Tobias Schanfarber

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Tobias Schanfarber (December 20, 1862 – March 4, 1942) was a Jewish-American rabbi who served in Chicago for more than 40 years. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, he was the son of Aaron Schanfarber and Sara Newman and attended local public schools. He earned a B.A. from the University of Cincinnati in 1885 and was ordained a rabbi by Hebrew Union College in 1886. He received an honorary Doctor of Hebrew Laws from Hebrew Union College in 1933 and studied Semitic languages at Johns Hopkins University from 1894 to 1898.

Schanfarber held several early rabbinic posts: Shomer Emunim in Toledo (1886–1887), Congregation Achduth Vesholom in Fort Wayne (1887–1888), Har Sinai Congregation in Baltimore (1888–1898), and Congregation Sha’arai Shomayim in Mobile (1899–1901). In 1901 he became rabbi of Kehilath Anshe Ma’arav in Chicago, serving there until 1926, when he became rabbi emeritus.

He helped form congregations in Gary and Hammond, Indiana, and in Chicago as a regional director for District 26 of the Synagogue and School Extension Department. He was also the corresponding secretary and treasurer of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, president of the Chicago Rabbinical Association, vice-president of the Illinois Vigilance Society, and a member of several organizations. He edited or co-edited several periodicals, including The Reform Advocate, The Chicago Israelite, and The Sentinel.

A disciple of Isaac Wise, Schanfarber was part of the first generation of American-trained rabbis. Early in his career he supported a more radical Reform approach, such as Sunday Shabbat services, but later he adopted a more moderate stance and opposed secularism that would remove God and the Torah from Jewish life. He was described as a cultured, liberal thinker with strong convictions and strong public speaking ability.

In 1890 he married Carrie Philllipson, a founder of the Miriam Club for Jewish working girls; they had no children. He died in Miami, Florida, on March 4, 1942, less than twelve hours after his sister’s death. His funeral was held at Kehilath Anshe Ma’arav, with his nephew by marriage Rabbi Felix A. Levy delivering the sermon, and Rabbi Jacob J. Weinstein of KAM officiating. He was buried in Mount Maryiv Cemetery.