Rabbi Aryeh (Robert) Klapper
(617) 623-8173
Rabbi
Robert Klapper, Rosh Beit Midrash of the Summer Beit Midrash, currently serves
as Orthodox Rabbinic Adviser and Associate Director for Education at Harvard
Hillel, Talmud Curriculum Chair at
Rabbi
Klapper’s achievement in the area of Modern Orthodox leadership development is
striking. One of every eight male
Orthodox students to come through Harvard during his tenure has gone on to
study for the rabbinate, and many more of both genders have taken advanced
degrees in Jewish studies and/or taught in day schools. Three of the ten members of this year’s entering
class at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah are alumni of both Harvard and the Summer Beit
Midrash, and this year’s Pardes Kollel features both Harvard and SBM
alums. Many other Harvard alums are
taking prominent lay leadership roles in their communities, and SBM alums have
launched innovative educational programs even before completing their graduate
or rabbinic studies.
Rabbi
Klapper’s work at Harvard and the SBM has also had significant impact on
developing non-Orthodox leaders. Harvard
graduates are the spearhead of the growing movement within Conservative Judaism
for “halakhic egalitarianism”, and have founded innovative communities in
various East Coast cities. Alumni
attending JTS and RRC call him for advice and counsel, and the gabbaim of the
Student Conservative and Reform minyanim attend his classes and ask him for
halakhic guidance and decisions. He has
accomplished all this from an explicit and uncompromised Orthodox stance.
Rabbi
Klapper has also earned the respect of Harvard faculty. His innovative PARTNERSHIPS educational
programs involve parallel presentations with faculty in their area of
expertise, and his Faculty Talmud class was started by request after several
such programs. Rabbi Klapper’s academic
credentials within the Jewish Studies communities have been burnished by several
well-received papers at the Association of Jewish Studies.
Rabbinic and Teaching Experience
Orthodox Rabbinic Adviser, Harvard Hillel, 1995-6, 1997-present
Rosh Beit Midrash, The Summer Beit Midrash, 1997-present
Member, Rabbinic Court of Boston, 2001-present
Instructor, Maimonides
High School, 1994-2003
Orthodox Adviser, Brandeis Hillel, 1996-7
Member, Rabbinic Court of Elizabeth,
1994-5
Advanced Shiur,
University of Pennsylvania Hillel, 1993-5
Advanced and Beginner Shiurim,
Yale University Kosher Kitchen, 1994-5
Visiting Scholar, Young Israel of Cornell
University, 1992-93
Talmud Shiur, Beit Midrash L'Torah
(Jerusalem), 1991
Administrative Experience
Rosh Beit Midrash, The Summer Beit Midrash, 1997-present
Associtae Director for Education, Harvard Hillel,
2002-present
Talmud Curriculum Chair, Maimonides High School, 2003-present
Israel Initiative Director, Harvard Hillel, 2002-3
Member, Maimonides
High School Faculty Steering Commitee, 1998-2000
North Charles Community Eruv Corporation Board, 1998-present
Co-Chair, Committee to Preserve Revel,
1991-92
Editor in Chief, Hamevaser,
1988-89
Education
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan
Theological Seminary (RIETS) Kollel L'Horaah, 1991-4
RIETS, 1989-93 (ordained March 1994)
BRGS - PhD. Coursework in Talmud, 1990-94
Mesivta Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, 1981-84
Fellowships and Awards
Wexner Graduate Fellowship, 1989-93
BRGS Fellowship, 1988-89
Professor Michael Bernstein Award for
Excellence in Bible (BRGS), 1989
Max Stern Scholarship, 1984-88
Isaac Bacon Award for Excellence in
“MetaHalakhah:
A Review Essay”, Tradition, Spring 2000
“Eulogy as Philosophy: The Epistemology of the Rav”, AJS Conference, 2000
A more comprehensive list of publications and papers will be provided upon request.