Internationally renowned educator, speaker and author Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Riskin attained rabbinical ordination at Yeshiva University from his mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, and his Ph.D. from New York University. His outstanding contributions to Israel and to world Jewry over the course of his career have made him one of the leading voices of today’s Modern Orthodox world. Rabbi Riskin founded and serves as Chancellor of Ohr Torah Stone, a network of educational institutions based upon the synthesis of Torah values with contemporary living and tikkun olam. In 1983, Rabbi Riskin left a thriving career as spiritual leader of Manhattan’s Lincoln Square Synagogue to make aliya and become the founding Chief Rabbi of Efrat, Israel, where he lives today with his wife Vicky, children and 17 grandchildren.
Rabbi Riskin is especially recognized for his innovative educational and social action programs, which are based upon his unique vision of an authentic Judaism sensitive to every human being and responsive to all universal concerns. On the cornerstone of this philosophy, Rabbi Riskin founded and serves as Chancellor and Rosh Yeshiva of Ohr Torah Stone Colleges and Graduate Programs, a network of groundbreaking institutions including a rabbinical and communal leadership college for men; a college for women’s advanced Jewish studies; a Legal Aid Center and Hotline for agunot; a women’s “hesder” program enabling observant women to serve in the Israel Defense Forces; the first and only program enabling young men and women with developmental disabilities to spend a year in Israel; seven high schools and a program designed to expose secular Israelis to the beauty and relevance of their Jewish culture and heritage.