Elchanan Heilprin

Rabbi Elchanan Halpern
Personal life
Born	(1921-12-26)December 26, 1921 Košice, Czechoslovakia
Died	February 18, 2015(2015-02-18) (aged 93) London
Religious life
Religion	Judaism

Elchanan Halpern (December 26, 1921 – February 18, 2015) was the Rabbi of the Golders Green neighbourhood of London[1][2] and President of the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations.[2] He was also known as the Av Beit Din of Radomishl[1][2] after the town of his maternal grandfather, Rabbi Shmuel Engel [de; he; yi], Rav of Radomishl.

He was born in Košice, Czechoslovakia. Both of his parents were descendants of Rabbi Chaim Halberstam.[3]

In his youth, he studied several years under his grandfather, Rabbi Shmuel Engel,[2] until the death of the latter, who was formally eulogised by Halpern,[3] then aged 13. At age 14, Halpern corresponded with Rabbi Joseph Rosen.[1][3][4][5]

After his marriage, he settled in London.[2]

At the time of Halpern's death, He was considered one of the most senior rabbis in the world. He left behind over 1,400 direct descendants, including grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren. His five sons and four sons-in-law all hold important rabbinic positions.[1]

References

1. Hurvitz, Nattan; Hoffman, Aharon Yosef (2015) [Originally published 2014 in Hebrew]. "Most Descendants on Record". The Book of Amazing Facts and Feats. Vol. 4. Translated into English by Brocha David. Feldheim Publishers. p. 20. ISBN 978-1-59826-149-3.
2. גאב"ד ראדמושילא: הגאון רבי אלחנן הלפרין זצ"ל. Kikar HaShabbat (in Hebrew). 18 February 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
3. נשבה ארון ה' • הגה"צ רבי אלחנן היילפרין גאב"ד ראדומישלא זצוקללה"ה. JDN [he] (in Hebrew). 18 February 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
4. אב"ד ראדומישלא: הגאון רבי אלחנן הלפרין זצ"ל. Bhol [he] (in Hebrew). 18 February 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
5. See Joseph Rosen. סימן ריב. שאלות ותשובות צפנת פענח (in Hebrew). p. 117. Retrieved 6 October 2021.