Rabbinic Leadership Training and Publication of Rabbi Yosef Gateno’s Writings

Vision

My vision is to connect as many Jews as possible to a Torah that speaks to life—shared with clarity, warmth, and deep sensitivity to others. I strive to highlight the common ground among diverse communities of Am Yisrael, fostering unity and love both among people and between Israel and their Father in Heaven. I hope to serve in a rabbinic role that allows me to become a bridge within Israel and beyond.

Activity

Rabbi Gateno is grateful to receive the Foundation’s support for two significant endeavors. The first is assistance in completing his studies toward certification as a city rabbi. This advanced level of rabbinic ordination will enable him to assume a meaningful rabbinic position, through which he can fully realize his vision of connecting Jews to Torah in a way that is accessible, compassionate, and unifying. With this support, he will be able to dedicate himself to the responsibilities of communal leadership, helping to nurture spiritual growth, foster dialogue between diverse communities, and serve as a bridge within Israel and beyond. The second purpose of the Foundation’s support is to bring to light the Torah scholarship of his late father, Rabbi Yosef Gateno. Rabbi Yosef was a distinguished and deeply learned Torah scholar who left behind a wealth of handwritten manuscripts. These include responsa on matters of Jewish law, halakhic rulings, sermons on the weekly Torah portions, reflections on the Jewish festivals, and other writings of lasting significance. By publishing these works, Rabbi Gateno hopes to honor his father’s memory, preserve his profound contributions to Jewish thought, and make this treasure of halakhic insight accessible to scholars, rabbis, and the wider Jewish community.

you shall make the name of Heaven beloved. How should one do so? One should do so in that he should read Torah, and learn Mishna, and serve Torah scholars, and he should be pleasant with people... What do people say about such a person? Fortunate is his father who taught him Torah, fortunate is his teacher who taught him Torah... see how pleasant are his ways, how proper are his deeds. The verse states about him and others like him: You are My servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified

- Talmud Bavli Yoma 86a

Rabbi Eliyahu Gateno

Rabbi Eliyahu Gateno, 38, lives in Carmei Tzur, Gush Etzion, with his wife and four children. He studied at Yeshivat Mekor Chaim, Yeshivat Or L’Tzion, Yeshivat Tiferet Shraga, and Yeshivat Tekoa. He later pursued advanced rabbinic studies at the “Or Shlomo” Kollel in Hebron and at Yeshivat Or Hevron in Kiryat Arba, and served in the Military Rabbinate’s Institute for Halakha.

His professional experience includes assisting the Chabad community in Swampscott, Massachusetts, serving as a Jewish community emissary in Luxembourg, and completing a three-year mission in Montreal as head of the Torah MiTzion Kollel, which concluded three years ago. He also worked on the writing and editing team of the Steinsaltz Institute, contributing to major projects under the guidance of Rabbi Adin Even-Israel (Steinsaltz). In the past, he served as head of the Rabbinic Ordination Kollel at Yeshivat Machanayim in Migdal Oz.

Today, he studies for advanced rabbinic ordination at the Yad HaRav Nissim Institute in Jerusalem, serves on the staff of Ohr Torah Stone’s Amiel Institute for Training Jewish Emissaries, directs its Ma’arava Program, and delivers lectures to youth and adults in diverse settings in Israel and abroad.