Rabbi David S Boros, PhD


(April 11, 1914 - July 3, 1988)

David Solomon Boros was born on April 11, 1914 in Czepa Czechoslovakia. He was the son of a Talmud scholar who earned his living as a government official. His primary education was at a traditional Jewish school in Czepa. Later he received a modern Hebrew and secular education at the Hebrew Gymnasum of Munkacz, receiving a diploma in 1937. He entered Masaryk University, where he studied law from 1937 to 1939. In 1939 the Republic of Czechoslovakia fell and Jews were expelled from institutions of higher learning.

While his formal education was hampered by the war ( forced labor , concentration camp, etc.) he resumed his studies in 1947 when the Czechoslovakian Council of Hebrew Communities sent him to continue his education at Jews' College in London, England. After successfully completing his studies in 1949 Rabbi Boros moved to Canada where he continued his studies while serving the Jewish community. He recieved his rabbinical ordination at Yeshiva Merkaz Hatorah, Montreal Canada in 1954.

From 1954 to 1956 he served as Rabbi in Kirkland Lake, Ontario. From 1956 to 1960 he served as Rabbi in Belleville, Ontario. Because of the influx of Hungarian refugees to Belleville at this time, Rabbi Boros' knowledge of Hungarian enabled him to be of service to the Canadian Immigration Office and to take a leading role in resettlement of the refugees.

In 1960 he took up residence in the United States. He served a congregation in Oswego, New York for four years. During his stay in Oswego, Rabbi Boros became an American citizen and affiliated himself with the Rabbinical Council of America, the largest Orthodox rabbinical group in the United States.

From 1964 to 1970 he served a congregation in Milleville, New Jersey. Rabbi Boros married the former Adele Schreiber of New York City. In 1970 they moved to Endicott, New York where he served the congregation of Temple Beth El. Rabbi Boros continued his studies, commuting to Philadelphia to complete his doctorate in Hebrew studies at Dropsie College. His doctoral thesis was entitled

'The Development of the Jewish Study of the Bible
as Reflected in the Hebrew Periodicals published in Europe
Between 1783 and the Middle of the 19th Century
Rabbi Boros left the pulpit in 1978 after suffering a stroke. His wife, Adelle, found him standing in front of a mirror in the bathroom. He had sprayed shaving cream on the mirror and was shaving his reflection. They stayed with his wife's relatives in New York City while he recuperated. While he was there he told her: "Don't worry Adelle, everything will be okay once we get back to America." During that time he corresponded with Michael Aigen, a congregant of Beth El.

After an extended stay at Hebrew Home for the Aged in Riverdale, NY, Rabbi Boros passed away in 1988. He is buried in Beth El Cemetery in New Jersey, Block 23, Lot 5, Group 6.