Chanoch Ehrentreu
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Chanoch Ehrentreu (27 December 1932 – 24 November 2022) was a German-born British Orthodox rabbi. He served for many years as the head of the
London Beth Din The London Beth Din (LBD) is the Ashkenazi Beth Din of the United Synagogue, the largest Ashkenazi synagogal body in London, England. In its capacity as ''Court of the Chief Rabbi'', it is historically the supreme halakhic Authority for Ashkena ...
in Great Britain (also known as The Court of the Chief Rabbi), serving the
United Synagogue The United Synagogue (US) is the largest umbrella body for Orthodox Judaism in Britain. It is structured as a charity which serves the United Kingdom, British Jewish community in the broadest possible way. One of the largest charities in the B ...
Community and those independent Orthodox Congregations that accept the authority of the
Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth The Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of Great Britain and the Commonwealth is the senior rabbi of the United Synagogue, a union of British Orthodox Jewish synagogues. The Chief Rabbi is considered to be one of the more, if not th ...
. He retired from the post in December 2006.


Early life

Dayan Ehrentreu was born in
Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
on 27 December 1932, to Rabbi Yisroel and Rebbitzen Bertha (née Jung) Ehrentreu. He was named after his paternal grandfather the Gaon HaRav , rabbi of
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
. When his family emigrated to the UK, his rabbi father became principal of
Prestwich Prestwich ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England, north of Manchester, north of Salford and south of Bury. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, Prestwich was the seat of the ...
Jewish Day School. Young Chanoch went to school in
Letchworth Letchworth Garden City, commonly known as Letchworth, is a town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is noted for being the first garden city. The population at the time of the 2021 census was 33,990. Letchworth ...
, and then, after the war, to
Hasmonean High School Hasmonean High School is a secondary school and sixth form with academy status for pupils from Orthodox Jewish families, situated in the London Borough of Barnet, England. History The school was founded by the late Rabbi Dr. Solomon Schonfel ...
, before going on to study at Gateshead Yeshiva.


Sunderland

In 1960, he founded the Sunderland
Kollel A kollel (also kolel) (, , , , a "gathering" or "collection" f scholars is an institute for full-time, advanced Torah study, study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features Shiur (Torah), shiurim (lectures) and ...
, which he headed until 1979. The Kollel moved to
Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...
in 2000.


Manchester

Ehrentreu was ''
Av Beth Din The ''av beit din'' (), abbreviated ( ''avad''), was the second-highest-ranking member of the Sanhedrin during the Second Temple period and served as an assistant to the nasi. The av beit din was known as the "Master of the Court;" he was consid ...
'' ( Hebrew: Father .e., Headof the Beth Din), and Communal Rabbi of
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
from 1979 to 1984.


London

Dayan Ehrentreu was appointed to the post of ''Rosh Beth Din'' in London by Lord Jakobovits in 1984. He was known as the ''Rosh Beth Din'' (rather than the traditional "Av" Beth Din) as the title of ''Av Beth Din'' is formally held by the Chief Rabbi. By dint of his workload as well as convention of his office, the Chief Rabbi does not regularly sit as a Dayan (Judge) on his own Beth Din or involve himself in its day to day work. Serving together with Ehrentreu during his tenure were Dayan Kaplan, Dayan Menachem Gelley, Dayan Abraham, Dayan Binstock, and Dayan Yitzhak Berger (Consultant). Dayan Ehrentreu retired from the Beth Din in January 2008 but continued his responsibilities as a consultant to the Beth Din, and became Av Beth Din of European Beth Din (Basel, Switzerland) 2008. Ehrentreu was a leading authority in all areas of Jewish law, with particular expertise in the fields of Medical Ethics, Conversions and Kashrut. In 2001, Ehrentreu appointed Yonason Abraham on the London Beth Din. In March 2003, Ehrentreu successfully negotiated the construction of the North-West London ''
eruv An ''eruv'' (; , , also transliterated as ''eiruv'' or ''erub'', plural: ''eruvin'' or ''eruvim'') is a ritual ''halakhic'' enclosure made for the purpose of allowing activities which are normally Activities prohibited on Shabbat, prohibited ...
''. He has presented to the House of Lords Select Committees on medical ethical issues, such as stem cell research and euthanasia. The Chief Rabbi commented when Ehrentreu announced his retirement, "The Dayan possesses a rare combination of authority, wisdom, compassion and understanding of our community." Dayan Ehrentreu was the rabbinical European religious authority of Tiferes Bais Yisroel, an organisation founded to reinforce halachic standards for conversion.


