- Tzvi Hirsch Ferber
Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Ferber (1879–November 1966) was a renowned
Talmud ic andTorah scholar, gifted orator, prolific author and tireless community builder. A man of outstanding knowledge and talent, he was an exemplar of old-worldLithuania n Torah scholarship and sagacity.Born in
Kovno , Lithuania, Rabbi Ferber studied in the prestigiousSlabodka yeshiva , as well as under such Talmudic andMussar giants as RabbiYitzchak Elchanan Spektor , RabbiYitzchak Blazer and RabbiNaftali Amsterdam . He came toManchester ,England in 1911, where he founded ayeshiva along with Rabbi Yehoshua Dov Silverstone.London
In July 1913, he accepted a call to become Rabbi of the West End Talmud Torah
Synagogue inSoho ,London , a disorganised community comprised of working-class Jewish immigrants ofEastern Europe an origin. In a short span of time, Rabbi Ferber successfully centralised the unorganised Jewish activities and religious life of the community into one institution.Active in communal affairs, Rabbi Ferber established the Chesed V’emeth Burial Society in 1915. He helped found the London yeshiva and was for many years the honorary secretary of the London "Vaad Harabonim" (rabbinical council) and chairman of the Association of London Rabbis ("Hisachdus Harabonim"). A member of its World Rabbinical council, Rabbi Ferber gave valuable assistance to the Agudas Yisroel movement. He closely collaborated with Rabbi Dr M Jung and Rabbi Dr V Schonfeld in
Shechita and other communal issues. He was a friend of RabbiAvraham Yitzchak Kook ,Chief Rabbi of Palestine, from the time that the latter was Rabbi of Machzike Hadath in London.Rabbi Ferber was hugely admired and venerated by his congregants and colleagues worldwide. Indeed, when he left his seat, everyone stood up and bowed towards him as a sign of respect. He was described as a “man of saintliness and gentleness, loved and admired by all who came into contact with him”. One of the most riveting Jewish orators of his day, he preached his sermons in
Yiddish , and could bring his congregation to tears of nostalgia, or “get everyone laughing within the space of two sentences".Rabbi Ferber was rabbi of Soho for 42 years, from 1913 until his retirement in 1955. He died in 1966 in London, survived by his son Rabbi Jacob Ferber and four daughters.
cholarship
In the world of Torah, Rabbi Ferber was renowned as an outstanding scholar and sage. A prolific author, he produced 22 acclaimed works of Torah scholarship, perhaps the largest ever output by a Rabbi in England. He was also a frequent contributor to numerous Hebrew journals and an avid reader in the Hebrew collections of the
British Library . Taking advantage of his location in the West End, he visited the Oriental Reading Room of theBritish Museum every day.Works
*Kerem HaTzvi – 5 volume work on the Torah and Haggada, Rabbi Ferber’s seminal work, issued between 1920 and 1938
*Degel Machane Yehudah – dealing with the influence of some archaeological finds on Torah interpretation (1925)
*Shvil HaTzvi - commentary on Megillas Esther (1933)
*Aishes Chayil - commentary on Aishes Chayil (1934)
*Birur Halacha - on civil marriages and divorce in Jewish law (1937)
*Kiryas Chana David - aboutKing David (1950)
*Sefer Hamo'adim - volume of sermons (1950)
*Hegyonei Tzvi - on the end of days in Judaism (1952)
*Chamudei Tzvi - thoughts on the festivals and special periods of the year (1953)
*Hegyonei Avos - commentary onPirkei Avos (1954)
*Siach Tzvi - commentary on prayer (1955)
*Kerem HaTorah (1956)
*Zivchei Todah - on Torah, prayer and Pirkei Avos (1957)References
*
Jewish Chronicle archival material
* [http://www.hebrewbooks.org/root/data/pdfs/AS/pardesfortyone6.pdf#xml=http://www.hebrewbooks.org/dtsearch.asp?cmd=pdfhits&DocId=8381&HitCount=4&hits=2ce+5440+5457+5485+&hc=434&req=%28%D7%A8%D7%91%D7%A8%D7%A4%29+OR+%28%D7%A4%D7%A8%D7%91%D7%A8%29 Short obituary in HaPardes, Rabbinic journal (page 38, Hebrew)]
* [http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=7339&hilite=00108b72-db63-4ff6-99f4-48500c6322f0&pgnum=176 "Rebi Eliezer Gordon", page 176]
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