Yehuda Krinsky

Yehuda Krinsky

Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky outside 770 Eastern Parkway
Born Chaim Yehuda Krinsky
(1933-12-03) December 3, 1933
Boston, Massachusetts
Occupation Chabad administrator
Years active 1954 – present
For the 19th century Rabbi, see Yehuda Leib Krinsky.

Chaim Yehuda ("Yudel") Krinsky (born December 3, 1933, in Boston, Massachusetts)[1] is an ordained rabbi and a member of Chabad-Lubavitch movement. He served in various positions of the movement's administrative staff since 1954, and as a personal secretary (along with Rabbi Binyomin Klein) and press director for the movement's leader, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson.[2]

In 1988, after the passing of his wife, Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka Schneerson, Schneerson named Krinsky sole executor of his will. Today, Krinsky is among the most influential figures within the Chabad movement.[3]

Biography

Krinsky grew up in Dorchester, Massachusetts and was educated at the Boston Latin School. At the age of 12, he was sent by his parents to study at the Central Lubavitch Yeshiva in Brooklyn, where he received his rabbinic ordination.[1] He joined Schneerson's staff in 1952 as a driver.[4]

Activities

In 1956 Krinsky was called upon by Schneerson to join his personal staff, which was then headed by Rabbi Mordechai Aisik Hodokov.[4] Krinsky's position included work on behalf of the Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch, the educational arm of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. At that time, Schneerson also appointed Krinsky to direct the Lubavitch News Service. In this capacity, he was in charge of disseminating the Rebbe's talks around the world via satellite.[5]

In 1972, Schneerson appointed Krinsky to serve on the administrative boards of the movement's umbrella organization, Agudas Chasidei Chabad, and the educational arm, Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch.

In 1988, Rabbi Schneerson appointed Krinsky to serve as sole executor of his will.[6]

In 1990, Rabbi Schneerson selected Krinsky to serve as the official secretary of the movement's three central organizations, Agudas Chasidei Chabad, Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch, and Machneh Israel, the movement's social services arm.

Today, Krinsky is Chairman of Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch and Machneh Israel, secretary of Agudas Chasidei Chabad, and director of the Kehot Publication Society. He has been active in helping build new schools and expanding the reach of the Chabad movement around the world.[7]

He has been active in efforts to retrieve a large library of books connected to the Chabad movement which is in the custody of the Russian government. Many of the books were seized from the previous Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, as part of a Soviet crackdown on religion after the Russian Revolution of 1917. Krinsky garnered the support of actor Jon Voight and politician Sam Brownback for this cause.[8]

Family

Krinsky married Devorah Kasinetz, daughter of Rabbi Zev and Ethel Kasinetz. Their children are:

Recognition

Krinsky's achievements have been recognized in the press. He appeared in several lists of influential American Jews, including the Forward 50 in 2005.[12]

From 2007 to 2013,[13] Newsweek magazine compiled an annual list of the fifty most influential rabbis in the United States. Krinsky's was nominated to the list each year. His placings varied from year to year, but he never dropped from the top five.

References

  1. 1 2 "Testimony :: Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky". Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
  2. ↑ Sperter, Michael (19 March 1992). "Jewish faithful flock to Brooklyn orthodox sect leader". New York Times Magazine.
  3. ↑ Ehrlich, M. Avrum. The Messiah of Brooklyn: Understanding Lubavitch Hasidim Past and Present. Ktav Publishing. ISBN 0-88125-836-9. (Chapter 20)
  4. 1 2 Frankfurter, Rabbi Yitzchok. "The Life of a Mazkir: Q&A with Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky". Ami, June 10, 2015, pp. 74-78.
  5. ↑ "Rabbi using modern medium in call for traditional values". The New York Times, 23 January 1983.
  6. ↑ "In Conversation: Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky". 14 February 1988. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
  7. ↑ Gonzalez, David (8 November 1994). "Lubavitchers Learn to Sustain Themselves Without the Rebbe". The New York Times.
  8. ↑ Hananel, Sam (6 April 2005). "Commission hears efforts to retrieve Jewish texts from Russia". Associated Press.
  9. ↑ "Shterna Sarah Garelik Bride Of Rabbi Hillel David Krinsky". The New York Times. 8 April 1981. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
  10. ↑ "WEDDINGS; Rivkah Gutnick, Shmaya Krinsky". The New York Times. 5 June 1994. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
  11. ↑ "Sheine B. Krinsky Is the Bride Of Rabbi Joseph B. Friedman". The New York Times. 3 April 1979. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
  12. ↑ PR Newswire (10 November 2005). "Rapper, Republicans, Relief Org. Heads and Rabbis Named to Forward 50, by America's National Jewish Newspaper".
  13. ↑ "Newsweek's 'Top 50 Rabbis' List Is Ending After Seven Years." The Huffington Post. Feb. 25, 2014.
  14. ↑ Lynton, Michael (2 April 2007). "The Top 50 Rabbis in America". Newsweek.
  15. ↑ Lynton, Michael (11 April 2008). "Top 50 Influential Rabbis in America". Newsweek.
  16. ↑ Lynton, Michael; Ginsberg, Gary; Sanderson, Jay (2009). "50 Influential Rabbis". Newsweek. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
  17. 1 2 Lynton, Michael; Ginsberg, Gary (2010). "The 50 Most Influential Rabbis in America". Newsweek. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
  18. ↑ Pogrebin, Abigail. "America’s Top 50 Rabbis for 2012". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  19. ↑ In explaining the reason for its demotion of Krinsky, Newsweek and the Daily Beast cited ongoing "pesky lawsuits" involving Krinsky.
  20. ↑ Pogrebin, Abigail (2012-04-02). "America’s Top 50 Rabbis for 2012". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
  21. ↑ "America's top 50 rabbis." The Daily Beast. Accessed November 30, 2014.
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