Rabbi Shlomo Riskin graduated valedictorian summa cum laude from Yeshiva University in 1960. He majored in Greek, Latin, and English literatures.

He is the founding Rabbi of Lincoln Square Synagogue in Manhattan. He pioneered the first women’s advanced Talmud study program and the first synagogue service conducted for women, by women in the early 1970’s.

In 1983, he left his thriving career in Manhattan to re-establish the biblical town of Efrat, just outside of Bethlehem. Upon arrival in Israel, Rabbi Riskin founded a boys High School in Efrat. The first of what would eventually become Ohr Torah Stone, a network of ground breaking educational institutions, women’s empowerment programs, innovative leadership training, bridge building outreach initiatives, and pro-active social action programs that today encompass 3,000 students from elementary to post-graduate programs for both men and women.

Rabbi Riskin is the author of 11 books and his syndicated weekly columns appear in the Jerusalem Post and in newspapers all throughout the world. Prime Ministrer Benjamin Netanyahu awarded Rabbi Riskin the honor of Ambassador for the Jewish Christian Relations. He is a fearless leader who is willing to build bridges with the Christian community.