Dr. Rabeeya has been offering Jewish Rabbinic services in the Greater Philadelphia area for many years. He has tutored many Bar/Bat Mitzvah students and conducted Jewish wedding ceremonies. Dr. Rabeeya's sense of humor and his approach to teaching Judaism provides a unique Judaic experience to anyone interested in preparing for Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah, or anyone looking for someone to conduct their wedding ceremony, learn Hebrew, or just learn about the Jewish traditions and history. Please refer to the Rabbinic Services page for more information.
Rabbi David Rabeeya, Ph.D. was born in Baghdad, Iraq, in the year 1938. He received his elementary education in French schools and he became tri-lingual at the age of fourteen (Hebrew, Arabic and French). He migrated with his large family of fourteen children to Israel in the formative years of the state.
His father was a member of the Iraqi Parliament. He was in charge of all the offices of mail and telegraph in the capitol. One of his brothers was a member of the Communist party and another brother was a member of the Zionist movement called Hatnuah. His brothers and sisters received their education in public and private schools in the city of Baghdad.
Upon his arrival in Israel he lived with his family in the tent city of Pardes Hanna. After two years, he and his family moved to Beer-Sheva where he resided until his arrival in the United States. He served in the Israeli army where he gained the rank of sergeant.
He taught in various high schools in Israel and he prepared students for the baccalaureate examination in the areas of grammar, history and literature. He received his BA in literature and history from Hebrew University in Jerusalem and his MA in Semitic languages from Tel Aviv University. He received his PhD in Arabic from Dropsie University in PA. His dissertation dealt with the Jewish, Muslim and Christian dialects of Baghdad.
Dr. Rabeeya has been a teacher for the last 55 years. He retired from Bryn Mawr College in PA where he taught Hebrew, Arabic and Bible. He then taught Hebrew at Barrack Hebrew Academy. He received the Teacher of the Year award from Har-Zion Temple in Penn Valley, PA in 2006. He was an adjunct professor of Arabic at Valley Forge Military Academy and College. After retiring from Barack Hebrew Academy, Dr. Rabeeya continues to give lectures about the Middle East at Gratz College, Pennsylvania. He also lectures at Wesley Enhanced living regarding topics related Judaism and Islam.
Dr. Rabeeya is the author of 54 books dealing with the lives of Jews in Arab and Muslim lands and the religious, historical and cultural connections between Islam and Judaism. He has lectured extensively in synagogues, churches and academic and social organizations. An issue of the Sephardic Heritage Update newsletter was dedicated entirely to his writings. His poem “Mesopotamian Wellspring” was published in Poetica and he was their “Poet of the Month” for the February 2008 edition. He was the keynote speaker at the International Federation of Rabbis convention in Florida in March 2007 where he spoke on Klal Yesrael: Definition, History, Facts, and Application.
Dr. Rabeeya was selected by the Jewish Educators’ Assembly as their honoree in 2008 in recognition of his long and dedicated service to Jewish education. He issued five CDs of original Arabic, Hebrew, French and English songs, poetry and musical compositions. His newest CD is on aging.
In 1997 he was ordained a rabbi serving the unaffiliated members of the Jewish community. He contributes essays to the academic publication at Barrack Hebrew Academy "Leshem Shamayim."
You may contact Dr. Rabeeya at sephardici@aol.com or call him at (610) 296-4652
