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Asher Lopatin (born September 1, 1964) is an American rabbi. He is the President of the Open Orthodox Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School, located in Riverdale in New York City. Previously, he was the spiritual leader of Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel Congregation in Chicago, and is widely known for his commitment to fostering and promoting an inclusive view of Orthodoxy. ==Biographical Information== Rabbi Lopatin is a graduate of the Maimonides School, and received a B.A. in International Relations and Islamic Studies from Boston University. In 1989, he was awarded a Master of Philosophy from the University of Oxford in Medieval Arabic Thought. He has also done doctoral work at Oxford in Islamic Fundamentalist Attitudes Toward Jews, authoring a chapter on Muslim/Jewish relations titled "The Uncircumcised Jewish Heart (in Islamic and Qur'anic Thought)." Lopatin's list of academic honors is significant: he won a Rhodes Scholarship, was a Wexner Fellow, a Truman Scholar, and a Boston University Trustee Scholar. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He received rabbinic ordination from both Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary of Yeshiva University in New York City in 1996 and Rabbi Aharon Soloveichik.〔(About the Rabbi ), Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel. Accessed September 3, 2012〕〔("Rabbi Asher Lopatin: Anshe Shalom B'nai Israel Congregation, Chicago, IL" ), Rabbinical Council of America. Accessed November 26, 2008.〕 Lopatin also received honorary smicha from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah in 2002. Rabbi Lopatin was the spiritual leader of Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel, a Modern Orthodox synagogue in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood. Since he assumed this position in 1995, the congregation has grown from only 90 members into a community of over 400.〔EJP. ("Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School Begins Transition to New President" ), September 2, 2012. Accessed September 4, 2012.〕 During his tenure at Anshe Sholom, Lopatin has been instrumental in establishing the infrastructure necessary for a thriving Orthodox community. His leadership has resulted in the creation of the Adam R. Straus Memorial Mikvah (attached to ASBI), the erecting of the Lakeview Eruv, and the opening of a kosher restaurant ((Milt's Barbecue for the Perplexed )).〔Davis, Adam. ("Asher Lopatin to Head Yeshivat Chovevei Torah" ), jewschool.com, September 5, 2012. Accessed September 7, 2012.〕 Together with his wife Rachel, Rabbi Lopatin was a founder of the multi-denominational Chicago Jewish Day School.〔("Lopatin, Rabbi Asher" ). Accessed September 9, 2012.〕 Among Rabbi Lopatin's congregants at Anshe Sholom is Rahm Emanuel, Mayor of Chicago, former White House Chief of Staff under President Barack Obama, and former member of the United States House of Representatives. When asked, Rabbi Lopatin would not comment on Emanuel's politics, but did note: "I wish all our congregants were as loyal to the synagogue and as engaged as he is."〔Widdicombe, Lizzie. ("Emanuel In Full" ), ''The New Yorker'', November 17, 2008. Accessed November 26, 2008.〕 In 2006, Rabbi Lopatin garnered much public attention during the political battle over the Chicago City Council ban on the sale of "foie gras." Lopatin was widely quoted supporting the ban on the grounds that Torah prohibits cruelty to animals, stating: "Chopped liver is good, but foie gras is bad."〔Shaw, Andy. ("Jewish Leaders Urge Against Repeal of Foie Gras Ban" ), WLS-TV, September 19, 2006. Accessed November 26, 2008.〕 In 2009, Lopatin announced plans to lead a proposed group of 200 families making aliyah to settle in the Negev.〔http://bnaibrith.org/magazines/winter2008/negev.cfm〕〔http://morethodoxy.org/2009/09/07/5770-the-year-of-carmit-with-rabbi-asher-lopatin/〕 The plan was pushed back to the summer of 2012 (before being postponed indefinitely) due to a serious illness in the Lopatin family.〔("Tehillim for Daughter of Rabbi Asher Lopatin" ), August 28, 2012. Accessed September 7, 2012.〕 In February 2012, Rabbi Lopatin made news by participating in an Indonesia Interfaith Middle East Peace Tour. Five rabbis, four members of the Christian clergy, and three American Muslim clerics traveled through Indonesia (meeting with 12 Indonesian Muslim clergymen), Dubai, Jerusalem, Ramallah, and Washington, D.C. Lopatin extensively documented the journey through blog posts on the website, Morethodoxy.〔Lopatin, Rabbi Asher. ("With Hashem's Help, Let the Indonesia Interfaith Middle East Peace Tour Begin" ), February 20, 2012. Accessed September 9, 2012.〕 On August 30, 2012, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School (YCT) officially announced that Rabbi Lopatin would succeed Rav Avi Weiss, current President and Founder, as President of the organization. Under Weiss' leadership, YCT has existed and grown on the liberal edge of Orthodoxy. In spite of having maintained positions on issues that have put him at odds with more conservative elements of Orthodoxy in the past, Lopatin has set a clear agenda for the beginning of his work at YCT: "I want to make sure Chovevei Torah is an integral part of the Orthodox world. I do think there's a perception that Chovevei is left, for liberal Orthodoxy. I want to start with getting the word out that we're open to right and left." At the same time, Lopatin maintains, "I'm very pluralistic in the sense that I want the Torah message and the Jewish message to get out beyond the walls of the Orthodox synagogue and beyond those who call themselves Orthodox."〔Heilman, Uriel. ("Can Asher Lopatin secure Yeshivat Chovevei Torah's place in Orthodox Judaism?" ), September 7, 2012. Accessed September 10, 2012.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Asher Lopatin」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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