Shmuly Yanklowitz (born 1981) is an Orthodox rabbi. In March 2012 and March 2013, Newsweek<ref>{ { Cite news|url=http://www.jpost.com/Jewish-World/Jewish-News/Wolpe-heads-Newsweeks-list-of-50-top-rabbis|title=Wolpe heads 'Newsweeks list of 50 top rabbis|newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |access-date=2016-10-20}}</ref> and The Daily Beast listed Yanklowitz as one of the 50 most influential rabbis in America.
Educational and professional background
Yanklowitz was ordained as an Orthodox rabbi at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, received a second rabbinic ordination from Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, the chief rabbi of Efrat, and a third rabbinic ordination from Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo of Jerusalem. He earned a master's degree at Harvard University in Leadership and Psychology and a second master's degree in Jewish Philosophy at Yeshiva University. Yanklowitz earned a doctorate from Columbia University in Epistemology and Moral Development and has taught seminars at UCLA Law School and Barnard College.
Yanklowitz worked in corporate and non-profit consulting and was the director of Panim JAM in Washington D.C., training others in leadership and advocacy. While in rabbinical school, Yanklowitz served at four different Orthodox congregations. Following his ordination, Yanklowitz served as Senior Jewish Educator and Director of Jewish Life at UCLA Hillel from 2010 to 2012. Yanklowitz has served as a delegate to the World Economic Forum. From August 2012 to May 2013, Yanklowitz served as senior rabbi of Kehilath Israel Synagogue in Overland Park, Kansas. In July 2013, he became executive director, then later president and dean, of Valley Beit Midrash in Phoenix, Arizona. Yanklowitz expanded VBM from local to national including setting up a new hub in Denver, Colorado. With VBM,Yanklowitz has promoted religious pluralism.
Activism
Yanklowitz is the founder of multiple nonprofit organizations that engage in activism:
He founded Uri L'Tzedek, an Orthodox social justice organization. In May 2009, Yanklowitz and the Uri L'Tzedek team launched the Tav HaYosher, an ethical seal for kosher restaurants which has certified hundreds of restaurants around North America. Yanklowitz has promoted deeper Orthodox commitment to universalistic causes and involvement in service-learning missions. He founded SHAMAYIM: Jewish Animal Welfare (previously known as The Shamayim V'Aretz Institute), an animal welfare spiritual activist center. He founded YATOM: The Jewish Foster & Adoption Network. He founded Torat Chayim, a "progressive-minded" Orthodox rabbinic association. In 2012, Yanklowitz co-founded "Jews for Human Rights in Syria" and has worked closely with Syrian refugees including hosting new refugee families annually at his home for Thanksgiving. Yanklowitz founded and leads the Jewish social justice group Arizona Jews for Justice.
Yanklowitz has advocated for a regulated organ market, cadaveric organ donation, as well as for living kidney donation. Yanklowitz is a kidney donor.
Phoenix mayor Greg Stanton appointed Yanklowitz to be a commissioner on the Phoenix Human Relations Commission. Yanklowitz has organized the Jewish community for the abolition of the death penalty, and he has joined up with Evangelicals and Baptists to collaborate on eradicating the death penalty. Yanklowitz is a leading advocate for increased Jewish-Muslim dialogue. Yanklowitz's organization YATOM provides "educational programs and provides small grants" to families in the adoption/fostering process. Yanklowitz engages in outreach efforts to the homeless and advocates for their defense from harassment. Yanklowitz and the Arizona Jews for Justice team launched a mobile cooling van, with the support of the City of Phoenix, to give relief to the homeless during extreme heat. Yanklowitz and the Arizona Jews for Justice team added the "Let's be Better Humans" humanitarian bus to their outreach approach. Yanklowitz has worked to support people recovering from addiction.
