Reb Ohad had created havens dedicated to deep spiritual work and yet open and liberal. Havens that will hold space for individuals, no matter who they are - Jews and non-Jews, men or women, straits or gays, or what ever - to be who they are, develop, dive deep into them selves, connect with the wilderness of nature and share life, love and wisdom.

Reb Ohad was born in 1965 in Israel, to a family that came to the land of Israel more then 200 years ago with camels from Algeria - the Abu family of old Tzefat. Though it was a family of kabalists and social activists he grew up in a non-religious family and joined the left-wing youth-movement Hashomer-Hatsair. At the age of 14 he left home and went to learn environmental studies at the environmental school of Sde-Boker in the Negev desert. There his heart was opened to seek spirituality by the spirit of the desert. Buddhism, Zen and Daoism were seen as his spiritual paths those days, where most of what he did was reading Eastern religious books and meditating alone in the desert. It was Martin Buber’s books and rabbi Nachman of Breslov writings that had called him to seek truth in his Jewish roots. 18 years old he joined an ultra-orthodox Yeshiva in Jerusalem and shortly after became a Hassid of Belze, when the Belzer Rebbe took him under his wings and became his personal mentor.

Ohad studied Torah, Mishna, Talmud and Halacha and was sent by the Belzer Rebbe to learn Kabala in the old Kabalist Yeshiva of Jerusalem “Sha’ar HaShamayim”. Shortly after he began to teach Torah in several places in the ultra-orthodox world. He became a student of R. I. Ginsburg of Habad, and after a while was taken as his editor. Together with other 7 families of R. Ginsburg’s disciples Ohad and Ruth his wife established the settlement of Bat-Ayyin in the Judean Hills at 1989. The settlement spirit went towards the right when the Ezrahi family spirit went more and more to the left. Ohad was working as a computer graphic and animation person and went to study Kabala, philosophy and religion in the Hebrew University, not in order to get a degree but in order to learn more and understand the non-traditional and the academic way of studying Kabala and mystisism.

The family adopted two girls - Inbal (then 5 years old) and Tama (then 3 years old) and in 95 was also blessed with the birth of their son Yehoo.

Ohad was teaching in orthodox yeshivot (study places) of the Religious Zionist world until his ideas of openness and experimenting made it too hard for him to continue work there. In 2000 He had got an invitation to be a fellow in the Rockefeller Fellowship - Science, Gender & the Sacred - at the University of Oregon, Eugene, where he was working on his research on Eco-Feminism in Kabala and developing his vision of Hamakom. When he came back from those 4 month period in Oregon he had a generous donation that was given to him by Mr. Alan Slifka via the Slifka Family Foundation to start up a pilot plan for Hamakom. Ohad was ordained as a Rabbi and spiritual leader by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi.

He is the author of “Worlds of Doubt” (1994), a commentary on the book of Job and a kabalistic discussion on certainty and uncertainty in the religious experience. “Two are the Cherubs” (in “the Old shall be renewed and the New shall be sanctified” Ezrahi & Hayutman 1997) an article that explores the sacred-erotic concept of the holy temple in Jerusalem, based on the Talmud, Midrash and Kabala and deals in depth with the ancient Hebraic mystisism of the Chambers (Heikalot & Mercava) and it’s connection to the Song of Songs and sacred sexuality. “The BresLove Cards” is a newer project of his: interpreting the mysteries stories of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov in s spiritual-psychological way and creating a set of cards that is based on archetypes from those stories and can be used for readings. the basic deck of cards had been printed in 2003 together with the inner commentary on Reb Nachman’s story “The Master of Prayer” called “Paths of Empowerment”

A book about Lilith in Lurianic Kabala, coauthored with Reb Mordechai Gafni, is about to be printed soon, in Hebrew and English. an other book, co-authored with Dr. Micha Ankori - a depth psychologist - about mythos and Judaism - is about to be printed soon as well. for several years Ohad is writing many articles in new mystical Jewish though in the magazine Hayim-Aherim.

Recent Articles by Rabbi Ohad Ezrahi

• Pour out thy Love upon the Nations - March 20th, 2007
• Rabbi Ohad Ezrahi - February 4th, 2005

Categories: rhr profile
Tags: Bo, human rights, ISM, Omer, order, palestinians, settlers, truth