Rav Yitzchak Etshalom was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He attended Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavne, Rabbi Isaac Elhanan Theological Seminary and Yeshivat Har Etzion before receiving Semicha from the Chief Rabbi of Yerushalayim, Rabbi Itzhak Kolitz.
Rav Etshalom has been a dynamic and exciting educator in the Los Angeles community since his return in 1985. His ability to reach out to today's youth and share with them his passion for Jewish learning and Jewish life has enriched many young lives. He launched the Beit Midrash program at YULA Girls High School as well as opening the Beit Midrash at Shalhevet, where he currently serves as Rosh Beit Midrash. Rav Etshalom directs the Tanach Masters Program at YULA Boys’ High School as well as being as a sought-after Scholar in Residence throughout the country and in Israel.
He lectures annually at the prestigious “Ymei Iyyun” Tanakh Seminar at Herzog College. In addition, he teaches Daf Yomi and a popular Navi series at the Young Israel of Century City and his podcasts on Daf Yomi (http://www.dafyomiyicc.org/) have attracted an international following, as have his Tanakh podcasts, many of which are available at https://www.ou.org/, http://www.yutorah.org/, as well as on Spotify, iTunes and other popular podcast platforms. His critically acclaimed series “Between the Lines of the Bible” is a methodological guide to the study of Tanakh. He currently writes a weekly lecture for Yeshivat Har Etzion's Virtual Beit Midrash on the books of Amos and Hoshea and his book on Amos will be published as part of the Koren Maggid Studies in Tanakh.
Rabbi Etshalom lives in Los Angeles with his wife Stefanie, also a dynamic educator and their five children live in Alon Shevut, Washington Heights and Los Angeles.