It is not my place to write a biography of Dr. Solomon Schonfeld, as so much has been written about him. Suffice it to say that he was born in London in 1912, the son of Rabbi Victor Schonfeld, that he was instrumental in rescuing Jews from Nazi repression before the Second World War and bringing them to England, and again in helping the remnants of European religious Jewry after the war. Many key Rabbis from central Europe were helped to come to London at the last minute by Solomon Schonfeld. He became the Rabbi of the Adath Yisroel community in North London in 1933, at a very young age. He was the presiding rabbi of the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations. He was the son-in-law of the Chief Rabbi, Dr. Joseph Hertz. But he was first and foremost an educationalist.
This book, Message to Jewry, is a compilation of his writings, messages and thoughts. My copy is an advance copy, signed by Solomon Schonfeld.
The main extract below is a very important document for the historical record of British Jewry. It is Solomon Schonfeld’s report of the activities of the Chief Rabbi’s Religious Emergency Council, 1938 to 1948. I have also included interesting articles on Anglo-Jewish orthodoxy and the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations.
Jewish Miscellanies 