Pinchas Polonsky

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Pinchas Polonsky

Pinchas Polonsky (Полонский Петр (Пинхас) Ефимович) (born 1958) is a Russian religious philosopher , researcher, and active lecturer in the Russian-speaking Jewish community. He is the author of several books and translator of important works of Judaism.

During the underground activities in Moscow (1977-1987), Polonsky taught Judaism and was one of the founders of Machanaim . Today he lives in Israel , is an active participant in the process of the modernization of Judaism , researches the topics of the later works of Rav Kook . Polonsky is the author of a Torah commentary entitled Biblical Dynamics . Polonsky also heads the Brit Olam Russian department at the Noahide World Center in Jerusalem .

biography

Born in Moscow in 1958 into a family of secularly assimilated Jews, he attended a school specializing in mathematics and physics. After graduating from school in 1975, he decided to leave the Soviet Union in the near future and emigrate to Israel. Polonsky began learning Hebrew in a secret group , then studied the Torah and Judaism, and over time he began to observe the commandments .

Between 1975 and 1980 he studied mathematics at the Moscow State Pedagogical School.

In 1979 Polonsky became one of the founders and activists of the secret network for the purpose of Torah studies. He was involved in the reproduction of the Guide to Observing Jewish Laws and Conducting the Jewish Samizdat Lifestyle , a series of books on conducting Jewish holidays and commentaries on the Torah.

His application to immigrate to Israel was denied and Polonsky became a so-called refusenik for seven years until he moved to Israel in 1987 at the beginning of perestroika . His place of residence in Israel has been Beit El since 1991 .

Education and academic path

In 1987, Polonsky was one of the initiators of the establishment of a branch of Machanaim in Israel and remained a faculty member and editor-in-chief until 2012. Between 1989 and 1990 he attended the yeshiva (Harry Fischel Institute for Talmudic Research) in Jerusalem . From 1994 to 1997 he attended the Yeshiva Beit Morasha in Jerusalem with a major in Jewish philosophy. 1995–1999 he attended the Faculty of Jewish Studies at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan , where he received a degree in Talmudic Studies (MA). In 2002, Polonsky received his doctorate in sociology of religion through his thesis on sociological concepts in the teachings of Rabbi Kook ( Sociological Concepts in R. Kook's Teachings ). Between 1991 and 2012 he taught at Bar-Ilan University. From 2012 to 2013 Polonsky is a Senior Fellow and Assistant Professor at the University of Ariel in Samaria . He is also head of the Russian department of the Brit Olam, a yeshiva for Bnei Noah , where R. Uri Sherki acts as head.

Series of prayer books with commentaries

This initiative was launched by Polonsky and began in Moscow in the 1980s with a secret edition of the Passover Haggadah . The Haggadah was printed and distributed in an edition of hundreds of copies in Moscow and other major cities in the former Soviet Union. This Haggadah was meant to be a guide on how to conduct a spiritual seder .

In Israel, Polonsky published together with Machanaim: a Siddur (a prayer book) with a Russian translation and commentaries under the title "Vrata Molitvy" (Gates of Prayer, not to be confused with Reform "Gates of Prayer, the New Union Prayer Book"). To this day it remains one of the most widely used prayer books in Russian (transliteration is also available); Machzor "gates of repentance" for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur ; Passover Haggadah with commentary; a book entitled "Obligations of the Living" on the laws of mourning and also a series of books on Jewish holidays, customs and observance of the commandments.

Research on the writings of Rabbi Kook

In 1991 Polonsky worked with the Kook's Home Residence Museum in Jerusalem and prepared a collection of Kook's works on tolerance in teaching ("Tolerance in the Teaching of R. Kook").

In the course of his research on the philosophy of Rabbi Kook and his estate, he wrote and published a monograph on the life and work of R. Kook ("Rav Abraham Isaac Kook. Life and Teaching"). In 2009 the main chapters were translated and published in English, and in 2013 - in Hebrew. It became the first book of Jewish thought to be translated into Russian and English. The book has been approved by major rabbinical authorities in the field of philosophy by R. Kook and recommended for inclusion in the academic curriculum of Religious Zionism .

Torah Commentaries "The Biblical Dynamics"

A series of books as a new commentary on Torah, based on the Kabbalistic concepts of Rabbi IL Ashkenazi (Manitou) and new insights from Rabbi Uri Sherki. This book also contained the author's own new concepts and interpretations.

