About Yakov Fishman
Lived 1913 – 1983 (aged 70). Yakov Fishman was a Russian rabbi.
Yakov Leybovich Fishman (; 20 March 1913 – 4 June 1983) served as the Chief Rabbi of the Moscow Choral Synagogue from 1972 to 1983.
Fishman studied at the rabbinical seminary of Moscow. His wife and children were murdered by Nazis during World War II. In 1972, after the death of Leib Levin, Fishman was elected the chief rabbi of Moscow. In 1976, he was a member of the delegation of religious leaders led by Bishop Juvenal that visited the US. In interviews to the US press he denied there was religious persecution in the Soviet Union. Thanks to the visit, a number of young Jews got the opportunity to study at the rabbinical seminary of Budapest, the only such institution in the Communist bloc countries.
On 28 April 1983, Yakov Fishman joined the "Anti-Zionist Committee of the Soviet Public".
He died of a heart attack on 4 June 1983 in Moscow.
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Important facts
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Yakov Fishman's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Yakov Fishman?
Russian Orthodox rabbi (1913-1983)
When was Yakov Fishman born?
Yakov Fishman was born on 20 March 1913 in Slutsk.
When did Yakov Fishman die?
Yakov Fishman died on 4 June 1983 in Moscow.
What was Yakov Fishman's occupation?
Yakov Fishman was a rabbi.
What nationality was Yakov Fishman?
Yakov Fishman was Russian.
Sources & further reading
· DBpedia: Yakov Leybovich Fishman
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Yakov Fishman. https://biography.guide/yakov-fishman/
MLA: "Yakov Fishman." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/yakov-fishman/.
Chicago: "Yakov Fishman." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/yakov-fishman/.
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