Yitzhak Rabin and Isaac the Patriarch: Rabbi Menachem Froman's Curriculum as a Response to Yitzhak Rabin's Assassination

ABSTRACT: This article presents the first scholarly analysis of an unpublished curriculum written by Rabbi Menachem Froman (1945–2013) in response to the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Preserved in the Froman Archive at the National Library of Israel, the 39-page curriculum—written for use in Israel's national school system—offers a rare example of rabbinic pedagogy engaging political trauma. At a time when most Religious Zionist leaders remained silent or confined their responses to sermons, Froman produced a comprehensive framework that sought to address the event in religious and educational terms. The curriculum constructs a parallel between Isaac the Patriarch and Yitzhak Rabin, emphasizing themes of rootedness, sacrifice, and the capacity to yield. Drawing on Jewish mysticism, Zionist identity, and civic education, Froman envisioned a renewed Religious Zionism grounded in humility and shared national belonging. The case study presented here illustrates how religious narratives can be mobilized to interpret political violence and provide resources to address polarization in Israeli society.