Ezriel Zelig Sharfstein (1928–2008) was a prominent Chabad rabbi, the Chief Rabbi of the Vaad Ho'ir of Cincinnati, and an international authority on Jewish law.[1] He was a long time, distinguished member on the Executive Committee of Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbis.[2]
He was born in 1928 on the Lower East Side of Manhattan to Avraham Zev Sharfstein and Esther Rutman. He also had a brother named Rabbi Mottel Sharfstein. Rabbi Zelig Sharfstein served as the Chief Rabbi of Cincinnati, a position he assumed after the passing of the legendary Rabbi Eliezer Silver, o.b.m. For nearly four decades he guided the communities institutions and provided Halachic and personal direction to countless individuals and families.