Rabbi Dr. Natan Slifkin is the founder and director of the Biblical Museum of Natural History near Beit Shemesh, Israel. Raised in Manchester, England, he made aliya to Israel in 1993. He studied in yeshivot for many years and received rabbinic ordination from Or Sameach Institutions. He holds an MA in Jewish Studies from Lander College Jerusalem and a PhD in Jewish History from Bar Ilan University. His thesis dealt with rabbinic confrontations with zoology. Rabbi Slifkin has written many books on Judaism, science and zoology. He lives in Beit Shemesh with his wife and children.

Over the last fifteen years, Rabbi Slifkin has run a number of educational programs at zoos and natural history museums, and is a popular scholar-in-residence at synagogues worldwide. He also leads African safaris, and was featured on Animal Planet’s documentary “Beasts of the Bible.” His work has been featured in The New York Times, The Jerusalem Post, and numerous magazines, television and radio shows.