By 2014 there were six editions: Commentaries on the first two books of Moses - Genesis and Exodus . A full commentary on the Torah is expected in the near future, and an English translation is also planned.

Other work

In 2009 Polonsky became one of the founders of the academic wiki on Jewish and Israeli topics. The aim of the project is to publish information on Judaism and Israel on the Russian-language Internet that is complementary to Wikipedia and other sources, but qualitatively at the level of academically verified information.

Polonsky is the initiator and coordinator of the project to commemorate the activists of the Jewish-Zionist underground movement in the former Soviet Union ("Preserving the Memory"). He is also a co-founder of the movement against intellectual anti-Semitism ("Fight Against Intellectual Antisemitism " project).

Religious views and philosophy

Pinchas Polonsky attributes himself to the radical modernist wing of religious Zionism, the essence of which is the Orthodox modernization of Judaism, in other words, active modernization with strict adherence to Orthodox Judaism. In it he sees himself as the successor of Rabbi Kook and partner of Rabbi Uri Sherki.

Polonsky supports the integration of worldly ideas into religion in order to achieve a symbiosis . He sees the modernization of religion as a necessity and even a requirement. Polonsky believes in the religious importance of science, art, democracy, and other secular values; he is a proponent of the introduction of "science days" in Jewish educational institutions to demonstrate the synergy that can be achieved by combining science and religion .

Polonsky actively disseminates Bnei Noah's ideas and concepts.

He also advocates access and prayer on the Temple Mount for Jews.

He is also the author of the concept of the three stages of the arrival of the Messiah ("Three Stages of the Arrival of the Messiah") contrary to the concept of two stages generally accepted today by religious Zionism.

Polonsky also introduced the concept of religious anti-fundamentalism, in other words an opposition to religious fundamentalism based on a concept of continuous organic revelation.

Publications

"Religious Zionism by Rabbi Kook"

“Two stories of the creation of the world. Forefathers (Volume 1) "

"Dynamics of the forefathers (volumes 1-4)"

“Two millennia together. Jewish view of Christianity. "

  • Pinchas Polonsky : "Jewish Festivals": History and philosophy of Jewish Festivals . Machanaim - Russian Jewish Edu, 1987-1992. - 8 books

"Jewish Holidays: History and Philosophy of Jewish Holidays." 8 books

  • Pinchas Polonsky : Israel and humanity: Thoughts drawn from the Teachings of r. Kook, by rav Cherki , 1st. Edition, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2012, ISBN 978-1475267648 .

"Israel and Humanity: Thoughts from the Teachings of Rabbi Kook, from Rabbi Cherki."

  • Gates of Prayer , a prayer book in Russian, in a new translation with commentaries and explanations, 1994

"Gates of Prayer."

  • Video and audio lectures on issues relating to Judaism
  • Creative audio and video instructions for the festival of Passover (no less than 30,000 copies)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Brit Olam Noahide World Center in Jerusalem
  2. ↑ a b c «Восемнадцать», составитель З. Вагнер, издательство «Шамир», Иерусалим, 1989, с. 202-217 ISBN 965-293-010-5
  3. ↑ Интервью c П. Полонским в связи с выходом перевода на иврит его книги по философии рава Кука
  4. ↑ Сотрудники «Международного центра потомков Ноаха»
  5. ↑ « Machanaim ». Песах
  6. ↑ Сидур с транслитерацией
  7. ↑ Книги издательства «Маханаим»
  8. ^ Religious Zionism of Rav Kook. By Pinchas Polonsky. Translated from Russian by Lise Brody. Reviewed by Israel Drazin
  9. ↑ ספר «התפתחות היהדות בימינו על פי תורת הראיה קוק" מאת פ.פולונסקי
  10. ↑ «Праотцы в динамике» - серия книг комментария к Торе П. Полонского
  11. ↑ Евреи запустили собственную «Википедию»
  12. ↑ П. Полонский. Проекты
  13. ↑ П. Полонский. А что ты сказал Б-гу?
  14. ↑ П. Полонский. Не только религиозный сионизм, но и глобальное обновление иудаизма
personal data
SURNAME Polonsky, pinchas
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Russian religious philosopher
DATE OF BIRTH 1958