Letter fully Handwritten and Signed by Rabbi Shmuel Ehrenfeld, the Mattersdorfer Rav about a letter from his ...

Letter fully Handwritten and Signed by Rabbi Shmuel Ehrenfeld, the Mattersdorfer Rav about a letter from his grandfather the Chasan Sofer. 1939.

Rabbi Shmuel Ehrenfeld (1891–1980), known as the 'Mattersdorfer Rav'.

Rabbi Shmuel Ehrenfeld was born and raised in Mattersdorf, Austria. His parents were Rabbi Simcha Bunim Ehrenfeld, Rabbi of Mattersdorf, and Rebbetzin Gittel Krauss. His paternal grandfather, Rabbi Shmuel Ehrenfeld (1835–1883), known as the Chasan Sofer, was one of the oldest grandsons of the Chasam Sofer.

In addition to founding the Sofer-Ehrenfeld family line, the Chasam Sofer set the precedent for his family members to serve as rabbi of the Austrian town of Mattersdorf and head the yeshiva there. Mattersdorf had a Jewish presence going back to the eleventh century. The Chasam Sofer became Rabbi of the town in 1798. When he left to become Rabbi of Pressburg in 1807, he was succeeded in Mattersdorf by his uncle, Rabbi Bunim Eger (brother of Rabbi Akiva Eger), and then by his son, Rabbi Shimon Sofer (the Michtav Sofer). When Rabbi Shimon Sofer left to become Rabbi in Kraków, the Chasam Sofer's eldest grandson, Rabbi Shmuel Ehrenfeld the Chasan Sofer, became Rabbi of Mattersdorf. After Rabbi Shmuel's death in  5643, he was succeeded by his son, Rabbi Simcha Bunim Ehrenfeld (the Maaneh Simcha). When the latter died in 5686) he was succeeded by his son, Rabbi Shmuel Ehrenfeld.

Young Shmuel was an erudite scholar. He received rabbinic ordination from Rabbi Meir Arik and Rabbi Yosef Engel at the age of 19. Two years later, when his father fell ill, Shmuel ran the Mattersdorf yeshiva in his place.

He assumed the leadership of the Mattersdorf community after his father's death in 1926. His opinions and halakhic rulings were widely respected, and he also served as president of the Siebengemeinden (Sheva Kehillos, or Seven Communities) of Burgenland. He also had frequent dealings with government officials. He was instrumental in changing public policy to exempt Jewish students from studying in public schools and to have religious rather than secular teachers teach secular subjects in Torah schools. He also lobbied for Jewish soldiers to be granted leave on Shabbat and Yom Tov. For his accomplishments, he was awarded a gold medal from the Austrian government.

His leadership of the community ended abruptly in 1938 with the Anschluss. On Saturday, 12 March 1938, German soldiers raided the Mattersdorf synagogue during services and ripped the prayer shawls off the worshippers. Commandant Koch warned Ehrenfeld that unless all 4,000 Jews in the district left immediately, they would all be killed. After making many efforts to help relocate community members to safer shores, Ehrenfeld escaped with his family to America, where he arrived on 13 September 1938.

His first priority was the re-establishment of the Mattersdorf yeshiva in America. Two months after his arrival, he opened Yeshivas Chasan Sofer on the Lower East Side. The yeshiva later moved to Boro Park. 

He was known for his tremendous scholarship and scrupulous honesty. His son, Rabbi Simcha Bunim Ehrenfeld, recalled that before his future father-in-law visited his father to speak about the proposed shidduch with his daughter, he saw his father remove from his expansive library every volume that had his son's name written inside. The Rav explained that it was customary for visiting Torah scholars to browse through their host's bookshelves, and he did not want to impress his visitor with anything that did not belong to him personally.