Kopul Rosen - Biography

Rabbi Dr. Yaacov Kopul Rosen was born in London in 1913. He trained for the rabbinate in Etz Chaim Yeshiva in London, and in Mir Yeshiva in Lithuania. He was the rabbi of the Higher Crumpsall Synagogue in Manchester from 1938 until 1942. He became the Communal Rabbi of Glasgow in 1942 and in 1944 he was appointed the Principal Rabbi of the Federation of Synagogues in London.

In 1948, Kopul Rosen decided to leave the rabbinate to devote himself to the promotion of Jewish education. He and his wife, Bella, founded Carmel College.

Rabbi Dr. Jeremy Rosen, Kopul Rosen's firstborn, writes of his father:

Kopul Rosen was in the process of setting up a Carmel College in Israel, when he was diagnosed with leukemia. He died of the illness in early 1962, at the age of 48, leaving behind his wife, three sons, and a baby daughter (Angela Fay (Ayelet) Gillis (née Rosen), born January 1959).

In 1979, Rabbi Rosen's second son, Rabbi Dr. Michael (Mickey) Rosen, founded the Jewish educational organization, Yakar, in memory of his father. (YaKaR is an acronym for Yaacov Kopul Rosen.) The stated goal of Yakar is to continue Kopul Rosen's ideals "of a Judaism based on knowledge of Torah, learning and vibrant spirituality that would at the same time be universal, non-denominational, tolerant and open to ideas and intellectual curiosity."

The first Yakar center was founded in Stanmore and moved to Hendon in North-West London. Michael Rosen and his wife, Gilla, later established the main center in Jerusalem, with another branch recently created in Tel Aviv. Rabbi Michael Rosen died on December 8, 2008 in Jerusalem.

Kopul Rosen's youngest son, Rabbi David Rosen, former Chief Rabbi of Ireland and Rabbi of the largest Jewish congregation in South Africa, lives in Jerusalem and is currently President of the International Jewish Committee that represents World Jewry to other world religions and is International Director of Interreligious Affairs of the American Jewish Committee.

Works by Kopul Rosen

• Dear David
• Rabbi Israel Salanter and the Musar movement
• The future of the Federation of Synagogues
• An open letter to a perplexed parent

External links

• Carmel College
• Seven Years at Carmel College
• Yakar
• Yakar-UK
• Rabbi Jeremy Rosen
• Rabbi David Rosen