Rabbi Yerachmiel D. Fried, the founder and leader of our organization, has been with DATA for 30 years. In 1992, a committee was formed to establish a rabbinical training program in Dallas, which would bring young scholars to Dallas to receive their post-graduate rabbinical degrees as well as provide Torah educational opportunities for the broader community. Rabbi Fried was selected from among thousands of potential candidates to relocate from Jerusalem to Dallas to spearhead this new organization, the Dallas Area Torah Association (DATA).
Rabbi Fried has lived in Dallas for the past thirty years, where he raised eleven children, who are now living all over the world. He and his wife, Rebbetzin Marcy Fried, an incredible leader in women’s Jewish and professional programs, live just down the street from DATA.
Rabbi Fried received his rabbinical ordination and training from leading institutions in Israel, most prominently from the noted Torah leader of our generation, Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, ob”m. In addition to heading the post-graduate rabbinical studies, Rabbi Fried is also the Rav of Mikvah Israel of Dallas and leads the Dallas Conversion Court. Nationally, he oversees the rabbinical ordination program for the Orthodox Union, guiding the studies of NCSY youth directors in cities throughout North and South America.
Rabbi Fried has written a weekly column published in the Texas Jewish, titled Ask the Rabbi, since his arrival in Dallas thirty years ago. He has written six Judaic texts, which are studied by other well-known rabbis worldwide.
Rabbi Fried is a Torah giant of our generation; a global resource of encyclopedic knowledge on a vast array of contemporary issues, and truly a leader among leaders.
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