Moshe Avigdor Amiel (; 1 April 1882 – 27 March 1945) was a Russian rabbi, writer, philosopher, and one of the leaders of the World Mizrachi and Religious Zionism. He served as a rabbi in Švenčionys, Lithuania, Grajewo, Poland, and Antwerp, Belgium, and was the chief rabbi in Tel Aviv.
Early life and education Amiel was born in Porazava, Grodno Governorate, Russian Empire, the first child of Rabbi Yaakov-Yosef and Rivka. Until the age of 13, he studied in the religious schools of the city and with his father. When he was 13 he went to study at the Telshe Yeshiva with Rabbi Eliezer Gordon, Rabbi Shimon Shkop, and Rabbi Yosef Leib Bloch. Later, he went to study at the Brisk Yeshiva with Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik, and another year later he went to study in Vilna with the Rabbi Haim Ozer Grodzonski. When Amiel was 18 he received semikhah from the rabbis Meir Simcham of Dvinsk and Joseph Rosen, becoming a rabbi.
Career After the death of Rabbi Pinchas Rozobski, Amiel became the rabbi in the city of Švenčionys, aged 23, and established a yeshiva there. After speaking at the World Mizrachi in 1920, Amiel was called to serve as a rabbi in Antwerp, a position he held from 1920 to 1936.
In 1933, Amiel visited Mandatory Palestine and met Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook. After the death of Tel Aviv's chief rabbi , Amiel was offered the position, which he accepted on 16 January 1936. Upon arriving at the railway station in Jerusalem, he was greeted by a large delegation of Orthodox Jews, some of whom had even gone ahead to Alexandria to greet him early. He founded a yeshiva in Tel Aviv that is now named after him.
Death and legacy Towards the end of his life, Amiel suffered from heart disease. He died on 27 March 1945 in Tel Aviv.
A yeshiva in Tel Aviv which he helped found, is named after him.
Writings Rabbi Amiel wrote about a wide range of subjects, including halacha, aggadah, philosophy, and kabbalah. He was particularly influenced by the Lithuanian school of halachic thought, as well as René Descartes and Immanuel Kant. He also wrote nine volumes of ecclesiastical works. Philosophy In his philosophical writings, Amiel largely utilized Descartes's theory of rationalism and the concept of a priori and a posteriori popularised by Kant, while also showing how those systems of philosophy already existed within the Jewish tradition. He also used a version of Descartes's ontological argument to prove the existence of God:
Unitary synthesis Rabbi Amiel viewed the unity of God and the unity of creation as interconnected and used the idea of synthesis to describe Judaism:
Liberty Rabbi Amiel introduced the idea of three types of liberty: political liberty (freedom from foreign rule), moral liberty (freedom from external influences), and economic liberty (freedom from being economically dependent on others), and connected them to the three pilgrimage festivals: Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot respectively. Democracy and capitalism Rabbi Amiel was very critical of democracy and capitalism in the early twentieth century, especially what he characterized as American trampling capitalism, or "a jungle where capitalists reign supreme in the name of democracy". He viewed the Jewish system of democracy as ideal but nonexistent:
Religious Zionism Rabbi Amiel was a Religious Zionist and viewed Religious Zionism as the embodiment of the concept of "Torah ve'Avoda" (Torah and work), and held that both were needed for building a state. Amir Mashiach of Ariel University writes about this:
Amiel viewed both secular Zionism and ultraorthodoxy as not useful for building a Jewish state due to the ultraorthodox exclusive focus on Torah and secular Zionism's exclusive focus on work; in fact, he compared secular nationalism to idolatry and viewed socialism as a form of oppression.
List Darkhei Moshe (the way of Moses) — composed between 1912 and 1928, a work on halacha. Hegyonot El Ami — collection of essays. Sermons Unto My People — Composed in 1936, a collection of sermons. HaMiddot LeCheker HaHalakhah (Qualities to expound the Halacha) — Composed between 1933-1939, three-volume work on Jewish legal methodology. LeNevukhei HaTekufah (for the confused of the period) — Amiel's last work; covers topics like belief in God, ethics, and Jewish history.
References
External links ת ל־_8 ב י ב — דבר 4 נובמבר 1935 — הספרייה הלאומית של ישראל │ עיתונים