A rav for real-world questions
Rabbi Zev Cohen is a respected rav and posek, a longtime fixture of the Chicago Torah community, whose shiurim are marked by a practical, grounded sensibility. He is the kind of teacher who addresses halacha not as an abstraction but as the framework a Jew actually lives inside — bringing the sources to bear on the questions people bring to a rav. His classes range across the Yamim Tovim, hashkafah, and the applied halachic dilemmas of contemporary life.
That orientation toward the real question is his hallmark. Whether the subject is how to prepare for a Yom Tov or how to think about a modern challenge, he keeps the focus on what a listener can do with the learning. His shiurim assume an audience trying to live seriously as Jews in the present day, and they are pitched to help — clear about the halacha, honest about the difficulties, and always aimed at practice.
Technology and halacha
Rabbi Cohen is particularly known for confronting one of the defining challenges of the age: how a Torah Jew should relate to technology. His multi-part series on technology and halacha takes the question apart methodically — how we can live with technology, what the halacha has to say, and, just as pressing, how to guide children in a world saturated by it. It is a subject many prefer to avoid, and he meets it directly.
What distinguishes the series is its balance. He neither dismisses technology outright nor waves away its dangers, but works to define a halachically grounded path through it — one that acknowledges the realities of modern life while protecting what matters most. For parents in particular, this kind of clear, practical guidance is invaluable, offering not slogans but a considered framework for decisions families face every day.
The Yamim Tovim and chizuk
Rabbi Cohen's teaching also follows the Jewish calendar and the work of the soul. His shiurim on Pesach, such as "Take Your Seder to the Next Level," aim to lift a familiar observance into something more meaningful, and his classes on Elul turn the listener toward the introspection the month demands. The recurring theme is elevation — taking what a person already does and helping them do it with greater depth and intention.
In harder times he has offered chizuk as well. His words during the coronavirus period spoke to a community in need of steadiness, framing upheaval in terms of emunah and perspective. Across all of it — the Yamim Tovim, the challenges of technology, the moments that call for encouragement — the same rav is at work: practical, clear, and focused on helping people raise the level of their avodas Hashem.
Finding kosher Torah video for your family
Lehallel is a kosher video service built for Jewish families — every single video is approved against one written standard before it can appear, with no open feed, no comments, and no surprises. It is a calm, safe place to look for the Torah and Jewish music you love.
If your family enjoys teachers like Rabbi Zev Cohen, search Lehallel for the speakers and topics that matter most to you. With a daf yomi shelf, a weekly parsha shelf, topic shelves, audio-only listening for the car, and a kids mode with a PIN, kosher Jewish video is easy to reach — and the approved catalog keeps growing every day.
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At a glance
Key takeaways
- Rabbi Zev Cohen is a respected rav and posek known for practical halachic guidance.
- His multi-part series confronts technology and halacha, including raising children with it.
- His Pesach and Elul shiurim aim to elevate familiar observance with greater intention.
- He offered steadying chizuk grounded in emunah during difficult times.
- Search Lehallel for kosher, approved Torah video — the catalog grows every day.
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