This 13th of Adar, traditionally Ta’anis Esther, Erev Purim, marks the 22nd yahrzeit of our dear Rabbi Dr. Ephraim R. Wolf, HaRav Ephraim Reuven ben Nachum Chaim, zt”l. It’s no exaggeration to say that the Modern Orthodox community in Great Neck was shaped by him.
When Rabbi Wolf became the spiritual leader of the Great Neck Synagogue (GNS) in 1956, the peninsula’s dominant denominations were Reform and Conservative. At the time, Orthodoxy was perceived as outmoded and in decline, out of touch with modern society. “Through his force of personality, Rabbi Wolf was able to give a legitimacy to Orthodoxy that Great Neck might otherwise not have had,” according to Rabbi Dale Polakoff, who in 1988 succeeded Rabbi Wolf as rabbi of the Great Neck Synagogue, a congregation with close to 600 families.
Today, Orthodoxy is not only accepted but also thriving in Great Neck. In Rabbi Wolf’s early days in Great Neck, that was far from the case. With his humble manner, tolerance, and extraordinary ability to connect with people, no matter their background, Rabbi Wolf was able to bridge the gap. Stanley H. Fischer, Esq., a former President of GNS during Rabbi Wolf’s tenure, stated that Rabbi Wolf regularly visited Jewish patients at North Shore University Hospital, regardless of their affiliation. Rabbi Wolf would deliver a welcome package to all new Jewish residents of whom he was aware, and bring a special Beracha plaque to hang above the crib of a newborn baby boy before the brit milah – to which I can personally attest. When our son Joey was born in 1999, Rabbi Wolf was already the rabbi emeritus. Dr. Mel Breite told me that when he first moved to Great Neck in the 1970s, Rabbi Wolf learned of their needed sukkah repairs and appeared at the Breites’ residence the very next day with a brand-new sukkah!
Rabbi Wolf was devoted with all his heart and soul to our Holy Land. Everyone from Great Neck who traveled to Israel became a “shaliach mitzvah” – whether they were asked by Rabbi Wolf to deliver tennis balls for underprivileged children to play with, letters for posting (with the stamps already affixed), or much-needed dental supplies. Rabbi Wolf always referred to his congregants as “You beautiful people,” and he meant it with all his heart.
The Great Neck community grew rapidly. Rabbi Wolf, with the capable assistance of his wife, Rebbitzen Elaine Wolf, zt”l, established the North Shore Hebrew Academy (NSHA), a coeducational yeshiva that now has more than 1,100 students from toddler through high school on four campuses in Great Neck. He also established the local mikvah (which, to gain Village approval, was initially referred to as a “wading pool”!) and worked countless hours to gain approval for the Great Neck eruv. All of these achievements helped shape Great Neck into the bastion of Orthodoxy that it is today, eventually serving as home to the Young Israel of Great Neck, two Chabad shuls, and many Sephardic congregations, including Israeli, Persian, and Iraqi synagogues. For all of his great accomplishments, a section of Old Mill Road, where the Great Neck Synagogue is situated, is named Rabbi Wolf Way, even featured on Waze!
Rabbi Wolf’s involvement in Jewish causes was well known beyond the confines of Great Neck. Stanley and Jacqui Fischer remember being in a small town in a distant state when a man in an ice cream shop asked them where they lived. When they said “Great Neck,” he replied, “Please send my best to your esteemed rabbi – Rabbi Wolf!”
In the early days, Rabbi Wolf drove the bus to ensure students got to school at NSHA. On snowy days, Rabbi Wolf shoveled snow off sidewalks, recalled Sharon Goldwyn, a congregant who was a student at the North Shore Hebrew Academy in its early days. Her parents, Solomon and Belle z”l, were among the founders of both the school and the Synagogue. When snow got into her boots, Rabbi Wolf went back to her home to make sure she had dry socks and shoes. She couldn’t learn Torah if her feet were wet and cold, Rabbi Wolf told her.
