Shmuel Ehrenfeld [SEP] date of birth
Shmuel Ehrenfeld
Shmuel Ehrenfeld (, 1891–1980), known as the Mattersdorfer Rav, was a pre-eminent Orthodox Jewish rabbi in pre-war Austria and a respected Torah leader and community builder in post-war America. He established Yeshivas Chasan Sofer in New York City and taught thousands of students who went on to become leaders of American Torah Jewry. He also founded the neighborhood of Kiryat Mattersdorf in Jerusalem, Israel, where his son and grandson became prominent Torah educators. He was the great-great-grandson of
great-grandfather, Rabbi Shmuel Ehrenfeld (the "Chasan Sofer"), was the eldest grandson of the Chasam Sofer. At the time of his birth, his grandfather, Rabbi Simcha Bunim Ehrenfeld, was the Rav of the city; upon his death in 1926, Rabbi Shmuel Ehrenfeld succeeded him as Rav. Akiva had a younger brother, Simcha Bunim, and five sisters.
The family fled Austria in 1938 with the Anschluss. They arrived in New York on September 13, 1938. Two months later, Akiva