Ezras Torah Fund
Corporate brand
UnclaimedA Jewish relief organization established in New York in 1915 to support rabbis, yeshivas, and Torah institutions during periods of crisis.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Ezras Torah Fund is a Jewish relief and philanthropic organization founded in New York City during the First World War. It was established on August 25, 1915, corresponding to 15 Elul 5675, at Congregation Mishkan Israel on Manhattan's Lower East Side. The founding meeting involved members of the Agudas HaRabbanim and the Vaad HaRabbanim of New York, two rabbinical bodies associated with Orthodox Jewish communal life in the United States. The organization developed from the Central Relief Committee, which had been created in late 1914 by the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America with assistance from New York rabbinical organizations. The Central Relief Committee addressed the needs of Orthodox Jews in Europe whose lives and institutions had been disrupted by the war. Ezras Torah was formed with a more specific mission: to provide assistance to town rabbis, roshei yeshiva, yeshivas, and other Torah leaders and institutions affected by wartime upheaval. Its initial work therefore combined emergency relief with the preservation of religious and educational infrastructure. After the First World War, the fund broadened its scope beyond the immediate wartime emergency and developed a worldwide orientation. Its historical role has been associated with distributing aid through rabbinical and Torah networks, particularly when Jewish religious communities faced displacement, poverty, persecution, or institutional disruption. The organization is best understood as a philanthropic service institution rather than a commercial consumer brand. The founding leadership consisted of Rabbi Israel Rosenberg, Rabbi Philip Klein, also known as Hillel HaKohen, and Rabbi Yaakov Eskolsky. Rosenberg served as president until his death in 1956. Klein was treasurer until his death in 1926, while Eskolsky served as secretary until 1928. The figure most closely associated with the organization's long-term development was Rabbi Yosef Eliyahu Henkin, who became its director in the summer of 1925 and remained in that position until his death in 1973. Ezras Torah has also produced and sponsored religious publications connected with its relief and communal mission. These include Sefer HaZikaron, published around 1919; Zichron B'Sefer in 1922; Luach HaYovel Shel Ezras Torah around 1936; Eidus L'Yisroel around 1946; She'eris Yisroel in 1956; and Luach Minhagei Beis HaKnesses, an annual publication issued from 1969 onward. The annual calendar and synagogue-practice publication is the organization's best-documented continuing publication program. Public information about its current officers, finances, organizational structure, and operational programs is limited in the supplied reference material. Its historical identity, however, is clear: Ezras Torah Fund is a century-old Orthodox Jewish relief organization whose work originated in First World War assistance and expanded into a broader international support role for rabbis, yeshivas, and Torah institutions.
History
Ezras Torah Fund emerged from the Orthodox Jewish relief efforts organized in New York during the First World War. In late 1914, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America helped establish the Central Relief Committee, with substantial participation from the Agudas HaRabbanim and the Vaad HaRabbanim of New York. The committee responded to the severe disruption experienced by Jewish communities in Europe, including the loss of livelihoods and the weakening of religious institutions. On August 25, 1915, a separate organization known as Ezras Torah Fund was established at Congregation Mishkan Israel on Manhattan's Lower East Side. Its purpose was narrower and more institutionally focused than general war relief. It sought to assist town rabbis, roshei yeshiva, and yeshivas whose communities and educational systems had been damaged by wartime conditions. The organization thus treated rabbinical leadership and Torah education as priorities in the reconstruction of Jewish communal life. The founding officers were Rabbi Israel Rosenberg, Rabbi Philip Klein, also known as Hillel HaKohen, and Rabbi Yaakov Eskolsky. Rosenberg served as president from the organization's establishment until his death in 1956. Klein held the treasurer's position until his death in 1926, and Eskolsky served as secretary until 1928. Their early administration established the fund as a durable institution within American Orthodox Jewish communal networks. The organization's most prominent historical director was Rabbi Yosef Eliyahu Henkin. He assumed the directorship in the summer of 1925 and held it until his death in 1973. His nearly five decades of service made him the individual most strongly associated with Ezras Torah's institutional continuity and public identity. During the period after the First World War, the organization's mandate expanded from a response to a specific European emergency into a worldwide relief orientation. Ezras Torah also documented and reinforced its work through publications. Among its early and mid-century publications were Sefer HaZikaron, issued around 1919; Zichron B'Sefer in 1922; Luach HaYovel Shel Ezras Torah around 1936; Eidus L'Yisroel around 1946; and She'eris Yisroel in 1956. From 1969, it published Luach Minhagei Beis HaKnesses annually. These works connected the organization to Jewish communal memory, synagogue practice, and the preservation of religious custom. The supplied historical sources do not provide a complete account of later administrative changes, current officers, funding levels, or the precise geographic distribution of present-day aid. They do establish a continuing institutional identity rooted in relief for rabbis, yeshivas, and Torah communities. Ezras Torah's historical development reflects the transformation of an emergency wartime committee into a long-lived philanthropic organization serving Orthodox Jewish religious infrastructure on an international basis.
