Larry Yudelson (born June 23, 1964), also known by his pen name Reb Yudel, is editorial director and owner of Ben Yehuda Press, a specialty publisher of cutting edge Jewish works, such as Loving the Real Israel: An Educational Agenda for Liberal Zionism, by Alex Sinclair; Wrestling Jacob: Deception, Identity, and Freudian Slips in Genesis, by Shmuel Klitsner; Channah's Voice: A Rabbi Struggles With Gender, Commandment, and the Women's Mitzvot of Baking, Bathing, and Brightening, by Haviva Ner-David; Esau's Blessing: How the Bible Embraces Those With Special Needs, by Ora Horn Prouser; and The Essential Writings of Abraham Isaac Kook, edited, translated, and introduced by Ben Zion Bokser. In his choice of works for publication, Yudelson displays a keen awareness of lacunas in the current Jewish intellectual, religious, societal milieu, which he astutely fills with the very voices that meet myriad current needs.
Yudelson is not only a conduit for the penned vision of others. He is also an award-winning independent journalist and writer of political and social commentary--both in his own blogs and other online forums, as well as in Jewish newspapers and periodicals--whose idealistic fervor and societal concern pair with his priceless wit and gifted plume, both to delight readers as well as to bring them to introspective pondering.
Yudelson’s pen name derives from a Hebrew novel published in 1932, Haknasat Kala (The Bridal Canopy), by Shmuel Yosef Agnon. Agnon's novel describes the fictional wanderings of Reb Yudel through the Jewish villages of Galicia at the beginning of the 19th century, in search of a bridegroom and a dowry for his daughter. A modern critic described the fictional Reb Yudel as "naively pious."[1] Others have characterized Agnon's protagonist as a Jewish archetype of Don Quixote.[2]
Yudelson is a graduate of Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim and Yeshiva University. Within the Orthodox educational world, Chofetz Chaim Yeshiva is noteworthy for its emphasis on analytical thinking and musar (moral discipline). Its namesake, a rabbi known as the Chofetz Chaim, was famed for his commentary on avoiding lashon hara (Hebrew, hurtful, libelous, or slanderous speech). Graduates of Chofetz Chaim Yeshiva are encouraged to found their own Jewish schools.
- ^ Fisch, Harold (Autumn 1970). "The Dreaming Narrator in S. Y. Agnon". Novel: A Forum on Fiction. 4 (1). Duke University Press: 49–68. doi:10.2307/1345251. JSTOR 1345251.
- ^ "Shmuel (Yosef) Agnon (1888-1970) - pseudonym of Shmuel Yosef Halevi Czaczkes".