Michoel Fisher - Rabbinical Career

Rabbinical Career

Dayan Fisher was appointed Rabbi of a small shul in Warsaw in 1936, where he rapidly acquired a name as an impressive speaker in the "Litvishe" (Lithuanian Jewish) style. He married Sarah Miriam Wloski of Łomża in June 1937, whose father worked as a Shochet in England, following her to England the same year through the rescue efforts of Rabbi Dr Solomon Schonfeld. Dayan Fisher thus escaped the impending Holocaust, yet his entire family was wiped out except for a younger brother who escaped from the Warsaw Ghetto and joined the partisans.

When Rabbi Fisher arrived in England, the Federation of Synagogues, with some 68 affiliated synagogues, was the largest synagogal body in the United Kingdom, serving some 50,000 souls. He became Rabbi of the Alie Street Federation synagogue in London's East End in 1939. In 1940, he took over as Rabbi of Yavne synagogue in Hackney, which he led until 1970.

In 1966, Dayan Fisher formed the Federation Beis Din, which he built up into a significant and respected force. As a result of his numerous communal activities and in recognition of his phenomenal Talmudic scholarship, Dayan Fisher became the "Rav Rashi" of the Federation of Synagogues in 1969 following Rabbi Dr Eliezer Kirzner. Upon his retirement in 1980, he retained the post with the addition of the appellation "emeritus".

Dayan Fisher moved with his wife to Edgware in the 1970s, where they became well-known and popular figures. His wife's death in 1987 was a severe blow, yet he continued to speak and teach for the next decade and a half, well into his 90s.

Serving as the Chairman of the Federation of Synagogues Rabbinate for many years, Dayan Fisher's relationship with Federation lay leaders was not always happy. He felt that he and his rabbinic colleagues were often mistreated and undervalued by their constituents, who didn’t recognise the tremendous talent and knowledge of their Rabbis.

Although unbending in his firm old-world Orthodoxy, he was always courteous to those with different views and practices. An ardent religious supporter of Israel, he was a senior figure in UK Mizrachi for many years, and visited Israel often. Dayan Fisher died on January 7, 2004 in London, survived by two daughters, three grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. One son-in-law is Elkan Levy, ex-president of the United Synagogue.