Yoel Halpern (1904 – 6 September 1983) was a Polish rabbi. He was the rabbi of

Jasło Jasło is a county town in south-eastern Poland with 36,641 inhabitants, as of 31 December 2012. It is situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (since 1999), and it was previously part of Krosno Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is located in Lesser ...

, Poland prior to

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. After the Holocaust, he was one of the rabbis of

Bergen-Belsen Bergen-Belsen (), or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in Northern Germany, northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen, Lower Saxony, Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, ...

and of the

British Occupation Zone The British occupation zone in Germany (German: ''Britische Besatzungszone Deutschlands'') was one of the Allied-occupied areas in Germany after World War II. The United Kingdom, along with the Commonwealth, was one of the three major Allied po ...

in Germany. After emigrating to the United States he was a rabbi in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York.

Biography

Rabbi Yoel Halpern was born in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

in 1904. His father Rabbi Mattisyahu Chaim was the rabbi of

Dobczyce Dobczyce is a town in southern Poland, situated since 1999 in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship (previously in Kraków Voivodeship from 1975 to 1998). As of December 2021, the town has a population of 6,388. There is a large dam with Lake Dobczyce ...

. Rabbi Halpern received his rabbinical ordination from rabbi Shmuel Engel of Radomshile.

Jasło

When he came of age, Halpern married Dina, the daughter of rabbi Elimelech Rubin who was the rabbi of Jasło. After marriage, Halpern founded a

yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...

and a

bais yaakov Bais Yaakov (, also Beis Yaakov, Beit Yaakov, Beth Jacob or Beys Yankev; ) is a genericized name for full-time Haredi Jewish elementary and secondary schools for girls worldwide. Bais Yaakov, started by Sarah Schenirer in post-World War I K ...

in Jasło. Subsequently, Halpern was appointed Rabbi of Jasło.

During the Holocaust

When

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

began, Rabbi Halpern attempted to flee the Nazis but he was arrested by the Russians while crossing the border. When he was released from prison, he moved to

Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...

where he was a spiritual advisor to his fellow

refugees A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

Leadership roles in Germany

Rabbi of Bergen-Belsen and of the British Occupation Zone in Germany

After World War II ended, Halpern moved to Bergen-Belsen, where was appointed as rabbi. He officiated over 1,800 weddings of Holocaust survivors and circumcised more than 1,500 boys. He also permitted hundreds of

agunot An aguna or agunah (, plural: , ''ʿaḡunoṯ'') is a Jewish woman who is stuck in her marriage as determined by traditional halakha (Jewish law). The classic case is a man who has left on a journey and has not returned or has gone into battle ...

to remarry.

Leader of the "Vaad Harabanim of the British Zone"

Rabbi Halpern was the founder and leader of the "Vaad Harabanim (council of Rabbis) of the British Zone". The Vaad consisted of many notable Rabbis in the British zone, including Rabbi Chaim Pinchas Lubinsky (

Hannover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

), Rabbi

Shlomo Zev Zweigenhaft Shlomo Zev Zweigenhaft (Hebrew: ) was a rabbi and Rosh Hashochtim of Poland (overseeing the country's kosher slaughterers) before the Holocaust. After the Holocaust he was Chief Rabbi of Hanover and Lower Saxony. After emigrating to the United S ...

(Hannover), Rabbi

Yisroel Aryeh Zalmanowitz Yisroel Aryeh Zalmanowitz (; December 29, 1916–June 23, 2003) was an Ashkenazi rosh yeshiva in Bursha before the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in ...

(Bergen-Belsen), Rabbi

Yisroel Moshe Olewski Rabbi Yisroel Moshe Olewski (1916–1966) was the rabbi of Radziejów, Poland prior to the holocaust. After the holocaust, he was one of the rabbis of Bergen-Belsen and the Chief Rabbi of Celle. Later, after emigrating to the United States he was ...

(

Celle Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle (district), Celle in Lower Saxony, in north-central Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the river Aller (Germany), Aller, a tributary of the Weser, and has a population of about ...

)., Rabbi Yissocher Berish Rubin (Bergen-Belsen) and Rabbi Yitzchak Glickman (Bergen-Belsen). On several occasions the Vaad formed a bais din in Hannover and in other smaller communities in the zone.

In the United States

In 1949, the British occupation of North-West Germany ended and the British Chief Rabbi's Religious Emergency Council and its appointees were required to wrap up their operations in Germany. Halpern then emigrated to the United States. He settled in Brownsville and where he was the Rabbi of a synagogue. Later he moved to

Boro Park Borough Park (also spelled Boro Park) is a neighborhood in the southwestern part of the borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn, in New York City. The neighborhood is bordered by Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, Bensonhurst to the south, Dyker Heigh ...

where he was a rabbi and the leader "Merkaz Chinuch Hatorah" (Center for

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

Education). Rabbi Halpern died on 6 September 1983.

Family

Halpern's wife Dina and their three children were not able to escape when the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

invaded Poland and were murdered in the Holocaust.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Halpern, Yoel 1904 births 1983 deaths Polish Orthodox rabbis Polish Holocaust survivors 20th-century Polish rabbis Polish emigrants to the United States 20th-century American rabbis People from Kraków