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“IT ALL BEGAN
WITH BNEI AKIVA”
An Interview with
Rabbi Dr. Aaron Rakeffet-Rothkoff
One of our generation’s leading Torah scholars and educators, Rabbi Dr. Aaron
Rakeffet-Rothkoff is Professor of Rabbinic Literature at Yeshiva University’s Caroline
and Joseph S. Gruss Institute in Jerusalem. He is also one of our community’s
most colorful and engaging personalities, inspiring and mesmerizing several
generations of students in Jerusalem and around the world. Among his many
books, Rabbi Rakeffet is the author of The Rav: The World of Rabbi Joseph B.
Soloveitchik, which has played a leading role in continuing the legacy of the Rav.
The full story of Rabbi Rakeffet’s extraordinary life and Aliyah can be found in his
celebrated memoir, From Washington Avenue to Washington Street. In this interview, Rabbi
Elie Mischel spoke with Rabbi Rakeffet about his formative years in Bnei Akiva, his Aliyah
in the wake of the Six Day War and his work with the Mossad on behalf of Soviet Jewry.
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