Ezra Schochet

Ezra Binyomin Schochet is one of six sons and four daughters[2] of Rabbi Dov Yehuda Schochet (d. 1974)[3] and Sara Sosha Mussensohn. His father was the Chief Rabbi of Basel, Switzerland[4] from 1930 until 1947 and Chief Rabbi of The Hague and adjacent regional towns in the Netherlands from 1947 to 1951. Shortly after immigrating to Toronto in the early 1950s, the Schochets and most of their children joined the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, including young Ezra. His brothers include Rabbi Dr. Jacob Immanuel Schochet (1935-2013),[2] a prominent scholar and lecturer in Toronto.

Schochet undertook his yeshiva education at Ner Israel Rabbinical College (1959-1960) in Baltimore, MD, Beth Medrash Govoha (1960–1963) in Lakewood, New Jersey, and Yeshivas Brisk in Jerusalem, Israel (1963-1966). After his marriage, he studied at Kollel Radomsk in Bnei Brak from 1967 to 1972. He received rabbinic ordination from both the Tel Aviv Rabbinical Court and the Jerusalem Rabbinical Court between 1971 and 1972.[5]

Schochet assumed his first position as rosh yeshiva of Tomchei Temimim in Lod, Israel, from 1972 to 1973. Afterward he returned to Canada and headed the kollel of Ner Israel in Toronto from 1974 to 1978.[5]

In 1977 he was tapped to succeed Rabbi Simcha Wasserman as rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Ohr Elchonon in Los Angeles, which had been given over, after the urging of the Lubavitcher Rebbe to open houses of study, to the directorship of Chabad.[6][7] Along with Schochet, Chabad transferred a group of Lubavitcher students from New York to bolster the yeshiva.[7] In addition to serving as rosh yeshiva, Schochet is the yeshiva's CEO, curriculum supervisor, and senior professor of Talmud.[5]

Schochet married Sara Rochel Weinberg (1944–2010),[8] a granddaughter of the Slonimer Rebbe,[9] in 1967.[10] They have three sons and three daughters.[1] One son, Rabbi Avrohom Schochet, is an associate professor of Talmud at Yeshiva Ohr Elchonon Chabad/West Coast Talmudical Seminary,[5] while a daughter, Mrs. Hadassah Spalter, opened a new Chabad girls’ seminary, the Ohel Sara Institute of Higher Learning, in Los Angeles in 2012 in memory of her mother.[11] Unfortunately the seminary did not continue following its second year. His son in law, Reb Amram Farkash currently leads the adjacent high school, and manages operations in the Beis Hamedrash too.

Shortly after his wife's passing, Rabbi Ezra Schochet got remarried[12] to Rebbetzin Batsheva Wolf (nee. Bekerman), of the southern city of Kiryat Malachi.

• "The Power of Torah Study" videotaped speech by Rabbi Ezra Schochet, Yarchei Kallah 5772 (2012)
• Birchas Hanehenen - HaGaHaCh Rabbi Ezra Shochet B"H on YouTube (video) January 6, 2013