Akiva Tatz
{{short description|South African Orthodox rabbi}}
{{Use South African English|date=August 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2015}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Akiva Tatz
| image = AkivaTatzPassaic.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Tatz (left) answering questions after a presentation in Passaic, New Jersey
| birth_name =
| birth_date =
| birth_place = Johannesburg, South Africa
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality = South African
| other_names =
| education = University of the Witwatersrand,
Washington University School of Medicine
| occupation = Orthodox rabbi, Medical practice
| years_active =
| known_for = Orthodox Jewish outreach
| notable_works = founder and director of the Jerusalem Medical Ethics Forum
}}
Akiva Tatz is a prominent South African Orthodox rabbi, inspirational speaker and writer who is heavily involved in Orthodox Jewish outreach. He is also a doctor and world-renowned expert in Jewish medical ethics.{{Cite web |url=http://communitypress.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080702/NEWS05/807020332 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213224441/http://communitypress.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20080702%2FNEWS05%2F807020332 |url-status=dead |date=2008-07-02 |archive-date=13 February 2012 |access-date=2020-06-01 |title=Cincinnati Communities {{!}} The Enquirer {{!}} cincinnati.com |website=Cincinnati.com |language=en }}{{Better source|reason=Archived article is incomplete, access is behind a paywall.|date=June 2020}}
Biography
Rabbi Dr. Akiva Tatz was born in Johannesburg, South Africa.{{Cite news|url=http://www.jle.org.uk/showperson.php?id=1|title=Rabbi Dr. Akiva Tatz|access-date=2018-01-29}}Gideon Shimoni, Community and Conscience: The Jews in Apartheid South Africa, UPNE 2003, {{ISBN|1-58465-329-9}} page 236. He graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand Medical School, graduating with distinction in surgery. He then spent a year in St. Louis, Missouri as an American Field Service Scholar and subsequently returned there for elective work in internal medicine at Washington University School of Medicine.{{Cite web|url=http://www.jmec.ch/speakers.html|title=4th International Conference on Jewish Medical Ethics|website=www.jmec.ch|access-date=2018-01-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080317193211/http://www.jmec.ch/speakers.html|archive-date=17 March 2008|url-status=dead}} He then served as a medical officer in the South African Defence Force and served in the Angolan Bush War.{{Cite web|url=http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0906/tatz_beginnings.php3|title=Dynamic beginnings, Dynamic Lives by Rabbi Akiva Tatz|website=www.jewishworldreview.com|access-date=2018-01-29|archive-date=24 October 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061024152107/http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0906/tatz_beginnings.php3|url-status=dead}} After practicing in both South Africa and the United States, he moved to Israel, and worked both in private practice as well as in a hospital setting in Jerusalem.
Not raised as an observant Jew, Tatz discovered Orthodox Judaism in adulthood and became a baal teshuva. He is currently on staff at the Jewish Learning Exchange and Ohr Somayach,{{Cite news|url=http://ohr.edu/web/tatzny.htm|title=Rabbi Dr. Akiva Tatz - September 9 2009, New York|work=Ohr Somayach|access-date=2018-01-29}} and in the past has been a guest lecturer at Gateways.{{Cite web |url=http://www.gatewaysonline.com/guests.asp |title=Gateways - Guest Lecturers |access-date=1 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080822083645/http://www.gatewaysonline.com/guests.asp |archive-date=22 August 2008 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }} Rabbi Tatz gives lectures to Jewish student groups and organisations across the UK, including an annual medical ethics lecture at University College London hosted by both the Jewish Society and Medical Ethics Society. He is also a regular lecturer on the Jewish Learning Exchange Genesis leadership programme. He has become a recognized expert in matters of Jewish thought and philosophy, which he covers in his authored texts. Zoketsu Norman Fischer, former abbot of the San Francisco Zen Center and founder of and teacher at the Everyday Zen Foundation, describes Tatz's work, Letters to a Buddhist Jew, as "a fascinating book - the most serious contribution in this field to date."{{Citation needed | reason=Original article cited was not archived, inaccessible. |date=June 2020}}
Tatz is both the founder and director of the Jerusalem Medical Ethics Forum, whose purpose is to promote knowledge of Jewish medical ethics internationally, giving lectures worldwide[http://www.jmec.ch/main-program.html First International Conference on Jewish Medical Ethics] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080317194623/http://www.jmec.ch/main-program.html |date=17 March 2008 }} in Jewish thought and medical ethics, as well as on modern applications in medicine.[http://lists.med.nyu.edu/pipermail/som-jsa/2007-April/000056.html Guest Speaker at NYU Medical Center, 3 May 2007]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} He is also involved with the Jerusalem Center for Research in Medicine and Halacha, often speaking at its annual European events.{{Cite web|url=http://www.j-c-r.org/programs.html|title=Jerusalem Center for Research - Medicine and Halacha|website=www.j-c-r.org|access-date=2018-01-29}}
He resides in London, England.
Works
Tatz's works have been translated into Spanish, French and Portuguese and Russian:{{Cite web|url=http://www.judaism.com/bio.asp?author=Akiva%20Tatz|title=Find Jewish Holy Books For Any Holiday or Occasion {{!}} Judaica.com|website=www.judaism.com|language=en|access-date=2018-01-29}}
- Anatomy of a Search (ArtScroll, 1987)
- Living Inspired (Targum Press, 1993)
- Worldmask (Targum Press, 1995)
- The Thinking Jewish Teenager's Guide to Life (Targum Press, 1999)
- Letters to a Buddhist Jew (Targum Press, 2004)
- Dangerous Disease and Dangerous Therapy in Jewish Medical Ethics (Targum Press, 2010)
- Will, Freedom, and Destiny (Targum Press, 2014)
- As Dawn Ends The Night (Targum Press, 2018)
References
{{Reflist|3}}
External links
- [https://akivatatz.com/about/ Biography at Rabbi Tatz's site]
- [https://archive.today/20130127093432/http://www.jewish-e-books.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=akiva+tatz Books by Rabbi Tatz]
- [http://www.simpletoremember.com/audio/Rabbi_Akiva_Tatz.html Lectures and Articles by Rabbi Tatz]
- [http://torahmedia.com/author/Rabbi_Dr._Akiva~Tatz.html Inspirational lectures by Rabbi Tatz]
- [http://torahdownloads.com/s-9-rabbi-akiva-tatz.html Downloadable MP3 shiurim (Jewish classes) given by Rabbi Tatz]
{{Ohr Somayach}}
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Category:Clergy from Johannesburg
Category:British Orthodox rabbis
Category:South African Orthodox rabbis
Category:South African expatriates in the United Kingdom
Category:South African military personnel of the Border War
Category:Rabbis of Ohr Somayach
Category:University of the Witwatersrand alumni
Category:English Orthodox rabbis
Category:White South African people
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:Washington University School of Medicine alumni
Category:Alumni of King David Schools, Johannesburg