Rabbi Aryeh (Robert) Klapper

10 Allen Court

Somerville, MA 02143

(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 Maimonides High School, and as a member of the Rabbinic Court of Boston.  In his decade of service at Harvard Hillel, his innovative teaching and personal warmth have attracted a broad range of students to his classes and home.  In the words of Harvard Hillel Executive Director Dr. Bernard Steinberg, he is “provocative and evocative’. 

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)

Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies (BRGS) - MA in Bible 1989

BRGS - PhD. Coursework in Talmud, 1990-94

Yeshiva College (YC), 1984-89 (BA in Political Science)

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 Araten Award for Excellence in Bible (YC), 1988

Isaac Bacon Award for Excellence in Humanities (YC), 1988

Academy of American Poets Award (YC), 1988

 

Sample Publications and Academic Papers

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.