The Rabbi of 84th Street

Rabbi Haskel Besser, a Hasidic Rabbi on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, is a powerful presence: a deeply religious man who is at home in the world. With an easy smile and a commitment to humanity, Rabbi Besser spreads joy wherever he goes, enriching the lives of his many friends and congregants with his profound understanding of both Orthodox Judaism and human nature. Journalist Warren Kozak befriended Rabbi Besser in 1988 and writes with warmth and admiration about the Rabbi’s extraordinary life. The engrossing narrative takes the reader through the Besser family’s remarkable, and remarkably prescient, move to Palestine in the late 1930s; the Rabbi’s witnessing of Israel’s rebirth; and his move to New York City, where he fell in love with the cosmopolitanism and vital Jewish community of his new home. Filled with insightful details of the Rabbi’s growth as a man and a spiritual leader, this is also the story of Judaism in the 20th century, of the importance of centuries-old traditions to the 21st century, and of the triumph of faith, kindness, and spirit.

• Author: Kozak, Warren
• SKU: HC-R8S