Paysach Krohn

Early life

Krohn was born in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and moved at age 7 with his family to Kew Gardens, Queens.{{cite web |title=Paysach Krohn – Early Life |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paysach_Krohn |access-date=2025-11-24}} His father, Avrohom Zelig Krohn, was a mohel; after his father fell ill, Paysach trained under him.{{cite web |title=Mohel Biography |url=https://brisquest.com/article1.html |access-date=2025-11-24}} At age 21, he became the youngest mohel certified by the Brith Milah Board of New York.{{cite web |title=Bris Milah Publications |url=https://brisquest.com/themohel.html |access-date=2025-11-24}}

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.{{cite web |title=Bris Milah Publications |url=https://brisquest.com/themohel.html |access-date=2025-11-24}} He has performed thousands of circumcisions and has been affiliated with hospitals such as Long Island Jewish Medical Center and North Shore University Hospital.{{cite web |title=Northwell Physician Directory |url=https://www.northwell.edu/find-care/physician-directory |access-date=2025-11-24}}

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.{{cite web |title=Paysach Krohn – Early Life |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paysach_Krohn |access-date=2025-11-24}} On December 6, 2024, he suffered a stroke during a convention and is undergoing physical therapy.

Works

• 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

References

References

1. Singer, Cathy. (4 March 1994). "Circumcision Specialist Carries On The Ancient Jewish Ritual". [[The New York Times]].
2. "Meaningful Minute".
3. Margolin, Dovid. (12 July 2012). "Many Shuls, One Community: The remarkable story of the Jewish community of Kew Gardens". [[Hamodia]] Magazine.
4. "ArtScroll.com - Bris Milah / Circumcision".
5. "ArtScroll.com - The Maggid Speaks".
6. Lazewnik, Libby. (2000). "Voice of Truth: The life and eloquence of Rabbi Sholom Schwadron, the unforgettable Maggid of Jerusalem". [[ArtScroll.
7. Krohn, Rabbi Paysach J.. (1987). "The Maggid Speaks: Favorite stories and parables of Rabbi Sholom Schwardron shlita, Maggid of Jerusalem". Mesorah Publications, Ltd..
8. Krohn, ''The Maggid Speaks'', pp. 29–30.
9. Krohn, ''The Maggid Speaks'', pp. 30–31.
10. Krohn, ''The Maggid Speaks'', p. 14.
11. (21 January 2009). "In the Spirit of the Maggid". [[The Jewish Press]].
12. "Shavuos 2024".
13. (2006-11-16). "Welcome to PAL Phoneandlearn.org ::: Phone and Learn - Jewish learning with the personal touch.".
14. "Paysach Krohn Stroke Report".