BDE: Dr. Alexander Schonfeld, 93, OBM

With great sadness we report the passing of Dr. Alexander Schonfeld OBM. Dr. Alexander Schonfeld, a psychologist and Torah scholar. He passed away on Sunday, the 19th of Adar, 5780.

He was 93 years old.

Dr. Schonfeld dedicated his life to serving the Jewish community as a therapist, leveraging his extensive background in mental health and lifelong commitment to Torah study.

As a young child in the Holocaust he was sent from Austria to England via the Kindertransport. The Jewish community in England cared for him, and in 1968 he emigrated with his wife and five children to the United States, settling in Far Rockaway.  While running a Crown Heights variety store with his wife, he attended university and ultimately received master’s degrees in social work, psychology, family counseling, and later a doctorate in philosophy.

In 1988, Dr. Schonfeld and his wife were fortunate enough to make Aliyah to Eretz Yisroel.

Dr. Schonfeld is survived by his wife Miriam Schonfeld (Beit Chilkiya, Israel), brother Moshe Schonfeld (Beit Chilkiya, Israel), and five children; Dena Wegh (Westchester, NY), Michoel Schonfeld (Har Nof, Israel), Esther Silvestri (Fairlawn, NJ), Naomi Schonfeld,  (Ramot, Israel), Chavi Cohen (Crown Heights, NY), and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

The levaya took place this morning in Beit Chilkiya, Israel, where the family will also be sitting Shiva.

Baruch Dayan Hoemes