Papers of Israel Elfenbein (1890-1964) Collection

Israel Elfenbein was born in Buczacz, Poland on September 15, 1890 to Elyakim and Rivka Henshe Elfenbein. He attended several yeshivot in Buczacz before he immigrated to the U.S. in 1906, where he began his studies at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, later the rabbinical seminary of Yeshiva University. He attended New York University, from where he received his B.A. in 1913, and the Jewish Theological Seminary, from where he received his ordination in 1914 and his Doctor of Hebrew Letters in 1915. His first rabbinate was at Temple Adath Israel in Nashville in 1915-1916. He later served as rabbi at synagogues in Chicago and New York City, including the West 95th Street and the Sea Gate Kneseth Israel synagogue in Brooklyn.

Dr. Elfenbein developed an interest in medieval Halachic Responsa early in his student days. He devoted himself to research and published a number of books, as well as many articles in contemporary Jewish journals in Hebrew, Yiddish and English. A good deal of his writings remained in manuscript form, many of which are represented in this collection.

Elfenbein was a lecturer at the Herzl Institute in New York City in the late 1950s-early 1960s. He was a member of the United Synagogue of America, the Academicians, the American Oriental Society, the Society of Biblical Literature, the Board of Jewish Rabbis, the American Jewish Congress, and the American Committee for Israeli Affairs. He was the author of The World of Rashi; Maimonides, The Man and His Times; Palestine Under Turkish Rule as Reflected in Responsa Literature; Problems of Jewish Reconstruction in America; and The Synagogue as a Leavening Force in American Jewry; among others. He also published under the pseudonyms Dayan al Yahud, Israel Shenhabim, and Ben Elyakim. In 1957, he edited the memorial book dedicated to I.Z. Frischberg. In 1962, he assisted in the compilation of a volume celebrating his own jubilee. Elfenbein was the executive director of the Education and Expansion Department of the Religious Zionists of America, also known as the Mizrachi Organization in the U.S., from 1938-1962, and the editor of Or Hamizrach (Light of the East), a Hebrew publication for rabbis, teachers and students. In addition, he contributed articles to Sinai, Tarbitz (Hit), Talpiot (a neighborhood in Jerusalem), Jewish Quarterly Review, and Jewish Forum. He attempted to publish a journal of Jewish scientific studies, Hameasef (Literary Anthology), in 1923, but was unsuccessful. He was the editor of The Voice of the People from 1932-1944. He was married to Etta Hurwitz Elfenbein, with whom he had daughters Annette (Goldie) Barth and Sarah Rothman and son Ira Lee.

Israel Elfenbein died in New York City on September 13, 1964.