Rabbi Gedalya Halpern

גדליהו ב”ר יחיאל

1864-1927

Yahrzeit: Iyyar 6 5687

Rabbi Gedaliah was born in the town of Kozlovshchina near Slonim to his father, the Gaon Rabbi Yechiel, who was famous for [his] Torah and his fear [of Heaven], and was the son of the righteous Rabbi Isser Charif of Lida, a descendant of great, great individuals, among them the author of “Seder HaDorot”. Already by the age of 18, he was proficient in Shas [the Talmud], Midrashim, and many Responsa; he was ordained for instruction by the rabbis of Slonim, the Gaon Rabbi Yosef Reisin and the Gaon Rabbi Yosef Shloffer.

Rabbi Gedaliah did not want to derive benefit from the crown of Torah; therefore, he exerted all his effort to earn a living from the labor of his hands and engaged in commerce, but when necessity forced him, he consented to become a Maggid Meisharim (preacher) in the city of Slonim.

After this, he came to America; here too, he did not want to make his Torah a spade with which to dig, and after toil and wanderings, and after losing all his property in a bad business deal, he was finally forced to accept upon himself the yoke of the rabbinate in the city of Toledo, Ohio, and afterward in the city of Fort Worth, Texas. In the year 5666 [1906], he was accepted as the rabbi in the city of Seattle, Washington*, and he worked and accomplished much for the strengthening of religion in the USA. Wherever he went, he established regulations, appointed expert ritual slaughterers, and in order that he could stand at the head of the battle, he even learned the craft of slaughtering himself from an expert slaughterer. He also endeavored to build kosher mikvaot [ritual baths], founded a Shas society, a Talmud Torah, hospitality societies, and free-loan funds.

(His uncle was Rabbi Aaron, the brother of the author of the Chofetz Chaim, who married his aunt, his mother’s sister).

*Rabbi Halpern was the first Ordained Rav to serve in Bikur Cholim in Seattle, Washington.

Rav Halpern’s Sefer

Mei Gava מי גבא

Rabbinic Positions Held

Toledo, Ohio

Fort Worth, Texas

Seattle, Washington

Mount Vernon, NY