Rabbi Morris Finer, who was director of community service at Yeshiva University’s affiliated Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) for more than three decades, died yesterday at the age of 73 in Jerusalem.
Finer served as the head of the community service division, now the Max Stern Division of Communal Services, at RIETS from 1944 until his retirement in 1978. Born in 1912, Finer received his bachelor’s degree from the College of the City of New York in 1934. He was ordained at RIETS in 1937. In 1939, he earned his law degree from Brooklyn Law School. Before going to RIETS, he served as the spiritual leader of congregations in Haverstraw, NY, Astoria, NY, and Tulsa, OK. He moved to Israel in 1981. He was a member of the Rabbinical Council of America.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
