Rabbi Raphael Zalman Levine HaCohen Endowed Distinguished Talmudic Scholar Award
About Rabbi Raphael Zalman Levine
Zalman Levine z”l, a musmach of Rabbi Chaim Soloveichick of Brisk and Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski, and devoted student of Rabbi Baruch Ber Lebowitz, came to the United States in 1923. After a brief teaching career at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary and Yeshiva Torah Vodaas, 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 first supporting his family as an insurance salesman and then for several decades, as a deeply respected staff member of the New York State Controller’s Office.
The award is funded by Mr. Joel Margolis, a lifelong friend of Rabbi Levine, z”l, in appreciation of Rabbi Levine’s inspiring life of Torah scholarship and communal leadership. “There is no better way to honor Rabbi Levine’s memory,” Mr. Margolis shared, “than to pay tribute to an outstanding contemporary Torah scholar, who exemplifies the values and integrity that so characterized Rabbi Raphael Zalman Levine’s life and legacy.”
Each year an awardee will be named and give a series of Torah lectures.
2023 Recipient: Rav Dovid Cohen Shlita
HaRav HaGaon, Rav DOVID COHEN is the rabbi of Congregation Gvul Yaavetz in Flatbush; Mara D'asra of Ohel Children's Home and Family Services, Nefesh International, Hatzolah of Flatbush, Central Hatzolah and Camp Munk; Dean of the Long Island Commission of Rabbis; Leading Posek and Author of over 70 Sefarim on Gemara, Tefila, Nach and Machshava.
2020 Recipient: Rav Asher Weiss Shlita
Rav Asher Weiss, a revered American-born Israeli Posek, Rosh Kollel and Dayan, is a towering figure in the world of timeless Torah scholarship and its impact on contemporary society. A devoted disciple of the Klausenberger Rebbe zt"l, his classic commentary, Minchas Asher on the Torah, is found in homes across the spectrum of the Orthodox community. His remarkable range of knowledge, soaring oratory and Ahavas Yisrael have made him one of the leading poskim to whom Jewish communities around the world turn for halachic guidance. HaRav Weiss is the author of 30 volumes of acclaimed Rabbinic Responsa, including hundreds of cutting-edge teshuvot dealing with the interface of modern medicine and Halacha.
Lectures:
December 6, 2020 - Timeless Faith: Eternal Torah Perspectives and the Coronavirus
February 7, 2021 - Halachic Guidance and Words of Inspiration for Medical and Health Care Professionals
May 1, 2023 - How Do You Pasken A Halachic Question?
