Living History: The Life of Rabbi Fabian Schonfeld Part I

While some people read history, there are rare people who lived history through their own lives. One such individual was Rabbi Fabian Schonfeld (1923-2020). Born in Vienna into a family of Ger chassidim from Poland, his father's position as General Secretary of the World Agudas Yisroel placed at the epicenter of traditional Jewish activism at the crucial interwar period. Eyewitness to Austria's Anschluss with Nazi Germany, he subsequently fled on a kindertransport eventually settling in London.

He'd ultimately settle in the Kew Garden Hills neighborhood in Queens. Drawn to Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, he'd receive semicha from RIETS and embark on a lifelong rabbinic career with the Young Israel as well as nationally with the RCA.

As someone who traversed all worlds within Jewish society, he'd be affiliated with a myriad of Jewish organizations, cultivate relationships with some of the greatest Torah leaders of the 20th century, and enjoy access to the corridors of power in both Israel and the United States.

Through the prism of his long and riveting journey, the story of the Jewish People in modern times is told.

 

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