Professor M. Avrum Ehrlich is a theologian, social philosopher and scholar of Judaism. His general research subjects include leadership and transfer of authority, the governing mechanics of religions and the general subject of messianism as well as articles on general social observations. He is author of a number of books on Hasidism, articles on Jewish mysticism and religious sects, as well as biblical commentaries, ethics and politics. He is Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia of the Jewish Diaspora to be published in 2006.

Born in Sydney, Australia, Mark Avrum moved to Israel at age sixteen to pursue Talmudic studies in a variety of yeshivot including Yeshivat Ezion in Alon Shvut, Yehivat Nir in Kiryat Arba, yeshivat Tomchei Temimim, Lubavitch at Kfar Chabad where he was ordained a rabbi. He also studied at the Hartman Institute for Advanced Talmudics in Jerusalem and began his studies in dayanut at the Rumpler Beit Midrash (associated with Satmar hasidism) and other institutes of focused theological and Talmudic study.

He read Jewish Philosophy and Political Science at Bar Ilan University, completed his doctorate on leadership strategies of Hasidic masters at the University of Sydney. He was awarded a Krytman scholarship to research at the Cambridge based Centre of Jewish – Christian Relations, and was awarded a Chevening and British Commonwealth Scholarships to undertake research on religion, law and government at the University of Cambridge’s Department of Social and Political Sciences and later at the Centre for Advanced Religious and Theological Studies. He was a Visiting Fellow at Clare Hall Cambridge and remains a life member.

Ehrlich has served in various posts including ombudsman at Bar Ilan University, director of the Lchaim Jewish Society at Oxford University, as a community rabbi in various posts from Naples, Italy to Sydney Australia. He was a member of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, the Australian Council of Christians and Jews and the CEO of Mandelbaum House, College at the University of Sydney. He also served as a combat medic in an IDF armoured infantry unit.

Ehrlich’s most recent appointment (2005) is as a full professor to the School of Philosophy and Sociology and the Dept. of Religion and to the Centre of Judaic and Inter-Religious Studies at Shandong University, the People’s Republic of China. The Interreligious centre has been earmarked by the Chinese Government to become a national centre for Inter-religious research and has undertaken large translation projects of the Jewish classics and the training of the first generation of Chinese scholars of Judaism amongst other ambitious programs.

Professor Ehrlich teaches text based courses including: The Philosophy of the Hebrew Scriptures; Introductory Studies in Halakha and Talmud; Readings in Jewish Mysticism; Modern Hebrew Language. Professor Ehrlich employs an interdisciplinary approach by drawing on a wide body of religious and political traditions, combined with socio-anthropological and linguistic tools of interpretation fused with Biblical and Talmudic theology, law and insights from the Jewish heritage.

M. Avrum Ehrlich has lectured in Sydney, New York, Oxford, Cambridge, Jerusalem and most recently China.   He makes his debut to television, presenting a soon-to-be-aired series of documentaries entitled: "The Abraham Chronicles: A History of God, the Messiah and Heresy".

Mark Avrum is an active motor cross and dirt bike rider, enjoys chess and is partners in an organic olive farm, in the East Gush Etzion region of Israel. He served as the captain of the Clare Hall Rowing Team, was president of the model European Union at Cambridge University and has other diverse interests. He is an Australian Justice of the Peace, was awarded the 2005 Honorary Shandong Government Friendship Award, nominated in 2005 as one of the ten best professors at Shandong University and holds a senior supervisory role for Ph.D students.