Dr. William L. Elefant, a brilliant man whose smile we effortlessly understood, passed away Sept. 3, 2011, in Denver. Rabbi Yehuda Amsel officiated at the Sept. 4 service at Zera Abraham. He was eulogized by longtime student and friend IJN Executive Editor Rabbi Hillel Goldberg, nephew Dr. Heshy Wolf and nephew Sol Majer.
Interment followed at Rose Hill Cemetery. Feldman Mortuary made the arrangements.
Dr. Elefant was born April 1, 1927, in New York City. He came to Denver in 1947 and earned an MA and a PhD in education from DU.
He married Clara Burger of Denver in 1951.
Principal of the Hebrew School at the old BMH on 16th and Gaylord St., Dr. Elefant became the educational director of the Yavneh Hebrew Academy in Los Angeles, 1960-1962.
He then took a sabbatical to Israel that ultimately lasted 20 years.
After studying at The Hebrew University, he started teaching education at Bar Ilan University.
Read also Rabbi Hillel Goldberg’s tribute
He also taught his reading comprehension system to teachers throughout Israel. He applied this system to any text, from scientific articles to halachic codes.
Upon Dr. Elefants return to Denver, he taught at Metro State and Hebrew High.
His tireless fascination with Maimonides and gematria was in him all along, his wife Clara said, but he was finally able to concentrate on it in his later life.
He was particularly noted for being able to see the interconnection between almost any gematria and the number 26, which is the sum of the value of the Hebrew letters spelling the name of G-d (the Tetragrammaton). This was noted by Rabbi Amsel, who eulogized Dr. Elefant for his perception of G-d in all aspects of life.
In addition to Zera Abraham, Dr. Elefant belonged to several educational groups. He was a lifelong learner, Clara said.
Dr. Elefant is survived by his wife Clara Elefant; sisters Helen (Cantor Yerachmiel) Wolf and Sylvia Roth; in-laws Goldie Elefant, Goldie Kasztl, Sam (Paula) Burger, Sholom Burger and Ruth Stavsky; and many nieces and nephews.
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Copyright © 2011 by the Intermountain Jewish News
