Rabbi Moshe-Zvi Neria (Hebrew: משה צבי נריה; 29 January 1913 – 12 December 1995) was an Israeli educator, writer, and rosh yeshiva who served as a member of the Knesset for the National Religious Party between 1969 and 1974. Neria established and headed the Bnei Akiva yeshiva in Kfar Haroeh, and was one of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook's most influential disciples.[1] Due to his far-reaching influence on Religious Zionism, he is known as "the father of the knit kippah generation."[2]
Biography
Born Moshe-Zvi Menkin in Łódź in the Russian Empire (today in Poland), Neria studied under Rabbi Moshe Feinstein and his brother Rabbi Mordechai Feinstein in their yeshiva in Minsk. Neria followed his teacher Rav Mordechai to Shkloŭ and continued his Torah studies in the relocated Shklov yeshiva.[3] He emigrated to Mandatory Palestine in 1930 after Soviet diktats made Jewish life unsustainable in Russia. At the direction of Rabbis Moshe and Mordechai Feinstein, Neria studied at the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva with Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, receiving certification as a rabbi. He also studied in the Mizrachi teaching seminary in Jerusalem. At one point he lived in the Knesset Yisrael neighbourhood.[4]
He helped establish the Bnei Akiva youth movement, and edited its publication Zra'im. In 1940 he founded the first Bnei Akiva yeshiva in Kfar Haroeh, serving as its headmaster and teaching Talmud and Jewish thought. He later established several yeshiva high schools and Hesder yeshivas for IDF soldiers. In addition, he founded the Hapoel HaMizrachi Rabbinical Association.[5]
In 1969 he was elected to the Knesset on the National Religious Party list, serving for one term. He left the party in 1983 to establish the Religious Zionist Camp (also known as Mazad).
Neria died on 12 December 1995 at the age of 82.[6] His last words were "Give me kedushah (holiness), it is kedushah that I seek! The holiness of the Land of Israel, the holiness of the love of Israel, the holiness of the Nation of Israel."[2]
Yeshayahu Bernstein speaking with Rabbi Neria, sitting to his left.
When he saw that the public venerated Rav Kook but knew very little about his special approach to Torah, Rabbi Neriah published several books combining biographical material on Rav Kook together with excerpts from his writings, dealing with topics such as redemption, the rebuilding of the land of Israel, Torah and prayer.[2] These include:
Orot HaTefilah - on prayer
Moadei HaRe'iyah on Shabbat and Jewish holidays
Chayei HaRe'iyah on the period when Rav Kook was chief rabbi of Jaffa
Likutei HaRe'iyah
Sichot HaRe'iyah
Bisdei HaRe'iyah
Tal HaRe'iyah
Mishnat HaRav - ten chapters on the foundations of Rav Kook's philosophy
Views
When asked whether a rabbi should be involved in politics. He replied, "Absolutely not. In politics, it is sometimes necessary to compromise on principles in order to accomplish important goals, and that is not a proper thing for a rabbi to do."[6]
