Zalman Nechemia Goldberg

Israeli rabbi and rabbinic judge (1931–2020)

Rabbi Zalman Nechemia Goldberg
Goldberg in 2011
Personal
Born	(1931-01-28)28 January 1931 Minsk, Soviet Union
Died	20 August 2020(2020-08-20) (aged 89) Jerusalem
Religion	Judaism
Denomination	Orthodox Judaism
Occupation	Rabbi

Position	Rosh yeshiva
Yeshiva	Sadigura
Position	Av Bet Din
Organisation	Jerusalem Rabbinical High Court

Zalman Nechemia Goldberg (Hebrew: זלמן נחמיה גולדברג; 28 January 1931 – 20 August 2020) was an Ashkenazi rabbi, posek (decider on points of religious law), and rosh yeshiva (dean) in Israel. He was a son-in-law of Shlomo Zalman Auerbach.^{[citation needed]}

Goldberg was an authority on halakha (Jewish law) and the Av Bet Din (Chief Justice) of the Rabbinical High Court in Jerusalem, where he made rulings on the issues of gittin (divorce) decrees, ketubot (marriage contracts), artificial insemination, and the commandment of living in the Land of Israel. He co-authored the Jewish prenuptial agreement sponsored by the Rabbinical Council of America together with Mordechai Willig.^[1]

Goldberg was the rosh yeshiva of both the Sadigura Hasidic yeshiva and the Jerusalem College of Technology (Machon Lev), and headed the Institute for the Higher Study of Halacha (Machon Iyun Ha'Halacha) in Jerusalem. He lectured extensively at Chabad's Yeshivat Torat Emet of Jerusalem on matters of Jewish law.^{[citation needed]}

Goldberg was also well known for his semicha (rabbinic ordination) exams, which were often taken as an alternative to those offered by the Israeli Rabbinate.^[2]

Goldberg became the editor-in-chief of Encyclopedia Talmudit in 2008.^[3]

In November 2009, he wrote an endorsement for The King's Torah, a controversial book by Yitzhak Shapira.^[4] He later rescinded it, saying that the book includes statements that "have no place in human intelligence."^[5]

Goldberg died on 20 August 2020 at Hadassah Medical Center in Ein Kerem, a week after collapsing in his home and was buried in Mount of Olives cemetery.^[6]

References

^ Rabbinical Council of America, 30 May 2006: "RCA Reaffirms its Commitment to Preventing Agunah Tragedies Archived 30 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine". Retrieved 4/3/2012
^ "Virtual Halacha Program with a Smicha Option – Join Now, Entire Bishul Is Free!". 24 March 2020.
^ "The making of the Talmudic Encyclopedia". San Diego Jewish World. 27 October 2014.
^ Wagner, Matthew (11 November 2009). "Book advocating killing gentiles who endanger Jews is hard to come by". The Jerusalem Post.
^ Estrin, Daniel (22 January 2010). "The King's Torah: a rabbinic text or a call to terror?". Haaretz.
^ "אבל כבד בעולם התורה והדיינות: הגאון רבי זלמן נחמיה גולדברג זצל" (in Hebrew). 20 August 2020.

External links

Halakha Down to Earth: In Memory of Rav Z.N. Goldberg Yona Reiss, Tradition Online
Rav Zalman Nechemia Goldberg, zt”l: A Great Gaon and a Great Human Being By Rabbi Haim Jachter | August 27, 2020, New Jersey Jewish Link
הרב הראשי לישראל הגאון רבי דוד לאו בהספד על מורו ורבו הגרז״נ גולדברג זצ״ל by Rabbi David Lau
הספד על הגרז"ן זצ"ל, מפי בנו, הרב אהרן גולדברג by his son Rabbi Aharon Goldberg
Azkara for Rav Zalman Nechemia Goldberg זצ"ל, Rabbi Mordechai Willig and Rabbi Meir Goldwicht