Paysach Krohn

Paysach J. Krohn (born January 29, 1945) is an American Orthodox Jewish rabbi, mohel (a practitioner of Jewish ritual circumcision), author, and public speaker. He is the author of Maggid series of books, which are inspired by the stories of Rabbi Sholom Schwadron and published by Mesorah Publications. He has lectured on topics including personal growth, moral development, and Jewish values.

Early life Krohn was born in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and moved at age 7 with his family to Kew Gardens, Queens. His father, Avrohom Zelig Krohn, was a mohel; after his father fell ill, Paysach trained under him. At age 21, he became the youngest mohel certified by the Brith Milah Board of New York.

Relationship with Rav Sholom Schwadron Krohn authored a series of books called "Maggid", inspired by the stories of Rabbi Sholom Schwadron, known as the "Maggid of Jerusalem." Schwadron delivered mussar talks every Friday night from 1952 to 1992 to the public at the shtiebel of Zikhron Moshe in Jerusalem. Krohn met Schwadron when his father invited Schwadron to stay with them during one of his frequent fundraising trips to the United States in late 1964. Schwadron insisted on paying rent, to which Krohn agreed reluctantly. In the five months Schwadron resided with the Krohns, a close bond formed between him and the family. When Schwadron announced he was leaving after Passover 1965 to travel back to Israel by boat, the Krohn family saw him off at the pier. Krohn's father then handed Schwadron an envelope containing all the "rent money" he had paid, stating that he had never intended to keep it. A few days later, Krohn's parents arranged passports, flew to Israel two days before Schwadron arrived, and greeted him.

Avrohom Zelig Krohn was diagnosed with a terminal illness after this event and died the following year. Six months later, the family received a letter from Schwadron saying that he was coming to America again. Schwadron became a surrogate father to Avrohom Zelig Krohn's seven orphaned children.

With Schwadron's encouragement and input, Paysach Krohn penned the first of his "Maggid" books, The Maggid Speaks, published in 1987. Schwadron died before the second book in the series, Around the Maggid's Table, was published. Subsequent titles (Along the Maggid's Journey, In the Footsteps of the Maggid, Echoes of the Maggid, Reflections of the Maggid, etc.) memorialized Schwadron's influence on the overall project. As of 2012, Krohn had published eight books in the series.

Mohel Krohn is a fifth-generation mohel. He has performed thousands of circumcisions and has been affiliated with hospitals such as Long Island Jewish Medical Center and North Shore University Hospital. Other activities Krohn lectures in various Jewish communities, giving presentations as a maggid and collecting stories for his speeches and books. He also leads Jewish historical tours in Europe, discussing the history of Jewish communities before World War II. He documented the first of these trips in his 2007 book, Traveling with the Maggid.

Along with Esther Jungreis, Krohn has served as a guest speaker at the annual Shavuot retreat hosted by Gateways since 2005.

In December 2004, he initiated the organization PaL (Phone and Learn) in the United Kingdom, which connects individuals interested in Jewish learning with tutors for weekly study sessions over the phone.

Personal Krohn is married to Miriam, who is a principal at a high school in Queens, New York. On December 6, 2024, he suffered a stroke during a convention and is undergoing physical therapy.

Works

Yad Eliezer: A Collection of Various Halachos, Mitzvos, and Minhagim Pertinent to Left-Handers. Self-published, December 1990.

Audio lectures MP3 shiurim by Rabbi Paysach Krohn Interview with Rabbi Paysach Krohn by Chazaq's Rabbi Yaniv Meirov