Ephraim Oshry

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Rabbi
Ephraim Oshry
Personal
Born1914
Rosh Hashana
BuriedJerusalem

Ephraim Oshry (1914–September 28, 2003), was an Orthodox rabbi, posek, and author of The Annihilation of Lithuanian Jewry. He was one of the few European rabbis to survive the Holocaust.

Early life

Ephraim Oshry was born in

Alter of Slabodka, Moshe Mordechai Epstein, Isaac Sher and Avraham Duber Kahana Shapiro (author of Devar Avraham). He quickly rose to prominence among the students at Slabodka Yeshiva.[1][2]

World War II

When the Nazis invaded

Concentration Camp, where his first wife and children were murdered.[3]

In his book, The Annihilation of Lithuanian Jewry, Oshry tells his story of living through the

mitzvot (God's commandments).[4]

Responsa

While in the Kovno Ghetto and concentration camp, Oshry began writing his

Hebrew responsa under the title She'eilos Uteshuvos Mima'amakim (Questions and Responses from the Depths).[5] This volume was later followed by four additional volumes, the final one being published in 1979. An English volume of the original work (adbridged, with much of the halakhic argumentation removed), was published, titled Responsa from the Holocaust.[3]

Post-war activities

After Kaunas was liberated in August 1944, Oshry and his wife Frieda Greenzwieg, a survivor of

Auschwitz, went to Rome. There Oshry started a yeshiva for orphaned refugee children.[1]

In 1950, Oshry moved to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, with his family and yeshiva students.[4]

In 1952, Oshry moved to New York City, where he became the rabbi of Beth Hamedrash Hagodol. Oshry opened a yeshiva for boys and a yeshiva for girls named Yeshivah Torah V'Emunah in the East Bronx.[3]

Family

In 1949, Oshry became engaged to his second wife, Frieda Greensweig, a daughter of Sigeter Hasidim, at the suggestion of her uncle Moshe Friserman, the Tomashover Rebbe. Together they had 6 sons, all of whom became rabbis, and 3 daughters. Frieda died in 2018.[2]

Death

Oshry died on September 28, 2003, at

Jerusalem.[1]

Legacy

Yeshiva Shaar Ephraim in Monsey, New York is named after him. It is headed by his son-in-law.

Works

  • Oshry, Ephraim. Annihilation of Lithuanian Jewry, Judaica Press, 1995
  • Oshry, Ephraim. Responsa from the Holocaust, B. Goldman and Y. Leiman Eds., Judaica Press, 2001

See also

  • Yisroel Spira

References

  1. ^ a b c d “Rabbi Ephraim Oshry, 89, Led Norfolk St. Temple” Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, The Villager (New York), vol. 73, No. 22, dated October 1–7, 2003.
  2. ^ a b Hoffman, Rafael (May 29, 2018) "Rebbetzin Freida Oshry, A”h", Hamodia
  3. ^ a b c Albert Amateau (October 10, 2003). "Rabbi Ephraim Oshry, 89, religious scholar, dies". DowntownExpress. Vol. 16, no. 19. Archived from the original on 2007-03-31.
  4. ^ a b Douglas Martin (October 5, 2003). "Ephraim Oshry, 89, a Scholar In Secret During the Holocaust". The New York Times.
  5. ^ Israel L. Shenker (May 5, 1975). "Responsa: The Law as Seen By Rabbis for 1,000 Years". The New York Times.

External links