It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the passing of Rav Nachum Eliezer Rabinovitch zt”l, rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Birkas Moshe in Maale Adumim.
An outstanding talmid chochom and scholar, Rabbi Rabinovitch was one of the leading poskim in the religious Zionist community in Israel.
Born in 1928 in Montreal, Canada, Rabbi Rabinovitch began studying with the great gaon Rav Pinchos Hirschsprung, chief rabbi of Montreal, at age 14. At age 20, he learned at Yeshivas Ner Yisroel in Baltimore, where he received semicha from Rav Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman. He also obtained a master’s degree in mathematics from Johns Hopkins University and later completed a Ph.D. in Philosophy of Science at the University of Toronto.
In 1951, Rabbi Rabinovitch married his wife, Rachel Malka, née Shuchatowitz, a niece of Rav Ruderman.
Rabbi Rabinovitch taught and served as a rov in several places. Between 1952 and 1963, he was the rov of the Jewish community in Charleston, South Carolina. In 1963, he became a rov in Toronto. In the 1970s, he completed a Ph.D. in the field of statistics and probability in the Talmud at the University of Toronto. The results are in his book, “Probability and Statistical Inference in Ancient and Medieval Jewish Literature.”
Rabbi Rabinovitch lived in London from 1971 to 1982, serving as dean of Jews’ College. His protégés included Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks. He then became rosh yeshiva at Yeshiva Birkas Moshe in Ma’ale Adumim, a Hesder yeshiva.
His seforim include Yad Peshuta on the Rambam, Melumdei Milchama, Darkah Shel Torah, Hadar Itamar, Iyunim Bemishnaso Shel haRambam, Siach Nachum, and Mesilos Bilvavam. His books include Studies in the History of Probability and Statistics. Torah and Science: Conflict or Complement, and Torah and the Spirit of Free Enquiry.
Yehi zichro boruch.
{Matzav.com Israel}
