By Cindy Mindell

Rabbi Joseph Ehrenkranz

STAMFORD — Rabbi Joseph Ehrenkranz, the former spiritual leader of Congregation Agudath Sholom in Stamford and co-founder of the Center for Christian Jewish Understanding at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, died on Sunday, Feb. 23 at his home in Tel Aviv, where he had retired.

Born in Newark, N.J. in 1926, Ehrenkranz attended the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary at Yeshiva University in New York City, studying under director Joseph Ber Soloveitchik, a renowned American Orthodox rabbi and Talmudist. He  began working as a student rabbi at Congregation Agudath Sholom in 1948. He received ordination in 1949 and served as senior rabbi at Agudath Sholom for more than 40 years, engaging with the greater Jewish community as a charter member of the Stamford Board of Rabbis. Under “Rabbi Joe’s” leadership, the synagogue flourished to become the largest Orthodox congregation in New England.

“In many ways, the Stamford Orthodox community today is a result of Rabbi Ehrenkranz’s vision, his dedication, and his wisdom,” says Rabbi Daniel Cohen, who became spiritual leader of Agudath Sholom in 2005 and visited with Ehrenkranz in Israel last week. “When I was with him, he reflected with me on how tough it was to root Torah Judaism in the city, but to his credit, he built not only a synagogue, but a community and a vision of Orthodoxy which transcended the walls of the synagogue.”

Ehrenkranz spent a sabbatical year in Israel during the Six Day War in 1967, which led to his receiving the Mayor Teddy Kollek Award for service and resulted in a two-year stint as national chairman of the Rabbinic Advisory Board for the United Jewish Appeal. He spent Passover 1976 in Russia, conducting a large seder in Moscow for Jewish Refuseniks, including Anatoly Sharansky.

“Rabbi Ehrenkranz was a person who was always trying to build bridges, trying to impact people in small and large ways by amplifying godliness in every human being, and by ensuring that the Jewish people would continue to be a light unto the nations,” says Cohen. He actively promoted peace and coexistence, both for Israel and her neighbors and between Jews and members of other faiths. In 1978, he initiated the Peace Pilgrimage to Cairo and Jerusalem at the invitation of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, an event that received front-page New York Times coverage.

In 1985, Ehrenkranz was appointed as permanent representative to the United Nations NGO representing the Synagogue Council of America. He took many public stances on human rights issues and the needs of the community at large, serving on numerous mayoral committees, including human rights, fair housing, and interfaith cooperation.

The bust of Pope John Paul II, created by sculptor Marc Mellon under the auspices of The Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding (CCJU) of Sacred Heart University, was presented to the Pope at Vatican City, Oct. 24, 2001, with Rabbi Joseph H. Ehrenkranz (far right), who was then CCJU executive director, in attendance. Also pictured are (l to r) Marc Mellon and Dr. Anthony J. Cernera, president of Sacred Heart University.

In 1990, Ehrenkranz met with Pope John Paul II to assess Catholic-Jewish relations, the first of eight face-to-face dialogues with the pontiff. In 1992, Ehrenkranz co-founded the Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, together with then-SHU president Dr. Anthony J. Cernera. Ehrenkranz served as CCJU director from 1993 to 2008. He believed, in his words, that “the most important thing to us is world peace. You can’t have it without religious peace. And you can’t have religious peace without religious dialogue.” In 2000, he co-edited Religion and Violence, Religion and Peace with former SHU president Dr. David L. Coppola, based on papers presented at a 1998 conference held in Auschwitz, sponsored by CCJU.

“My 12 years working with the rabbi were blessed and I believe he was one of the Lamed Vav [36 righteous ones],” says Coppola, now president of Keystone College in LaPlume, Pa. “Never consumed, a constant spark of enthusiasm, a bright fire of excitement, ‎and an occasional ember of reflection, Rabbi Joe taught me to be a better Christian and person and invited me to be his friend. Whether in the company of world leaders or children, Rabbi Joe was a passionate, life-long learner and excellent teacher who worked tirelessly to repair the world through dialogue, good will, and humor. He will be deeply missed and the memory of his life and witness will be treasured for generations by many, including my own sons.”

Ehrenkranz was granted an honorary doctorate by Sacred Heart in 2010, along with CCJU’s prestigious Nostra Aetate Award for “his outstanding contributions to a world at peace.” Among his many ambitious undertakings was a series of study trips for bishops and rabbis to Auschwitz and the Vatican, which were pivotal in mending the traditional divide between Christians and Jews.

Ehrenkranz and his wife, Sandra, made aliyah in 2010 and lived in Tel Aviv, where he taught conversion classes at the Tel Aviv International Synagogue-Congregation Beit El.

“On a personal level, Rabbi Ehrenkranz was always there to support me and was a loving mentor,” says Cohen. “In my final conversation with him, I expressed a tremendous debt of gratitude for all of his support and shared with him that everyone who knew him will continue to build on the strong foundations that he planted within his community. I always admired his zest for life: he was a person who would never be at rest, who always tried to learn, to question, to grow, and to help more and try to expand the reach of his soul in this world.”

“There is so much I could say about him—his passion, his courage, his leadership, his vision. For me, he played so many roles in my life personally,” said Rabbi Ehrenkranz’s niece, Pam Ehrenkranze, who is executive director of UJA/Federation of Greenwich. “What I will carry forward is his legacy of learning, his love of life, Israel  and the pursuit of every dream (except, of course, his dream to play on the Yankees),  his example of courageous leadership, and practicing and teaching the Judaism that he taught me — the one where we must always find a way to use Jewish law and Jewish wisdom to make the lives of others better, richer.


”Alongside my parents, my Rabbi –Joe Ehrenkranz – – taught me what it should mean to be a religiously observant Jew,” said Rabbi Ehrenkranz’s cousin, Sen. Joseph Lieberman.  “He was a charismatic teacher, a learned scholar, and a compelling advocate for a Judaism that reached out, based on values, and aimed to make the world a better place. Rabbi Joe’s Orthodox Judaism was not insular or parochial. It was proud and worldly. After he retired from the pulpit at Congregation Agudath Sholom in Stamford, he began a new chapter at the Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding at Sacred Heart University where he played a very important part in one of the greatest developments of our time — the reconciliation of Roman Catholics and Jews. And, on top of all that, Rabbi Joe was a lot of fun to be with. He enjoyed life and helped others do the same. In my case, I not only remember the lessons from Torah he taught me, but the lessons from baseball he taught me when he would take a group of us kids to New York to see his beloved Yankees. May our memories of Rabbi Joe Ehrenkranz be not just a blessing but a lesson. ”

Rabbi Joseph Ehrenkranz is survived by his wife and children, Bart Ehrenkranz, Doris Friedenberg, Laura Ehrenkranz, and Bina Fendel, and stepchildren, Alan Glanzman, Michelle Wolfe, and Howard Glanzman, as well as many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Funeral services were held on Tuesday, Feb. 25 at Congregation Agudath Sholom in Stamford, with interment at Agudath Sholom Cemetery.

Comments? Email cindym@jewishledger.com.