Rabbi Vogelman, who served as the rabbi of the Katowice community before the Holocaust, was known as a great Torah scholar and posek (rabbinical decisor). His respona, Beit Mordechai and Gedulat Mordechai, which were published by Mossad HaRav Kook, are huge assets in the world of Halacha (Jewish law) and Torah interpretation.
Rabbi Mordechai Vogelman was a student of the Maharsham of Brezhan (Rabbi Shalom Mordechai Schwadron), who was his uncle, and was later ordained as a rabbi by Rabbi David Menachem Manis Babad – the head of the Tarnopol rabbinical court; Rabbi David HaLevi Ish Horowitz – the head of the Stanislaw rabbinical court; Rabbi Meir Arik; and by his uncle, the head of the Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva, Rabbi Meir Shapira.
When he was appointed rabbi of Katowice, his uncle, Rabbi Meir Shapira, wrote him a letter of recommendation and ordination in German. This ordination was recognized by the government.
Rabbi Vogelman was an eloquent speaker in many languages, a prolific writer, a graceful speaker, and a faithful shepherd to his flock.
His halachic responsa are eloquent and characterized by great genius, and his Torah writings were published in a variety of publications before and after the Holocaust.
Upon the outbreak of the war, he managed, with the help of G-d, to escape with his wife, Rebbetzin Bella, and their only daughter, Naomi. In Israel, Rabbi Vogelman was appointed to serve as the rabbi of Kiryat Motzkin, where he lovingly shepherded his flock and established institutions for education, Torah, and kindness.
There is much to learn ideologically and historically from the rescue of Rabbi Vogelman, the Rebbetzin and their only daughter Naomi, and this story will be immortalized and published in the near future by Ganzach Kiddush Hashem.
Rabbi Vogelman’s daughter, Professor Naomi, a renowned writer and historian, was pleased to hand over her father’s archive to the dedicated care of Ganzach Kiddush Hashem. The rabbi, who was a faithful witness to Eastern European Jewry and its rabbis, left behind a valuable historical and Torah legacy, which the archivists of Ganzach Kiddush Hashem approach with love and reverence, using the most sophisticated preservation methods in the world.
