TREASURES FROM THE RABBI’S LIBRARY – PART 6

Over many years Rabbi Dunner has collected innumerable oddities and rarities spanning every era of Jewish history and literary activity. In his series “Treasures from the Rabbi’s Library”, Rabbi Dunner reveals some of the forgotten pieces hidden away in storage for many years, revealing the stories behind them, and the reasons for his interest in them.

In this episode, Rabbi Dunner shares the story of Rabbi Joseph Shapotshnick, a notorious maverick rabbi who lived in London during the interwar years. A prolific publisher of books pamphlets and newspapers, Shapotshnick managed to unite almost every rabbi in the world in condemnation against him when he tried to free Agunot whose husbands had disappeared during the First World War.

Although he is now largely forgotten, Shapotshnick’s legacy lives on in his manifold publications and colorful correspondence. Over many years, Rabbi Dunner has managed to amass everything this rabbi ever published, and in this fascinating talk shares details of the dramatic life story of this extraordinary rabbinic eccentric.