Bio Sheet for

Rabbi Noah Albert ("Big Al") Kohol, Ph.D., Sh'tiya

The Schlitzer Rebbe

Rabbi Noah A. Kohol, spritual leader to thousands of Schlitzer Hassidim worldwide, was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1953. He graduated from local schools, and obtained a secular education at a number of American and European universities. However, during those years in college, he realized the basic emptiness of American secular life, and decided to follow his family's tradition and dedicate his life to the study of Purim Torah and Hassidus. He entered the nationally-known Schlitzer Purim-Torah Institute, "the Yeshiva that made Milwaukee Famous (tm)," and graduated in the fastest time ever for a student at that institution.

Rabbi Kohol was then sent as an emmissary to serve the Jewish Community at the Pennsylvania State University, and bring Purim Torah to thosands of unaffilliated Jews there. Unfortunately there were only hundred of Jews, affilliated,or not and so Rabbi Kohol had a lot of free time in which he ended up spending at fraternity parties. But the All-Merciful in heaven smiled on Rabbi Kohol, as he soon found that fraternity parties were probably the best place to teach Purim Torah.

Rabbi Kohol's legendary success at convincing large numbers of Jewish fraternity members to drink alcoholic beverages on Purim brought him to the attention of the Great Big Gadol HaDoar, Rabbi Eliezer Arak z"l, the previous Schlitzer Rebbe, and the only Sefaradi to ever be a Hassidic leader. Rabbi Arak soon made Rabbi Kohol his personal secretary, and soon afterwards Rabbi Arak went into the Great Megillah Reading in the Sky. Rabbi Kohol was unanimously selected by the Schlitzer Hassidic Nominating Committee to be Rabbi Arak's successor.

Since that time that Rabbi Kohol has built the Schlitzer Hasidic movement into a major force on the American and Israeli religious scene. The Rebbe has been photographed in the company of such distinguished people as Bill Clinton, Newt Gingrich, Robert Dole, Yitzhak Shamir, Shimon Peres, Jane Fonda, Marlon Brando, Vanessa Redgrave, and Barney the Dinosaur. All of these distinguished secular personalities have reported being awed by the Rebbe's special spiritual presence. In fact, after meeting with the Rebbe, Barney the Dinosaur has planned to produce a special program aimed at having 2- and 3-year old children persuade their parents to study Purim Torah and observe all of the Mitzvos of Purim. As the Rebbe has said, "if all Jews everywhere in the world, were to fully observe the Mitzvos of Purim one year, then Moshiach would come speedily in our day."

In order for the Rebbe's vison of universal observance of the Mitzvos of Purim to become reality, the Schlitzer Hasidic Movement needs your financial support. For pennies a day, you can help bring Purim Torah to thousands, if not millions, of alienated Jews around the world. All you have to do is reach into your pockets, find those pieces of green paper with pictures of dead, though famous, Americans, and drop them in the pushke. Please give generously. Help the Rebbe's work move forward. Do your part to ensure that everyone observes the Mitzvos of Purim.

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