Name Yisrael Fischel | Died 1898 | |
Yisrael Ephraim Fischel Sofer (also known as the Afsei Eretz) (1822–1898) was a Hungarian rabbi, community leader, and author. He was the Chief Rabbi of the town of Hajdúnánás (sometimes referred to as "Nanash"), in northeast Hungary. Sofer was the author of a commentary on the Torah (the Pentateuch) entitled Afsei Eretz, which enjoyed wide popularity.
Sofer was born in 1822 to Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Sofer of Sárospatak, a descendant of Saul Wahl Katzenellenbogen.
Sofer's Afsei Eretz, was published in Mukachevo (Munkatch) in 1880 and reprinted in Brooklyn in 1976.
Sofer's son, Rabbi Shalom Sofer (1855–1929) was the Chief Rabbi in Berezne, Ukraine.
Yisrael Ephraim Fischel Sofer died in 1898, and his son-in-law, Rabbi Ben-Zion Halpert (died 1918) succeeded him as Chief Rabbi in Hajdúnánás.