Shmuel Herzfeld
Encyclopedia
Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld, born October 9, 1974, in Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...

, New York (also known as Shmuel or Rav Shmuel) is an American Modern Orthodox rabbi who heads the National Synagogue
National Synagogue
The National Synagogue or Ohev Sholom Talmud Torah ; OSTT is the oldest Orthodox synagogue in Washington, D.C.The synagogue is located in the neighborhood of Shepherd Park...

, of Washington, DC. He is a teacher, lecturer, and activist.

Herzfeld received his smicha from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary , or Yeshivat Rabbeinu Yitzchak Elchanan, is the rabbinical seminary of Yeshiva University, located in Washington Heights, New York. It is named after Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor, who died the year it was founded, 1896...

 in 1999. He also received a Masters in Medieval Jewish History from Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a private university in New York City, with six campuses in New York and one in Israel. Founded in 1886, it is a research university ranked as 45th in the US among national universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2012...

 under the guidance of Dr. Haym Soloveitchik
Haym Soloveitchik
Rabbi Dr. Haym Soloveitchik is the only son of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik. He graduated from the Maimonides School which his father founded in Brookline, Massachusetts and then received his B.A. degree from Harvard College in 1958 with a major in History. After two years of post-graduate study...

, where he wrote on the topic of Hechlid Be-Miut Simanim. He then served as the assistant Rabbi under Rabbi Avi Weiss
Avi Weiss
Avraham Weiss is an American Modern Orthodox rabbi who heads the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale in The Bronx, New York. He is an author, teacher, lecturer, and activist...

 at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale
Hebrew Institute of Riverdale
Hebrew Institute of Riverdale is an Orthodox Jewish synagogue in the Riverdale, Bronx neighborhood of New York City. Rabbi Avi Weiss has led the congregation since 1973....

 from 1999 to 2004, before transferring to Ohev Sholom: The National Synagogue.

From 2008 to 2010, Herzfeld hosted a weekly radio show called “Shmoozin with Shmuel,” which was aimed at Jews in the Washington, DC community, and frequently writes columns in newspapers. His writings have appeared in many publications including, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

, the New York Sun
New York Sun
The New York Sun was a weekday daily newspaper published in New York City from 2002 to 2008. When it debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of an otherwise unrelated earlier New York paper, The Sun , it became the first general-interest broadsheet newspaper to be started...

, The Jewish Week, The Forward
The Forward
The Forward , commonly known as The Jewish Daily Forward, is a Jewish-American newspaper published in New York City. The publication began in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily issued by dissidents from the Socialist Labor Party of Daniel DeLeon...

, and Washington Jewish Week
Washington Jewish Week
Washington Jewish Week is an award-winning independent community weekly newspaper whose logo reads, "Serving the nation's capital and the greater Washington Jewish community since 1930." Its main office is located in Rockville, Maryland, a Maryland suburb of the District of Columbia.Over the...

. He has appeared often in the national news, including The New York Times, The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...

, NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...

, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...

 and Fox News, and is regarded as an important figure in Modern Orthodox Judaism
Modern Orthodox Judaism
Modern Orthodox Judaism is a movement within Orthodox Judaism that attempts to synthesize Jewish values and the observance of Jewish law, with the secular, modern world....

.

His Torah thoughts are archived on his personal website.

Activism

Herzfeld is a Jewish Orthodox actvist. He has been vocal on many issues, including Israel activism, Jewish outreach, the threat of anti-Semitism, gay rights, and the plight of the agunah
Agunah
Agunah ; literally 'anchored or chained') is a halachic term for a Jewish woman who is "chained" to her marriage. The classic case of this, is a man who has left on a journey, and has not returned, or has gone into battle and is MIA...

. Herzfeld is currently the Vice President for Amcha -- the coalition for Jewish concerns, a grass-roots coalition which engages in pro-Jewish activism.

In 2008, Herzfeld published an article in The New York Times, titled "Dark Meat." This article attracted media attention in NPR, other newspapers, and many blogs.

Herzfeld has been outspoken regarding the problem of the agunah, appearing in a front page article in The New York Times in January 2011. This article generated a significant amount of media attention and put a spotlight on the agunah crisis within Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...

.

Ohev Sholom: The National Synagogue

Ohev Sholom: The National Synagogue is the oldest continuous Orthodox synagogue operating in Washington, DC.

It was founded in 1886 by Russian immigrants, and moved several times to other locations in Washington, before ending up at its current location at 16th and Jonquil Streets, in Washington DC, in 1960. The synagogue was noted for its Cantor, Moshe Yoelson, the father of Al Jolson
Al Jolson
Al Jolson was an American singer, comedian and actor. In his heyday, he was dubbed "The World's Greatest Entertainer"....

.

Herzfeld joined the synagogue in 2004, with a vision of taking the spirit of the synagogue out to the community and to welcome all Jews regardless of their prior Jewish background or training. He has been very successful, increasing the membership from 20 families to approximately 350 families today.

External links

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