Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook
Who directed or managed Mercaz HaRav from 1924 to 1925?
Mercaz HaRav Mercaz HaRav ( officially , , The Center of Rabbi [ Kook ] - the Central Universal Yeshiva ) is a national-religious yeshiva in Jerusalem , founded in 1924 by Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook . Located in the citys Kiryat Moshe neighborhood , it has become the most prominent religious-Zionist yeshiva in the world and synonymous with Rabbi Kooks teachings . Many Religious Zionist educators and leaders have studied at Mercaz HaRav . Name . The yeshiva’s official name is The Central Universal Yeshiva , indicating its role in Kook’s vision for the spiritual revitalization of the Jewish people . Kook , however , lacked the financial backing necessary to establish a full-fledged academic institution . He initiated its modest beginning as a small collection ( or center , Mercaz ) of scholars associated with HaRav - the chief rabbi of Eretz Yisrael . The name Mercaz HaRav remained , despite the yeshiva’s transformation over the years into one of Israels largest and most influential yeshivot . History . Mercaz HaRav was founded in 1924 by Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook , the chief Ashkenazi rabbi during the British Mandate . It was housed in Beit HaRav , built by the noted American philanthropist Harry Fischel . Rabbi Kooks vision was to create a new yeshiva curriculum , integrating traditional Talmudic studies with Jewish philosophy , Bible , Jewish history , geography , and literature . The last three subjects , however , were never taught there . In 1925 , Rabbi Kook invited the great European scholar ( 1867–1925 ) to serve as rosh yeshiva . Tragically , Rabbi Borstein died suddenly at age 58 , nine months after taking up his duties . Kook died in 1935 , and his student , Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Charlap , succeeded him as rosh yeshiva . After Charlaps death in 1951 , Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook , Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kooks son , took up his fathers position . In 1982 , after Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook died , Rabbi Avraham Shapira took the position and led the institution until his death in 2007 . His son Rabbi Yaakov Shapira is his successor . In its first decades , the yeshiva had few students ; at times it was not clear whether it would survive . The turning point came in the 50s , when graduates of Bnei Akiva religious schools and high-school yeshivas seeking higher religious education flocked to Mercaz Harav , the only Zionist yeshiva . Bnei Akiva leader Rabbi Moshe Zvi Neria , a disciple of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook , encouraged students to go to Mercaz Harav , then headed by Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook . In 1997 , Rabbi Zvi Thau strongly opposed the introduction of an academic framework - plans to integrate a teaching institute - into Mercaz HaRav . As a result of the disagreement , he , together with six senior lecturers and many students , left the yeshiva and established the Har Hamor yeshiva . Today , the yeshiva has about 500 students , including 200 students in the yeshivas kollel ( post-graduate division ) . Roshei Yeshiva . - Abraham Isaac Kook , ( 1924-1935 ) - , ( 1925 ) - Yaakov Moshe Charlap , ( 1935-1951 ) - Natan Raanan , ( lecturer and administrator ) ( 1935-1972 ) - Tzvi Yehuda Kook , ( 1951-1982 ) - Shaul Yisraeli , ( 1982-1995 ) - Avraham Shapira , ( 1982-2007 ) - Yaakov Shapira , ( 2007 to present ) Mercaz HaRav massacre . On the night of March 6 , 2008 , an Arab from Jabel Mukaber in East Jerusalem , entered the yeshiva with a gun and began firing indiscriminately , killing eight students and wounding 15 others . The terrorists bloody rampage ended with the arrival of Yitzhak Dadon , a part-time student of the yeshiva , and David Shapira , an officer in the Israel Defense Forces , who shot him to death . Notable alumni . The list includes a number of Knesset members , rabbis , and community leaders . - Roni Alsheikh , head of the Israel Police - Rabbi Yaakov Ariel , Chief Rabbi of Ramat Gan - Rabbi Shlomo Aviner , Rosh Yeshiva of Ateret Yerushalayim yeshiva , rabbi of Bet El - Rabbi David Bar-Hayim - Michael Ben-Ari , Knesset member - Yoel Bin-Nun , one of the founders of Yeshivat Har Etzion - Ezriel Carlebach , founder of the Maariv newspaper - Rabbi Oury Amos Cherki , lecturer and author - Rabbi Zephaniah Drori , Chief Rabbi of Kiryat Shmona - Rabbi Haim Druckman , former Knesset member , Rosh Yeshiva of Ohr Etzion Yeshiva - Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu , Chief Rabbi of Safed - Rabbi Menachem Froman , founding member of Gush Emunim and former rabbi of Tekoa - Daniel Hershkowitz ( born 1953 ) , politician , mathematician , rabbi , and president of Bar-Ilan University - Hillel Kook , Knesset member - Rabbi Dov Lior , former Chief Rabbi of Hebron and Kiryat Arba - Moshe Levinger , founder of post-1967 Hebron Jewish community - Rabbi Eliezer Melamed , rabbi of Har Bracha - Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed , Rosh Yeshiva of Beit El yeshiva - Rabbi Moshe-Zvi Neria , educator , former Knesset member , Rosh Yeshiva of yeshiva in Kfar Haroeh - Hanan Porat , educator and Knesset member - David Raziel , commander of the Irgun - Rabbi Haim Sabato , Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Birkat Moshe and author - Rabbi David Samson , educator - Rabbi Yitzchak Sheilat , Rosh Yeshiva at Yeshivat Birkat Moshe and Maimonides scholar - Rabbi Zvi Thau , co-founder and president of Yeshivat Har Hamor - Michel Warschawski ( aka Mikado ) , left-wing activist and author ; co-founder of the Alternative Information Center - Rabbi Shaul Yisraeli , rabbi of Kfar Haroeh , Rosh Yeshiva at Mercaz HaRav , President of the Eretz Hemdah Institute External links . - Official website - Official website