Menachem Friedman
Menachem Friedman (; born 1936 – 16 March 2020) was an Israeli Emeritus Professor of sociology at Bar Ilan University, Ramat-Gan. His expertise was religion and the confrontations between religious and secular Judaism in modern history. He also studied the modern process of Halachic decision making. Friedman was considered one of the leading researchers of Haredi Judaism. Biography. Before entering the academic world, Menachem Friedman was a student at Yishuv Hehadash yeshiva in Tel Aviv. Academic career. Friedman's interest in the Lubavicher rebbe led to the publication of a book co-authored with Samuel Heilman: "The Rebbe: The  Life and Afterlife of Menachem Mendel Schneerson". Many of their conclusions, as well as their methodology and research, were criticized by Chaim Rapoport - - in "The Afterlife of Scholarship – A Critical Review of 'The Rebbe' by Samuel Heilman and Menachem Friedman". Friedman was also criticised for not disclosing that he had served as an expert witness against the rebbe in a lawsuit involving ownership of the Chabad library, which invited suspicion of bias. , whereas Rapaport is a rabbi closely associated with the Lubavicher sect.