Pilot with a PhD – Joburg rabbi does it all

Johannesburg Rabbi Gavin MichaI recently fulfilled a life-long ambition of academic study by getting his PhD. He is the first South African rabbi to receive a PhD without a secular degree.

Michal has never been afraid of pushing the boundaries. Not many rabbis are also helicopter pilots; build drones for anti-poaching efforts; and restore vintage aircraft to flying condition.

The rabbi of the Baal Shem Tov Shul in Orange Grove has been a community rabbi for about 30 years, first serving at Linksfield Shul. “I was always fascinated by the didactics and preciseness of academic writing as a means to attempt a fuller understanding of the interesting questions that confront us when we dare to think,” he said.

Michal is a research associate at the University of Pretoria’s faculty of theology and religion, specifically within the department of Old Testament and Hebrew scriptures. His PhD focused on Sabbateanism and its influence on the Chassidic and Mitnagdim movements.

He was accepted to the university on the basis of his semicha (rabbinic ordination), which he received from Rabbi Pinchas Hirschprung of Montreal. However, he had to start with an Honours degree within the faculty of theology and religion.

Michal was overwhelmed once he saw the course outline, and thought he wasn’t up for the challenge. “I had never delved into academic studies before, and the requirements for this thesis was daunting,” he said. At the last moment, he dived in, and eventually graduated cum laude and made the Dean’s List.

His research was followed by his Master’s degree based on Jewish messianism from 500 BCE up to the 17th century false-messiah, Shabbatai Tzvi. Once again, Michal graduated cum laude, and made the Dean’s List.

Pretoria University offers no courses in Jewish Studies, leading to Michal collaborating with a network of respected overseas professors from Israel, Prague, and America, as his area of interest didn’t have a prescribed course structure, and wasn’t available worldwide.

He managed to gain access to an unbelievable array of source material, including archives, unpublished, and censored manuscripts from all over Israel and Europe, helping him to learn about aspects of Jewish history not readily available. “I delved into historical records, writings, and ideas I could never have imagined,” he said. “I learned how to think critically and interrogate source material thoroughly, whichever way the argument takes one.”

Michal’s PhD, the highest level of academic achievement, was on the influence of Shabbatai Tzvi on the Chassidic and Mitnagdim movements. Michal explained that the Sabbateans had a most sophisticated form of Kabbalah that grew out of the Lurianic Kabbalah of the Arizal (Rabbi Yitzchak Luria).

“The Masters flowed into the PhD, and both became facets of a unified research project on Jewish messianism,” Michal said. “I managed to get manuscript evidence and original readings of some popular texts that had somehow been changed over time. This was the highlight of my academic journey.

“Yet I’m grateful that I first had to sit with younger students throughout my Honours degree, which was made easier since it was held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It taught me discipline and gave me a solid grounding without which I wouldn’t have had the tools for the Master’s and PhD.”

Michal communicated with many internationally recognised scholars, and was shown texts by outstanding academics like Yehuda Liebes, the Gershom Scholem professor of Jewish mysticism. He had to engage with complicated modern Hebrew academic papers, and formed a bond with a fascinating group of scholars with whom he continues to collaborate on research projects. Part of the initial process was learning how to write academic articles, and to date, he has four published journal articles and has presented numerous papers and made presentations at international conferences.

“The rigorous process of having one’s work peer reviewed in a double-blind manner is daunting, and it’s only by having gone through the procedure that I can fully appreciate the value of academic publications,” he said. “There’s a protracted to-and-fro process, and it can take up to a year, often requiring extensive rewriting and solid source-based argument.” Now that the PhD is completed, Michal plans to make it available to a wider audience by converting it into a book based on his years of research into such a fascinating and disputed period of Jewish theological history.

Michal is known for his writings, particularly the Kotzk Blog, in which he explores themes inspired by the teachings of the Kotzker Rebbe, emphasising uncompromising truth and intellectual independence. His blog has garnered international attention, and was ranked among the top 50 Torah blogs in 2024.