The director of the country’s largest rabbinical court was named the dean of Yeshiva University’s rabbinical school.
Rabbi Yona Reiss, a Yale Law School graduate who has guided the Beth Din of America since 1998, will assume his post as dean of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary on July 1, 2008.
“The Yeshiva is the soul of Yeshiva University. In Rabbi Yona Reiss, we have a leader who will nurture that soul, and advance Torah study and protect Torah values,” said Richard Joel, YU’s president. “His integrity, intellect, warmth and humility will inform his work as he partners with an outstanding rabbinic faculty, to shape the educational direction for the school.”
Reiss is a summa cum laude graduate of Yeshiva College, the university’s undergraduate program, and holds the advanced Yadin Yadin rabbinical ordination. He will replace Rabbi Zevulun Charlop, who has been the dean for more than 35 years. Charlop will become dean emeritus and continue to administer ordination exams.