- 1973
End of Yosef Eliyahu Henkin's directorship
[1]Rabbi Yosef Eliyahu Henkin's directorship ended with his death in 1973.
- 1969
Annual Luach Minhagei Beis HaKnesses publication begins
[1]The organization began issuing Luach Minhagei Beis HaKnesses annually, a publication program documented as continuing in the reference material.
- 1956
Leadership transition after Israel Rosenberg's death
[1]Rabbi Israel Rosenberg, the founding president, died after serving in that role from the organization's establishment.
- 1928
Yaakov Eskolsky's secretaryship ends
[1]Yaakov Eskolsky's documented service as secretary concluded in 1928.
- 1926
Death of founding treasurer Philip Klein
[1]Philip Klein, one of the founding leaders and the organization's treasurer, died in 1926.
- 1925
Yosef Eliyahu Henkin becomes director
[1]Rabbi Yosef Eliyahu Henkin began serving as director in the summer of 1925, initiating a tenure that continued until 1973.
- 1919
Sefer HaZikaron published
[1]Ezras Torah issued Sefer HaZikaron, one of the organization's early documented publications.
- 1915
Ezras Torah Fund founded
[1]The organization was established on August 25, 1915, at Congregation Mishkan Israel on Manhattan's Lower East Side to support rabbis, roshei yeshiva, and yeshivas affected by wartime upheaval.
- 1914
Central Relief Committee established
[1]The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, working with rabbinical organizations, created the Central Relief Committee to assist Orthodox Jews in Europe affected by the First World War.
Products and positioning
A traditional Orthodox Jewish philanthropic institution focused on sustaining rabbinical leadership, Torah education, and religious communities during hardship.
Religious calendar and synagogue-practice publication · 1969
Luach Minhagei Beis HaKnesses
An annual publication documenting synagogue customs and related Jewish religious practices. It has been issued from 1969 onward and represents Ezras Torah's continuing publication work alongside its charitable mission.
Religious publication · 1919
Sefer HaZikaron
An early Ezras Torah publication documented as appearing around 1919, during the organization's formative period following its establishment as a wartime relief institution.
Religious publication · 1922
Zichron B'Sefer
A publication issued by Ezras Torah in 1922, reflecting the organization's broader role in supporting Orthodox Jewish religious and communal life.
Commemorative religious publication · 1936
Luach HaYovel Shel Ezras Torah
A commemorative or anniversary-related publication associated with Ezras Torah and documented as appearing around 1936.
Religious publication · 1946
Eidus L'Yisroel
A publication issued around 1946 as part of the organization's historical record of religious and communal publishing.
Religious publication · 1956
She'eris Yisroel
A publication issued in 1956 and associated with Ezras Torah's mid-century religious and philanthropic work.
Sources2 sources
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