Rabbi Joseph Shapotshnick (
Yiddish
:
יוסף שאפאטשניק; 1882–1937) was a Jewish social activist in early-20th century London.
Biography
Shapotshnick was born in
Berakhot
—and was the largest rabbinic book ever published.
Shapotshnick was regarded as a
miracle worker, reportedly curing a number of sick people, Jews and non-Jews. In 1928, he attracted headlines by sending an herbal remedy to King
George V.
[citation needed] He gave two-thirds of his income to charity.
[citation needed]
The Agunot scandal
From the mid-1920s, Shapotshnick offered to help Chofetz Chaim and other prominent rabbis to stop Shapotshnick from issuing spurious dispensations. In the ensuing controversy, it was discovered that Shapotshnick had falsely added the names of various colleagues to dispensations, effectively forging their support without consent. Those rabbis disassociated themselves from him publicly by writing to the
Yiddish press in London and urging the publication of their letters of condemnation. In late 1928, the rabbinical association of
Poland published a booklet containing 600 signatures of rabbis condemning Shapotshnick and his activities. He was declared bankrupt in November 1932.
[1]
Other activities
Shapotshnick was a persistent critic of the Anglo-Jewish establishment's mistreatment of the poor immigrants who lived mainly in the
kosher
supervision authority. In the spring of 1937, it was discovered that 8 of the 11 butcher shops under his supervision were selling 'kosher' meat bought from non-Jewish wholesalers. One of the butchers was taken to court for the crime of misrepresentation and was eventually convicted and fined. Shapotshnick died quite suddenly during the trial and was never questioned in court about his role, although it was widely suspected that he was out of his depth rather than maliciously negligent.
He was sufficiently respected in official circles to be invited to an official reception at Lancaster House in honour of the International Congress of Faiths.[2]
Shapotshnick's funeral
Shapotshnick died suddenly on Thursday, 21 October 1937 in
London, England
. At first no one would agree to bury him because of his controversial reputation. Eventually, the newly established Adath Yisrael community agreed to inter him at their Enfield cemetery, after the imposition of various conditions on his only son, Levi.
Shapotshnick's funeral took place on Monday, 25 October 1937. Despite the pouring rain, 5,000 people attended his funeral. The crowd was almost exclusively drawn from the common folk of the East End Jewish community, who were mostly unaffected by his controversial episodes, but who saw him as a fighter for their cause and a charismatic religious leader.
References
- ^ The Times, 22 November 1932, p.4
- ^ The Times, 9 July 1936, p.17
Jewish Chronicle
, Nov 28 1930 p. 29; Feb 23 1934 p. 11; Oct 29 1937 p. 8, p. 13, p. 15; Nov 5 1937 p. 25- The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History (2011)