North West London eruv

In March 2003, after many years, Ehrentreu successfully negotiated the construction of an
eruv An ''eruv'' (; , , also transliterated as ''eiruv'' or ''erub'', plural: ''eruvin'' or ''eruvim'') is a ritual ''halakhic'' enclosure made for the purpose of allowing activities which are normally Activities prohibited on Shabbat, prohibited ...
in London. The eruv itself is an 11-mile enclosure in northwest London encompassing some of the city's Jewish neighbourhoods, including
Golders Green Golders Green is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet in north London, northwest of Charing Cross. It began as a medieval small suburban linear settlement near a farm and public grazing area green, and dates to the early 19th century. It ...
and
Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the London Borough of Barnet, northwest London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient Manorialism, manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has ...
, plus much of
Hampstead Garden Suburb Hampstead Garden Suburb is a suburb of London, north of Hampstead, west of Highgate and east of Golders Green. It is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations. It is an example of early twentieth-century ...
and some of
Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. north of Charing Cross, nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, London, Whetstone, Mill Hill and Hendon. It is ...
. Although established with the help of Rabbi
Alan Kimche Alan Abraham Kimche (Hebrew: רב אברהם בן ישראל קמחי) is a British-Israeli Orthodox rabbi and community leader. He was the rabbi of the Ner Yisrael Synagogue in Hendon, London, until his retirement in 2019. He currently works as ...
, Rabbi Jeremy Conway and others, its halachic validity was strongly contested by many other prominent London Rabbis. Notwithstanding the controversy over the North West London eruv, its establishment set a precedent, with eruvs having now been established in Elstree/Borehamwood and Stanmore under the supervision of the London Beth Din and with Dayan Ehrentreu's guidance in Edgware. Following Dayan Ehrentreu's lead, Eruvs have been planned for other Jewish communities throughout England, notably in Manchester, where the plans are supported by the leading
Haredi Haredi Judaism (, ) is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that is characterized by its strict interpretation of religious sources and its accepted (Jewish law) and traditions, in opposition to more accommodating values and practices. Its members are ...
authority, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneebalg of the Machzikei Hadass community. However, an attempt to construct an eruv in the Haredi community of
Stamford Hill Stamford Hill is an area in Inner London, England, about northeast of Charing Cross. The neighbourhood is a major component of the London Borough of Hackney, and is known for its Hasidic community, the largest concentration of orthodox Ashken ...
in 2008 was scuppered due to the fierce opposition of Rabbi Ephraim Padwa, the principal rabbinic authority for the UOHC, the umbrella organisation for London's Haredi community.


The Louis Jacobs controversy

Ehrentreu was involved in controversy in the summer of 2003 when he banned Rabbi Dr.
Louis Jacobs Louis Jacobs (17 July 1920 – 1 July 2006) was a leading writer, Jewish theologian, and rabbi of the New London Synagogue in the United Kingdom. He was also the focus in the early 1960s of what became known as the "Jacobs Affair" in the Bri ...
from taking part in a synagogue service on the Sabbath before his granddaughter's wedding. This led to heated debate in the Jewish community with some condemning the decision as petty and vindictive, whilst Ehrentreu and Rabbi Lord
Jonathan Sacks Jonathan Henry Sacks, Baron Sacks (8 March 19487 November 2020) was an English Orthodox rabbi, philosopher, theologian, and author. Sacks served as the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth from 1991 to 2013. As ...
argued that Jacobs could not appropriately say the blessing on being called up to read the Torah, because of his beliefs about its authorship.


Personal life and death

Ehrentreu was married to Ruchie Sternbuch, sister of Gaavad Moshe Sternbuch and Eliyahu Sternbuch (Dayan in Antwerp). Her sisters include the mother of R’ Asher Arieli and Judy Soloveitchik (wife of Rabbi Dovid Soloveitchik). Ehrentreu had many prominent siblings, including the late Rabbi Meir Tzvi Ehrentreu (son in law of Yehuda Zev Segal, the Manchester Rosh Yeshiva), Rabbi Yaakov (Yankel) Ehrentreu, Rosh Yeshiva of Sunderland Yeshiva, and Rabbi Avraham Ehrentreu, who is recognised as one of the leading Talmudists in Europe and is also a member of the Sunderland Yeshiva. Ehrentreu died in London on 24 November 2022, at the age of 89. Ehrentreu's uncle was Rabbi Leo Jung.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ehrentreu, Chanoch 1932 births 2022 deaths 20th-century English rabbis 21st-century English rabbis British Orthodox rabbis Rabbis from Manchester People from Golders Green German emigrants to the United Kingdom People from Hesse-Nassau Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Rabbis from London Rabbis from Frankfurt