Yaacov Benamou
Yaacov Benamou | |
|---|---|
| Personal life | |
| Born | |
| Occupation | Rabbi, educator, outreach director |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Judaism |
| Denomination | Orthodox Judaism |
| Jewish leader | |
| Position | Founder and director |
| Organisation | Jewish Rockville Outreach Center (JewishROC) |
| Began | 2006 |
| Other | Senior Rabbi, Herzlia-Adas Yeshurun Synagogue Founding Principal, Ohr HaTorah Day School |
Rabbi Yaacov Benamou is a Moroccan-born Orthodox rabbi who founded the Jewish Rockville Outreach Center, commonly known as JewishROC, in Rockville, Maryland, in 2006.[1]
Early life and Israel
Benamou was born in Morocco.[2] He lived primarily in Netivot, Israel from age 14 to age 28 and served as a soldier in the Israel Defense Forces during the 1982 Lebanon War.[3] According to an interview published in The Jewish Vues, Benamou studied under the Baba Sali at the age of 15 before later emigrating from Israel.[4]
Rabbinical career
Before founding JewishROC, Benamou served as senior rabbi of Herzlia-Adas Yeshurun Synagogue in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.[5] In 1998, he became the founding principal of Ohr HaTorah Day School, an Orthodox Jewish day school in Winnipeg's River Heights neighbourhood. The school was hosted by Herzlia-Adas Yeshurun Synagogue.[6] Benamou served as principal from 1998 to 2003.[7]
In 2006, Benamou established JewishROC as an Orthodox outreach and adult education center in Rockville, Maryland.[8] The organization describes its model as a hybrid of a congregational synagogue and an adult education center, with classes, services, Shabbat meals, holiday programs, and outreach programming for Jews from varied religious backgrounds.[9]
In 2025, Washington Jewish Week reported that Benamou taught more than 10,000 students annually through JewishROC, including participants attending remotely.[10]
Public activity
Benamou was interviewed by Israel National News at the 2012 AIPAC Policy Conference.[11] In 2019, he spoke at SHIN DC's fifth annual Mimouna festival at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, where he discussed the meaning of the Moroccan Jewish post-Passover festival.[12]
Teaching style
Benamou's teaching has been described as combining theoretical learning with practical observance in a community setting.[13] Rabbi Barak Bader, later an assistant rabbi at JewishROC, described learning with Benamou several nights a week and wrote that Benamou connected Torah texts with history, science, archaeology, Jewish law, Midrash, Mussar, and Kabbalistic traditions in his classes.[14]
References
- ↑ "Who We Are". JewishROC. Retrieved 21 June 2026.Bell, Zoe (30 September 2025). "JewishROC Infuses Meaning Into High Holidays Through Education". Washington Jewish Week. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
- ↑ Mimouna at the Smithsonian - SHIN DC's 5th Annual Festival of Good Neighbors. SHIN DC Sephardic Heritage International DC. 19 June 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
- ↑ Hamelin, Braden (25 October 2023). "Educational Classes Finding New Importance at JewishROC". Washington Jewish Week. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
- ↑ "The Extraordinary Journey of Jacob Lunon". The Jewish Vues. 25 November 2025. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
- ↑ "Ohr HaTorah Day School". Wikipedia. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
- ↑ "Ohr HaTorah Day School". Wikipedia. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
- ↑ "Ohr HaTorah Day School". Wikipedia. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
- ↑ "Who We Are". JewishROC. Retrieved 21 June 2026.Bell, Zoe (30 September 2025). "JewishROC Infuses Meaning Into High Holidays Through Education". Washington Jewish Week. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
- ↑ "Margolius Grant Application" (PDF). Jewish Rockville Outreach Center. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
- ↑ Bell, Zoe (30 September 2025). "JewishROC Infuses Meaning Into High Holidays Through Education". Washington Jewish Week. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
- ↑ Interview: AIPAC Conf. participant Rabbi Yaacov Benamou. Israel National News – Arutz Sheva. 5 March 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
- ↑ Mimouna at the Smithsonian - SHIN DC's 5th Annual Festival of Good Neighbors. SHIN DC Sephardic Heritage International DC. 19 June 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
- ↑ "Who We Are". JewishROC. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
- ↑ Bader, Brock "Barak" Heller. "Artifacts on Jewish Content". Rabbi Bader. Retrieved 21 June 2026.