Rabbi Dr. Benyamin Lau בנימין לאו | |
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| Personal life | |
| Born | Binyamin Tzvi Lau |
| Nationality | Israeli |
| Occupation | Rabbi, community leader |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Judaism |
| Position | Rosh Yeshiva |
| Yeshiva | Beit Midrash for Social Justice at Beit Morasha |
| Position | Director |
| Organisation | Center for Judaism and Society at Beit Morasha |
| Residence | Jerusalem, Israel |
Binyamin Tzvi (Benny) Lau, (Hebrew:בנימין צבי (בני) לאו; born October 20, 1961,Tel Aviv) is an Israeli rabbi, community leader, activist, author, and public speaker who lives inJerusalem. He is the head of929: Tanach B'yachad and headed the Kehillat Ramban synagogue inJerusalem for 18 years. He is also the head of the "Human Rights and Judaism in Action Project" at theIsrael Democracy Institute.[1] Previously, he was the director of a number of programs at Beit Morasha in Jerusalem, including their Center for Judaism and Society, their Institute for Social Justice, and their Israel Institute for Conversion Policy.[2] He is also a well-known writer, and makes frequent appearances in the media.
Lau was born in Tel Aviv toNaphtali Lau-Lavie, the older brother of formerChief Rabbi of Israel RabbiIsrael Meir Lau, and Joan (née Lunzer).[3] He is a second great-grandson of the scholarEliezer Liepman Philip Prins (1835-1915). Lau's mother, a sister ofJack Lunzer, was born in England to a prominent family known for preserving the legacy and school of thought of RabbiSamson Raphael Hirsch. Lau's brother Amichai Lau-Lavie foundedStorahtelling, a NYC-based Jewish ritual theater company.
Lau grew up inRamat Gan, and was a student in the Segula School inBnei Brak. Afterwards, he learned in the Netiv Meir High School in Jerusalem, and participated in theBnei Akiva Youth Movement. After he completed his high-school studies, he went on to learn inYeshivat Har Etzion, and was drafted into theIsrael Defense Forces in theGolani Brigade.[3]
Lau teaches at Beit Morasha in Jerusalem, and serves as the head of the Beit Midrash program, alongside Rabbi Dr. Yehuda Brandes. In 2000, he established the Beit Midrash for Women at Beit Morasha, and led that program for five years.[4]
In 2000, Lau moved to Jerusalem, and has been serving as the community rabbi at the Ramban synagogue in the neighborhood of Katamon since 2002.[5]
In 2005, he established the Beit Midrash for Social Justice together with the organizationB’Maaglei Tzedek, a non-profit organization that he helped establish, with the goal to imbue issues in Israeli society with Torah learning. He also publishes extensively in national newspapers, scholarly journals, weekly Shabbat pamphlets, and has authored numerous books.
During the years 2007-2009, Lau had a Friday column in the Culture and Literature section ofHa'aretz newspaper. He appears every Friday on Israel's Channel 1 TV on a program for the weekly portion of the Torah, together with Avi Raht. He also frequently appears on interviews in the media.
Lau lectures widely on halakha and social justice[6] at Beit Morasha's Beren College, and served as the rabbi of the Ramban Synagogue in Jerusalem until 2019.[7] In October 2020, Lau published "Couplehood and Relationships for Members of the LGBTQ+ Community." The document was intended to bring about a process of integration for members of the LGBTQ community into the wider Orthodox community.[8]
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