Book Examines American Jewish Immigrants' Role in Israeli Orthodox Judaism

A book published this month traces how eight American Jewish immigrants influenced religious education and debate inside Israel after moving there between the mid-1960s and early 1980s. The work, titled Agents of Change: American Jews and the Transformation of Israeli Judaism, was written by Adam S.

Ferziger, a professor at Bar-Ilan University. It focuses on individuals who founded or led educational institutions and introduced positions on topics such as the role of women in religious life, interactions with non-Orthodox groups, and the authority of the state rabbinate.

The eight individuals include two women:

Malka Bina, founder of Matan Women’s Institute for Torah Studies, and Rabbanit Chanah Henkin, founder and dean of Nishmat. The six men are Rabbi Dr. Aharon Lichtenstein of Yeshivat Har Etzion, Rabbi Shlomo Riskin of Efrat and Ohr Torah Stone, Rabbi David Hartman of the Shalom Hartman Institute, Rabbi Daniel Tropper of Gesher, Rabbi Nachum Eliezer Rabinovitch of Yeshivat Birkat Moshe, and Rabbi Chaim Brovender of Midreshet Lindenbaum.

Ferziger writes that these educators initially operated outside the Israeli religious mainstream but later trained students who adapted their approaches within Israeli settings.

The book opens with an account of a March 1960 visit by then-prime minister David Ben-Gurion to several American Jewish institutions, during which he encouraged one-year study programs in Israel. One attendee, then known as Steven Riskin, later became Rabbi Shlomo Riskin and moved to Israel in 1983.

Ferziger also explains his selection criteria, noting that the chosen figures both taught and established Israel-based institutions, and he addresses why other English-speaking educators were not included. A final section discusses the spread of moderate Orthodox ideas through programs such as Torah MiZion and through students returning to North America after gap-year study in Israel.