Rabbi Yakov Chaim Hilsenrath

Rabbi Yakov Chaim Hilsenrath was born in 1932 in Vienna, Austria. Escaping with his family after Kristallnacht, he was raised in the immigrant Chassidic world of Williamsburg and studied in the American yeshiva world of Lithuania. In his life mission to change the world for the better, Rabbi Hilsenrath illuminated people’s lives with his magnetic personality, contagious sense of humor, and most importantly, his ability to make Torah relevant and enjoyable. Shabbos after Shabbos, Yom Tov after Yom Tov, people came to shul to be mesmerized by the manner in which Rabbi Hilsenrath wove a tapestry of the Weekly Parsha utilizing Chazal, current events, and the challenges of interpersonal relationships. Young and old knew the Rabbi was speaking from the heart to the heart, and the message remarkably hit its mark as if the words were tailored for each individual. Overt in his emunah, private in his family life, embracing of people of all walks of life, Rabbi Hilsenrath’s essence was to serve as a meaningful and relevant link from generation to generationfor his children and for the Jewish People.