HaRav Dovid Cohen shlita will deliver a shiur entitled “How Do You Pasken a Halachic Question” as he receives the second biennial Rabbi Raphael Zalman Levine Endowed Distinguished Talmudic Scholar Award, presented by Touro University. The address will take place at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, May 1, at the Lander College for Men/Beis Medrash L’Talmud, 75-31 150th Street in Kew Gardens Hills.
“HaRav Dovid Cohen is one of our generation’s illustrious leading halachic authorities and Torah scholars. For decades, he has provided clear, compassionate, and decisive halachic guidance on end-of-life issues to thousands of rabbis, Jewish health professionals, and concerned families,” said Dr. Alan Kadish, President of Touro University.
“Rav Dovid Cohen has long been an inspiration for anyone involved in teaching Torah and deciding issues of Jewish Law. He honors us ‘by accepting this award’ and sharing his profound insights in derech hora’ah,” said HaRav Yonason Sacks, Rosh HaYeshiva, Beis Medrash L’Talmud at Lander College for Men.
Rav Cohen will deliver a second public lecture before Rosh HaShanah for medical professionals and pre-health students, addressing “End-of-Life Questions.”
A Blessing from Rav Aharon Kotler Bears Fruit
Rav Cohen was born in Brooklyn to Russian immigrant parents who had tragically lost three children before the birth of a daughter and a son. A devout T’hilim Yid who loved Torah, Tzvi Moshe Cohen was present in shul one Shabbos during the depths of the Depression when HaRav Aharon Kotler zt”l came to raise funds for his yeshivah in Kletzk. Inspired by Rav Aharon’s appeal, Mr. Cohen immediately pledged his entire week’s salary – $12 – to the yeshivah. Rav Aharon was deeply moved by the sacrifice, and blessed him that his son should grow into a great Torah luminary.
Thousands of Jews across the world have been the beneficiaries of that blessing.
Rav Dovid attended Yeshiva Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin, where he became a talmid of Rav Yitzchak Hutner zt”l. He forged close ties with numerous Torah giants, among them Rav Yaakov Yitzchak Ruderman, Rav Yisroel Zev Gustman, Rav Eliezer Waldenberg (author of Tzitz Eliezer), Rav Yerucham Leiner (the Radziner Rebbe), Rav Moshe Shmuel Shapiro, and Rav Pinchos Hirschsprung, zichronam livrachah. He corresponded with Rav Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg, who asked Rav Cohen to review his Seridei Eish, and had a warm personal connection with Rav Chaim Kanievsky, who wrote many comments on his s’farim.
His position as Rav of Congregation Gvul Yaavetz in Brooklyn is the springboard from which he was launched to prominence as the eminence grise of contemporary American poskim. As the mara d’asra of Ohel Children’s Home and Family Services, Nefesh International, Hatzalah of Flatbush, Central Hatzalah, and Camp Munk, as well as Dean of the Long Island Commission of Rabbis, his fingerprint is apparent in many critical aspects of communal Jewish life.
“I am delighted that y’did nafshi, HaRav Dovid Cohen, has graciously agreed to present this shiur, which offers a unique opportunity for all of us to learn from the lessons of HaRav Cohen’s lifetime relentless pursuit of excellence in Torah scholarship,” said Zvi Ryzman, Chairman of the Board, Touro University
A fearless advocate for the underdog, Rav Cohen has championed the cause of agunos, and has been an outspoken defender of victims of abuse. His abiding ahavas Yisrael and profound understanding of the pain of mental illness have made him the address for those seeking nuanced and authoritative piskei halachah in this sensitive area.
Author of over 70 s’farim on Gemara, t’filah, Nach, and machashavah, Rav Cohen is a widely sought-after speaker and scholar-in-residence. His effortless mastery over vast areas of Torah and secular knowledge, combined with his deep comprehension of the interface of halachah and real life, have engaged audiences worldwide.
“I have been privileged to enjoy Rav Dovid’s personal and professional guidance for many years. He is a most appropriate selection for this prestigious award,” said Rabbi Moshe Krupka, Executive Vice President, Touro University.
Prestigious Award
The Rabbi Raphael Zalman Levine Endowed Distinguished Talmudic Scholar Award is generously endowed by Mr. Joel Margolis of Albany, New York, to honor individuals who have made exceptional contributions in the field of Torah Scholarship and Torah dissemination. The first recipient of the award was HaRav Asher Weiss.
“Rabbi Levine of blessed memory had enormous respect for those exceptional individuals who provide clear and decisive halachic guidance to our community. How very appropriate that this award, in his memory, goes to an extraordinary scholar who has provided lucid and timely guidance to so many people for so many decades,” said Mr. Joel Margolis.
Zalman Levine, a musmach of Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik of Brisk and Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski, and devoted student of Rabbi Boruch Ber Leibowitz, came to the United States in 1923. After a brief teaching career at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary and Yeshiva Torah Vodaath, he moved, after his marriage in 1929, to Albany. Eschewing any rabbinic titles, he spent the next six decades deeply involved in studying and teaching Torah, while supporting his family (and many Torah institutions and causes), first as an insurance salesman and then, for several decades, as a deeply respected staff member of the New York State Comptroller’s Office.
When Rabbi Levine arrived in Albany, the concept of a Torah scholar serving as a lay communal leader was unheard of, and his pioneering role set an example for others to emulate. Not only was Zalman Levine a devoted communal lay leader and an accomplished Torah scholar, but he also enjoyed the deep friendship of several generations of North American Torah luminaries.
The special shiur can also be accessed online. To register to participate in the event, visit www.touro.edu/ravcohen.
