Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Ferber was born in Kovno in 1879. He was a renowned Torah and Talmudic scholar who emigrated to Manchester, England in 1911 and then in 1913 became the Rabbi and leader of the West End Talmud Torah Synagogue (Kehilas Yeshurun) in Soho, London. He was known as a regular visitor to the nearby British Museum Reading Room.
Rabbi Ferber was a prolific author and was renowned as a riveting orator who gave his sermons in Yiddish. He was active in communal affairs, and established the Chesed V’emeth Burial Society in 1915. He was for many years the honorary secretary of the London “Vaad Harabonim” (rabbinical council of the Federation of Synagogues) and chairman of the Association of London Rabbis (“Hisachdus Harabonim”). he was a member of the World Rabbinical council of Agudas Yisroel. He closely collaborated with Rabbi Dr Meir Jung and Rabbi Dr Victor Schonfeld in communal issues. He was a friend of Rabbi Kook, Chief Rabbi of Palestine, from the time that the latter was Rabbi of Machzike Hadath in London. Rabbi Ferber died in November 1966.
His books include his seminal work, Kerem Hatzvi, published between 1920 and 1938.
I have previously written about several of Rabbi Ferber’s books. This one is his commentary and explanations of the Haggadah. It is clearly written and has many interesting explanations, including the Halachas (Laws) of Pesach. This book is still available in a modern printing, but this is the first edition.
My copy has an inscription from Rabbi Abraham Moses Babad, a son-in-law of the Premishlaner Rebbe, who writes that he received it from the author.
Rabbi Babad was born in Mukulince, Poland (now in Ukraine) in 1909. The name Babad is an acronym of Ben Av Beth Din (son of the head of the rabbinical court). He received semicha at the yeshiva in Tarnopol (today Ternopil in western Ukraine). He emigrated to London in 1936 and married Chaya Margulies, daughter of the Premishlaner Rebbe (Rabbi Yisroel Arye Marguilies). He became minister of the small Ahavat Emet Synagogue in London’s East End (about 1937) and later joint principal with Rabbi (later Dayan) Michael Fisher, of Yeshivah Or Yisroel in Stamford Hill (1937-1943), consisting of 20 boys rescued from Nazi-occupied Europe by Rabbi Dr. Solomon Schonfeld, presiding Rabbi of the UOHC. He served as minister of Edgware Adath Yisroel Synagogue, London (1943-1947) before moving to Sunderland to become rabbi of the Sunderland Beth Hamidrash (1947-1965) and became president of Sunderland Yeshiva. Rabbi Babad was chairman of the European Executive of Agudas Israel. He was a devoted Chasid of Belz and died in London on 31st March, 1966.
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