Few, if any, Teaneck families have had a greater impact on the global Jewish community than the Senters. We join the larger community in mourning the loss of Rabbi Dr. Zecharia “Harvey” Senter, who passed away on the last day of Pesach, in Teaneck.
Rabbi Senter, with his eshet chayil, Chana, founded the KOF-K, a small kashrut certifying agency, over 50 years ago. Today, it is one of only about half a dozen globally recognized kosher certifications, used in many industrial and consumer products worldwide. His sons Rabbis Ari and Daniel as well as brother-in-law Rabbi Yehuda Rosenbaum run the agency today. KOF-K has an international network of Orthodox regional coordinators, mashgichim and rabbinic representatives, and each company, manufacturer, product or service seeking KOF-K kosher certification operating under supervision is carefully monitored by field supervisors and the staff at KOF-K headquarters in Teaneck. Coordinators are based in virtually every major American city, Canada, South and Central America, Australia, Western and Eastern Europe, Asia and Israel.
Rabbi Senter received semicha from Yeshiva University’s
RIETS and was a close talmid to Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, zt”l. In addition to teaching mathematics at Yeshiva College and Fairleigh Dickinson University, a subject in which he held a PhD, he also served as a rabbi first in North Bergen and then at Bergenfield’s Congregation Beth Abraham. He and the entire family have been active, beloved and chesed-minded members of the Teaneck community for the past 50 years. The Senters have also been selfless volunteers and supporters to many local causes, perhaps most notably in having helped the Rosenbaum Yeshiva of North Jersey (RYNJ) relocate to their beautiful campus in River Edge. Chana graduated from the school when it was known as Yeshiva of Jersey City, and taught there as well.
Rabbi Yaakov Neuburger, of Congregation Beth Abraham, wrote the following in his announcement of Rabbi Senter’s petirah: “Rav Senter was the rav of our shul during its early years and his psakim and directions are with us to this day. A well-respected talmid chacham, an ardent talmid of the Rav and an early expert in the field of industrial kashrus, Rav Senter was revered and admired for his unyielding commitment to halacha and his uncompromising stance to principle.”
We extend birkat tanchumim to Chana “Honey” Rosenbaum Senter, as well as Rabbi Daniel Senter, Rabbi Ari Senter, Mrs. Yehudis Zidele, Rabbi Chaim Zvi Senter and Rabbi David Rafael Senter, z”l, as well as brothers-in-law Rabbi Yitzchak Rosenbaum, Rabbi Yehuda Rosenbaum and sister-in-law Esther Rosenbaum and many grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
Yehi zichro baruch.
