R

abbi A. Irving Schnipper, 
96, of West Bloomfield, 
died on Nov. 24, 2023. 
Rabbi Schnipper was 
a devoted congrega-
tional and community 
leader — a giant of 
kindness who positively 
impacted everyone he 
crossed paths with. 
Driven by an innate 
passion for helping 
those in need, Rabbi 
Schnipper was a found-
er and key supporter of 
Yad Ezra kosher food 
pantry and the Jewish Hospice 
and Chaplaincy Network. 
He also served as a U.S. Army 
chaplain during the Korean War. 
An honor guard from the Jewish 
War Veterans saluted him at his 
funeral service on Nov. 26, 2023, 
at Hebrew Memorial Chapel.
Born and raised in Philadelphia, 
Rabbi Schnipper graduated 
Yeshiva University in New York 
where he would meet his wife, 
Barbara. They went on to enjoy 
more than 71 years of loving 
and devoted marriage. They had 
three children, Rachelle, Danny 
and Andrea.
“If you ask him, Mom ran the 
show,” Andrea said of her parents’ 
marriage. “But they were a true 
partnership.”
“He was a modest, humble 
individual who only cared about 
the next guy and never wanted 
recognition for his own self,” 
Andrea said. “Non-judgmental, 
a loving father and dedicated, he 
cared for his congregants and had 
an open heart for everybody.”
The love was constant for his 
children, grandchildren and 
great-grandchildren, and he was 
forever proud of each one of them.
Rabbi Schnipper eventually 

moved his family here in the 
early 1960s, joining the pulpit 
of Congregation Beth Moses in 
Northwest Detroit. 
Beth Moses under-
went a merger with 
West Bloomfield’s 
Beth Abraham Hillel 
in 1975, and the com-
bined congregations 
became Congregation 
Beth Abraham Hillel 
Moses, of which 
Rabbi Schnipper 
joined the spiritual 
staff. In January 1982, 
he became its spiritual leader. 
Today the synagogue is known 
as Congregation Beth Ahm. 
At one point, he started a fund 
at the shul for widows so they 
wouldn’t have to pay dues or syn-
agogue fees.
 
YAD EZRA KOSHER PANTRY
Rabbi Schnipper was part of the 
small group of founders and 
longtime supporters of Yad Ezra. 
He was instrumental in drum-
ming up funding when Yad Ezra 
didn’t have money to put food on 
its pantry shelves or for engaging 
volunteers to help out. 
Many of those early Yad Ezra 
volunteers and donors came from 
Congregation Beth Abraham 
Hillel Moses, largely because of 
his influence. 
Michael Eizelman, one of 
the founders of Yad Ezra and 
the son of the late Jeanette 
Eizelman, the first executive 
director of Yad Ezra, remem-
bers Rabbi Schnipper as one of 
the individuals who played a 
key role in the formation and 
support of Yad Ezra in the early 
years. Without people such as 
Rabbi Schnipper, Eizelman said, 
Yad Ezra would not be the orga-

nization it is today. 
“My mother would refer 
to these special people as her 
‘angels.’ Whenever help was 
needed, Hashem would send 
an angel. Rabbi Schnipper was 
one of my mother’s key angels,” 
Eizelman recalled. 
“He galvanized his congre-
gation, and they became the 
financial supporters who always 
provided necessary funding. Just 
a phone call from my mother 
was all that was necessary. As we 
grew, Rabbi Schnipper never left 
us and never failed to continue 
his support.”

HOSPICE AND CHAPLAINCY
Another organization Rabbi 
Schnipper was an essential 
part of in its initial stages is the 
Jewish Hospice and Chaplaincy 
Network (JHCN). 
“He had the concept, as a chap-
lain, that we should do the best 
job possible of taking care of Jews 
at end of life and giving them a 
Jewish experience at end of life. 
And he brought that concept to 
Rabbi Bunny Freedman, who cre-
ated JHCN, and Rabbi Schnipper 
was one of the original chaplains 
on the team,” JHCN CEO Rabbi 
Joseph Krakoff recalled. 
Rabbi Schnipper’s thinking 
behind this concept, Rabbi 
Krakoff believes, aligns with what 
he represented in his time as a 
congregational rabbi — a kind, 
compassionate, all-embracing 
human being with a keen under-
standing of the human spirit. 
“He never wanted to see people 
in pain,” Rabbi Krakoff said. “
And 
certainly, end of life can be a very 
painful, anxiety-producing time. 
He just always had that spirit of 
wanting to do good and to help 
and guide people in life’s most 
difficult moments.”
While Rabbi Schnipper would, 
of course, visit the Jewish resi-
dents at nursing homes, he also 
interacted with residents of other 
faiths. It didn’t matter who they 
were, what they looked like or 
who they prayed to, he always 

had someone to dance with, sing 
with, play the tambourine for and 
to call and comfort.
“Rabbi Schnipper touched peo-
ple’s hearts deeply, made himself 
available to everyone and made 
his presence felt in the most 
humble of ways,” Rabbi Krakoff 
said. “He was ever-present, and 
you walked away from any inter-
action with him feeling uplifted.” 
Although he lived most of 
his life in Metro Detroit, Rabbi 
Schnipper remained a native 
Philadelphia sports fan, loyal to 
his Phillies, Eagles and Sixers. 
He was also known to be jovial, 
with a wonderful sense of humor. 
Rabbi Krakoff’s final conversa-
tion with Rabbi Schnipper ended 
up taking place over the phone 
the day before this Thanksgiving. 
Rabbi Schnipper’s last words for 
Rabbi Krakoff were, “Rabbi Joey, 
happy Turkey Day!” 
“That was his spirit, wanting 
other people to enjoy and cele-
brate life and mark meaningful 
moments with joy, because he 
was a man who was filled with 
joy,” Rabbi Krakoff said. 

MAN OF THE PEOPLE
Rabbi Steven Rubenstein of 
Congregation Beth Ahm says 
that long after Rabbi Schnipper’s 
day-to-day work ended, he con-
tinued to stay in touch with the 
synagogue community. 
“People loved him. They appre-
ciated him as their rabbi and felt 
connected to him in really special 
ways,” Rabbi Rubenstein said. 
“
And those personal connections 
he made when he was working 
in the synagogue persisted after 
all these years. He was still in 
the community and was a very 
friendly person who was happy 
to catch up with you and hear 
about your family.” 
Later in life, he and Barbara 
became congregants of Ohel 
Moed of Shomrey Emunah in 
West Bloomfield. During the 
funeral service, Ohel Moed’s 
Rabbi Levi Jundef said Rabbi 
Schnipper lived a life of tzedakah 

A Giant of Kindness

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

80 | DECEMBER 7 • 2023 J
N

OBITUARIES
OF BLESSED MEMORY

Rabbi Irving Schnipper

