Solomon Sharfman

Solomon Sharfman was a rabbi of Orthodox Jewry who built the Flatbush Modern Orthodox Jewish community in the mid-1900s, while sowing the seeds of American Jewry for generations to come.

Solomon J. Sharfman
Born(1915-11-01)November 1, 1915
Treblinka, Poland
DiedDecember 4, 2004(2004-12-04) (aged 89)
Jerusalem, Israel
Resting placeEretz HaChaim cemetery, Beit Shemesh, Israel
Other namesRabbi Sharfman
OccupationRabbi
EmployerYoung Israel of Flatbush
Spouse(s)Libby Ossip
ChildrenLabel Sharfman
Debbi Diament
Rochelle Kohn
Lea Hain
Riki Koenigsberg
Parent(s)Aharon Leib and Fruma Sharfman

Life

Solomon Joseph Sharfman was born on November 1, 1915, in Treblinka, Poland; his family came to the United States five years later.[1] His father, Rabbi Label Sharfman, worked as a shochet in Newark, NJ. He attended Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim and reportedly made up the name "The Rabbinical Seminary of America" when registering the new institution with the City of New York, because the city did not want to accept a Hebrew name.

For over forty years, from 1938 to 1984, Sharfman was the rabbi of Young Israel of Flatbush,[2] the pulpit from which he led American Jewry.[3][4] For two years, from 1956 to 1958, he served as president of the Rabbinical Council of America,[5][6] and from 1969 to 1971, he was president of the Synagogue Council of America.[7]

Rabbi Sharfman maintained a relationship with rabbinic luminaries of the era, such as Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik[8] and Rabbi Moshe Feinstein.[9]

His writings are included in a number of compilations of rabbinic literature ("Homer LeDerush") of the National Council of Young Israel.[10] He died in his sleep on December 19, 2004.[11]

Legacy

Communal

Rabbi Sharfman's early day (1950s) opposition to New York's Sunday Blue laws ultimately paid off.[1]

In 1989 he helped focus the attention of the National Council of Young Israel on JustOneLife, an organization[12] that provides professional counseling and financial assistance, enabling and empowering mothers to choose to continue their pregnancies to term. As of 2017 the organization is still in operation.[13]

Personal

He was survived by his wife and their sons and daughters, along with many grandchildren and greatgrandchildren.[1]

His son, Rabbi Label Sharfman, founded and heads the Bnot Torah Seminary in the Sanhedria Murchevet neighborhood in Jerusalem, Israel, otherwise known as "Sharfman's".[14] Notable grandchildren include Rabbi Eliakim Koenigsberg, Rosh Yeshiva at Yeshivat R' Yitzchak Elchanan (RIETS).[15] A sister of Rabbi Koenigsberg is married to Rabbi Meir Orlian, who is the rabbi and Dayan of a synagogue in Yad Binyamin and teaches in Yeshivat Shaalvim and Kerem BeYavneh.[16] Another sister, Dr. Chani (née Koenigsberg) Maybruch EdD, MA, is a relationship educator and coach along with her husband Rabbi Shmuel Maybruch. His youngest grandson is R' David Diament, honorary lecturer at The 2018 Dr. Abraham S. and Phyllis Weissman Memorial Rabbinic Lecture in RIETS.[17]

References
  1. Margalit Fox (December 19, 2004). "Rabbi Solomon J. Sharfman Dies at 89; Shaped Orthodox Hub in Brooklyn". The New York Times.
  2. see article for link to their official branch web site
  3. "Young Israel of Flatbush". Admin.
  4. The 1940 US Census lists him and his family as living on East 14th Street, the heart of the Orthodox Jewish Community in the Lower East Side of Manhattan.
  5. Sherman, Moshe D.; Raphael, Marc (1996). Orthodox Judaism in America: A Biographical Dictionary and Sourcebook. ISBN 9780313243165.
  6. Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) website
  7. "Rabbi Solomon J. Sharfman Heads Synagogue Council, Succeeding Rabbi Philip Rudin". Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
  8. Rakeffet-Rothkoff, Aaron (1999). The Rav. ISBN 9780881256154.
  9. See Iggerot Moshe O.C. Vol. 4 Siman 87 and http://www.yutorah.org/lectures/lecture.cfm/821478/Rabbi_Aaron_Rakeffet-Rothkoff/Responsa_Literature_#9_-_%27Solomon_Scharfman_and_Reb_Moshe%27_11-30-2014
  10. https://www.amazon.com/RABBINICAL-COUNCIL-HOLIDAY-SABBATH-SERMONS/dp/B000HJF3WY/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418707215&sr=1-2
  11. https://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/19/nyregion/19sharfman.html?_r=0
  12. Deena Yellin Fuksbrumer (September 17, 2010). "Just One Life, started by Teaneck man, growing in Israel". The Times of Israel.
  13. http://www.justonelife.org/about.asp?pg=mission
  14. http://bnottorah.com/
  15. http://www.yutorah.org/Rabbi_Eliakim_Koenigsberg
  16. https://www.yutorah.org/rabbi-meir-orlian/
  17. Dental Treatment of Parents: Does the Jewish Mother’s Dream Apply to a Son Who is a Dentist?
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