Rabbi Wolf studied at Mesivta Torah Vodaas in Brooklyn, at Ner Israel Rabbinical College in Baltimore, and at Yeshiva Tifereth Israel in Israel. His early pulpits were in Malden, Mass., and in Wilkes-Barre, Penn., where he established yeshiva day schools. His entire life was devoted to kiruv rechokim (bringing Jews closer to Judaism) because he loved Torah and always sought ways to share that love. Rabbi Wolf was very active in the project of Zeirei Agudath Israel, headed by Mr. Mike Tress, zt”l, and Mesivta Torah Vodaas, headed by Rabbi Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz, zt”l. He wanted to do something for boys growing up in cities too small to support yeshivos. Rabbi Wolf was one of the “recruiters” who would travel to outlying areas, even sleeping in railway stations, with a list of boys who might be interested in coming to learn in Mesivta Torah Vodaas. Rabbi Wolf was a very practical man, and he strove to do whatever was possible to preserve Torah. He always had in mind what could be done in order to save a Jewish soul for Yiddishkeit.
When people write about the last 50 years, Rabbi Wolf will probably not be mentioned in the headlines, because he always shunned publicity. However, according to Menachem Porush, zt”l, the former Israeli Knesset member, whenever someone writes about a practical deed that was done for Torah and education in Eretz Yisroel and in America, the name of Rabbi Ephraim R. Wolf will be mentioned prominently as one of the outstanding, devoted activists in this holy field.
There are many more wonderful things to say about our dear Rabbi Wolf that are often expressed by myriad others around the world who were lucky enough to have known him. Permit me to focus on just one of the many traits that I personally experienced that made Rabbi Wolf so unique. When my wife, Drora, and I moved to Great Neck in 1993 with our family, Rabbi Wolf had already assumed the position of rabbi emeritus of GNS. I observed that both Rabbi and Rebbitzen Wolf would very modestly try not to intervene in the daily goings-on of the Synagogue, so as not to give the appearance of “still running the shul.” But one thing Rabbi Wolf couldn’t resist was making newcomers or strangers to the synagogue feel welcome. On many occasions, Rabbi Wolf would say to me, “Paul, you’re a friendly guy. Why don’t you go over and say Shalom Aleichem to that gentleman over there and make him feel at home?” Of course, when I went over and welcomed someone, I always felt really good about it. To this day, when somebody comes to the shul whom I do not recognize, I try to follow Rabbi Wolf’s sage advice, which invariably gives me the impetus to go over and welcome him. This is just one striking example of Rabbi Wolf’s sensitivity and care for others. I used to greet Rabbi Wolf every Shabbos with a jocular, “Thanks for coming, Rabbi, I know it’s your day off!” This always made him chuckle, and he would even repeat it to others. But, in all seriousness, my dear Rabbi Wolf, Thank you for coming!
I often think of Rabbi Wolf and his ezer kenegdo, Rebbitzen Wolf, during the year, and keep in touch with their sons, their wives, as well as some of their prominent grandchildren. On the Yomim Noraim, I cherish davening from one of Rabbi Wolf’s machzorim that his Rebbitzen presented to me after his petirah.
On his 22nd yahrzeit, we appreciate the wonderful legacy that Rabbi Wolf left behind for all of us: his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Four great-grandsons and one great-nephew named after him – Ephraim Reuven; all have celebrated their bar mitzvahs. Five great-grandchildren are engaged in advanced Torah study, including one in a Hesder yeshiva. One of his great-grandsons completed the officers’ training course in the IDF, and two others – both named after him – are proudly serving in the IDF, b”H. (May they and their fellow chayalim all come home safely and be matzliach, be”H.) There’s another new Ephraim Reuven in Baltimore, Md., and the family fondly calls him “Freddy,” the adored nickname of Rabbi Wolf.
May Rabbi Wolf’s neshama have an aliyah, and may his memory, together with his wife’s, be a blessing for us all, particularly for his children Rabbi Shimon and Hennie of Kew Gardens, N.Y., and Dr. Dahvid and Leah Wolf of Meitar, Israel, and for his many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, ken yirbu.