15 Facts About Noah Weinberg

Yisrael Noah Weinberg was an Orthodox rabbi and the founder of Aish HaTorah.

Noah Weinberg was born on the Lower East Side of New York City.

Noah Weinberg's father, Yitzchak Mattisyahu Weinberg was a Slonimer Hasid, and a grandson of the first Slonimer Rebbe, Avrohom Weinberg.

Noah Weinberg's mother, Hinda, was a direct descendant of Jacob ben Jacob Moses of Lissa.

Noah Weinberg completed his undergraduate studies at Johns Hopkins University and his post-graduate studies at Loyola Graduate School.

In 1953, Noah Weinberg traveled to Israel to consult with the Chazon Ish regarding the response needed to counter the threat of assimilation in the Jewish world.

However, the Chazon Ish died while Noah Weinberg was en route to Israel.

In 1966, Noah Weinberg decided to enter the field of kiruv, and he opened the first yeshiva in this style for Jewish men in Jerusalem.

Noah Weinberg established Aish HaTorah with five students in a small apartment in Jerusalem's Old City in 1974.

In 1985, Noah Weinberg launched the Discovery Seminar, a multi-day seminar designed to introduce proofs of God's existence to audiences all over the world.

That same year, Noah Weinberg launched the Jerusalem Fellowships, which brought college age Jewish people to Israel.

In 2001, Noah Weinberg founded the Hasbara Fellowships program to bring university students to Israel for an intensive two-week Israel activism training course.

Noah Weinberg married Denah Goldman, and established their first home in the Mea Shearim neighborhood of Jerusalem.

Noah Weinberg was survived by his wife Denah, twelve children and more than 100 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Noah Weinberg created new curricula to teach the fundamentals of Jewish belief and practice to Jews.