Sholem Ber Hecht (born 1946) is an American

Chabad Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic group ...

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

. Hecht is the CEO of the

National Committee for the Furtherance of Jewish Education The National Committee for the Furtherance of Jewish Education (NCFJE) is a non-profit organization run by the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. It is a division of the Chabad movement's educational arm, Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch.Lubavitch.com. "Division ...

(NCFJE).

Family

Hecht was born in 1946, the eldest son of Jacob J. Hecht, a Chabad rabbi who was one of the closest and most trusted officials of the Lubavitcher Rebbe

Menachem Mendel Schneerson Menachem Mendel Schneerson (Modern Hebrew: מנחם מענדל שניאורסון; old-fashioned spelling: מנחם מענדל שניאורסאהן; April 5, 1902 OS – June 12, 1994; AM 11 Nissan 5662 – 3 Tammuz 5754), known to man ...

. His brother is Rabbi Shea Hecht. Hecht grew up in

East Flatbush, Brooklyn East Flatbush is a residential neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. East Flatbush is bounded by Crown Heights and Empire Boulevard to the north; Brownsville and East 98th Street to the east; Flatlands, Canarsie and the L ...

. Hecht is married to Channah (née Gutnick), originally from Melbourne, Australia. They have 14 children.

Career

Since the 1970s, Hecht has been the rabbi of the Sephardic Jewish Congregation & Center of

Forest Hills, Queens Forest Hills is a mostly residential neighborhood in the central portion of the borough of Queens in New York City. It is adjacent to Corona to the north, Rego Park and Glendale to the west, Forest Park to the south, Kew Gardens to the southeast, ...

. Hecht also serves as the senior Chabad ''

shaliach In Jewish law, a shaliaḥ ( he, שָלִיחַ, ; pl. , ''sheliḥim'' or ''sheliah'', literally "emissary" or "messenger") is a legal agent. In practice, "the shaliaḥ for a person is as this person himself." Accordingly, a shaliaḥ performs ...

'' in the borough of

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

and is a teacher of science and religion at

Beth Rivkah Beth Rivkah ( he, בית רבקה, ''Bais Rivkah'', lit. "House of Rebecca"), formally known as Associated Beth Rivkah Schools, is a private girls' school system affiliated with the Chabad Lubavitch Hasidic movement. It was established in 1 ...

girls seminary in Brooklyn. He was previously the editor in English publications at Sichos, the clearinghouse for all of the English-language titles of the Lubavitch movement, and he served as the personal interpreter at live public addresses for the Lubavitcher Rebbe from 1990 to 1993. Hecht headed an emergency committee during the 1991

Crown Heights riot The Crown Heights riot was a race riot that took place from August 19 to August 21, 1991, in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York City. Black residents attacked orthodox Jewish residents, damaged their homes, and looted businesses. Th ...

. On March 6, 1994, Hecht spoke at the funeral of sixteen-year-old Ari Halberstam, who was murdered in a shooting on the Brooklyn Bridge. Hecht is a first cousin of Halberstam's mother.

Iran rescue operation

Hecht played a leading role in Operation Exodus, an organized

effort to aid the embattled

Jews of Iran Persian Jews or Iranian Jews ( fa, یهودیان ایرانی, ''yahudiān-e-Irāni''; he, יהודים פרסים ''Yəhūdīm Parsīm'') are the descendants of Jews who were historically associated with the Persian Empire, whose successor s ...

. From 1978 to 1980, Operation Exodus brought 1,800 Iranian Jewish children to the United States. In August 1978, Rabbis Hecht and Hertzel Illulian visited Tehran to establish a connection between Chabad and the Iranian Jewish community. In the 2019 book ''Escape from Iran: The Exodus of Persian Jewry During The Islamic Revolution of 1979'', Hecht chronicles the history of Operation Exodus.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hecht, Sholem Ber 1946 births 20th-century American rabbis 21st-century American rabbis American Hasidic rabbis Orthodox rabbis from New York City Living people