Mr. Abe Sharp, A"H
Avraham (Abe) Sharp, zt”l, was an icon in the city of Chicago as a tremendous ba’al chesed, supporter of Torah and a talmid chochom. He was born in Memphis, Tennessee to Holocaust survivors, who were dedicated to rebuilding their lives in the spirit of Torah and mitzvah observance. They taught him to extend himself for the needs of others, caring for them in ways even the recipients would not have considered. His father, a kosher butcher, particularly conveyed the value of working with integrity and toiling to ensure that Jewish people enjoy the highest standard of kashrus
His very special parents z"l, lost nearly every single family member during the war. Their survival was truly a miracle. His mother was injured during the war and was told that she would never have children. Boruch Hashem, Reb Avraham and a sister Edie (who later married Yosef Davis) were born to her and they indeed grew into true B’nei Torah.
They later moved to Chicago where Abe grew to become an icon of Torah and Chessed in that community and Edie a matron of chessed.
Reb Avraham was a pioneer of AFTA (Association For Torah Advancement), he formalized and expanded the shatnez testing program, trained testers, and traveled to New York to learn the latest techniques. Abe increased awareness and accessibility in the community by setting up testing sites at day schools, dry cleaners, and popular men’s clothing stores. He also organized the first community-wide mezuzah checking campaign.
His foremost impact was in the field of kosher food oversight and distribution where his influence help change the level of kosher product attainability and kashrus in many other cities across America. He was a lifelong student of the legendary mashgiach and mainstay of Jewish Chicago, Rabbi Chaim Goldzweig, z”l, Abe set up the city’s first kashrus hotline in his own apartment, taking people’s questions to the rabbi and relaying his replies, eventually becoming an integral part of Chicago’s CRC Kosher supervising agency.
His expertise in kosher food was instrumental in importing and distributing kosher products, and bringing previously unattainable commodities to commercial establishments as well as local groceries and homes in the Chicago area. An innovator by nature, Abe developed several new products, and as president of the Kosher Food Distributors Association, he established the New Product Competition, which has been a prominent part of Kosherfest, an annual event he was integral in founding.
A classic osek betzorchei tzubbur (one who endeavors on behalf of the community), he gave 100% of himself for others, as he did for his own beloved family, inviting newcomers to Chicago for Shabbat meals, volunteering at neighborhood shuls, and taking care of whatever needed to be done – especially tasks overlooked by others.
Abe always went out of his way to do for others in a very quiet, sensitive, and caring way. In addition to the kindness he tendered to people in his community and beyond, his kindness began at home as he was stalwart in his tremendous kibbud av v'em.
He was a very proud Zaidy, and especially loved hearing the kids tell over what they learned that week in school and it gave him tremendous nachas that his grandson Shmuli Feldman was learning in a Yeshiva where the special combination of Middos Tovos and Derech Eretz with Torah learning was most important. May his neshama and all these precious neshamos that we have lost be a maylitz yosher for all of us.
Reb Avraham is survived by his loving wife, Mrs. Ronna Sharp (Chicago) and his children, Shragi and Ahava Feldman, parents of our yeshiva, Joe and Shira (Levine) Sharp (Boca Raton), Penina and Chaim Taub (West Hempstead), and Meir and Dina (Brimm) Sharp (Chicago), his sister, Mrs. Edie Davis and many wonderful grandchildren.
