Natan Slifkin

Natan Slifkin (also Nosson Slifkin) (Hebrew: נתן סליפקין; born 25 June 1975 in Manchester, England), popularly known as the "Zoo Rabbi," is a British-born Israeli Modern Orthodox community rabbi and the director of the Biblical Museum of Natural History in Beit Shemesh, Israel.

Slifkin has a master's degree in Judaic studies from the Lander Institute in Jerusalem and a doctorate in Jewish history from Bar-Ilan University, completed in 2016.

Slifkin explores traditional rabbinic perspectives in his books and discusses how they may relate to issues of interest to modern science.

A public debate triggered by Slifkin's books began regarding how literally Orthodox Judaism interprets the Torah and how much weight should be given to the scientific discussions of rabbinic sages.

"[3] The ban sparked a debate, largely on the Internet, which led Slifkin's publisher, Targum Press, to discontinue distribution of his books.

[9] On 5 October 2008 Slifkin published an essay entitled In Defense of My Opponents in which he says that there is a reasonable basis for a ban on his books in certain communities.