosh regalim on which Hebrews were commanded to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem.The holiday lasts seven days...
) and serves as rosh yeshiva at the Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin during that time together with Rabbi Aaron Schechter.