Rabbi Raphael Pelcovitz (1921 - March 14, 2018), best known for his years as rabbi of

Far Rockaway Far Rockaway is a neighborhood on the eastern part of the Rockaway peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens. It is the easternmost section of the Rockaways. The neighborhood extends from Beach 32nd Street east to the Nassau County line ...

's Congregation Knesseth Israel (

The White Shul Congregation Kneseth Israel ( he, ק׳׳ק כנסת ישראל), commonly referred to as the White Shul, is a synagogue located in Far Rockaway, Queens. The congregation was established in 1922 as Talmud Torah Kneseth Israel and was nicknamed "The ...

) was also the author of four books published by

ArtScroll ArtScroll is an imprint of translations, books and commentaries from an Orthodox Jewish perspective published by Mesorah Publications, Ltd., a publishing company based in Rahway, New Jersey. Rabbi Nosson Scherman is the general editor. ArtScroll' ...

Biography

The Canton, Ohio born Pelcovitz was a student of Rabbi

Shlomo Heiman Shlomo Heiman, (1892–1945) known informally as "Reb Shlomo", was a rabbi, Talmudist, and rosh yeshiva. He led some of the most prominent yeshivas in Europe and the United States. Early life Shlomo Heiman was born in Paritsh, Minsk in Belaru ...

at Yeshiva Torah Vodaath and also studied at the Chevron Yeshiva. He "served several out-of-town synagogues before coming to the White Shul in 1951." Pelcovitz was the shul's third rabbi, but the first to publicly speak in English. Part of his career included serving as a rebbi at

Yeshiva Torah Vodaas Yeshiva Torah Vodaas (or Yeshiva and Mesivta Torah Vodaath or Yeshiva Torah Vodaath or Torah Vodaath Rabbinical Seminary ) is a ''yeshiva'' in the Kensington neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. History The yeshiva was conceived in 1917 and for ...

. One of his books, ''Balanced Parenting'', he co-authored with his older son Dr. David Pelcovitz, a psychologist. Another was an acclaimed translation of

Sforno Ovadia ben Jacob Sforno (Obadja Sforno, Hebrew: עובדיה ספורנו) was an Italian rabbi, Jewish commentaries on the Bible, Biblical commentator, philosopher and physician. A member of the Sforno (family), Sforno family, he was born in Ce ...

Chumash Chumash may refer to: *Chumash (Judaism), a Hebrew word for the Pentateuch, used in Judaism *Chumash people, a Native American people of southern California *Chumashan languages, indigenous languages of California See also *Chumash traditional n ...

. He was survived by his wife, their four children, and both grandchildren and greatgrandchildren.

References

External links

Funeral, Rabbi Pelcovitz, White Shul web site
1921 births 2018 deaths American Orthodox rabbis 20th-century American rabbis 21st-century American rabbis {{US-rabbi-stub