Rebel Rabbi
The Life and Controversies of Joseph
Shapotshnick
This book is an account of one of pre-war Europe's most controversial
rabbis. Originally from Kishinev and Odessa, Rabbi Joseph Shapotshnick
settled in the East End of London in 1913 where he set himself up as ‘Chief
Rabbi’ and began conducting activities that brought him into conflict
not just with the real Chief Rabbi and his Beth Din, but with some of
the leading Ultra Orthodox rabbis of his day. A champion of lost causes
and a brilliant Talmudic scholar, Shapotshnick’s tempestuous contribution
to Jewish life has been all but forgotten. This book brings him, the milieu
in which he operated, and pre-war Orthodox Jewish life vividly and evocatively
back to life.