Mordechai Hasofer
Mordechai Hasofer was born and raised in Australia. He studied at the Rabbinical College of Australia and New Zealand in Melbourne, and went on to study mechanical engineering and chemistry at NSW Technical College.
A pioneer of HACCP food-quality consulting in Australia, he later served for 25 years as Manager of Ingredients and Food Production under Harav Moshe Yehudah Leib Landa zt"l, Chief Rabbi of Bnei Brak. He was responsible for approving and overseeing production processes and ingredient sourcing for large food companies, including Coca-Cola and Strauss Ice Cream, working closely with the leading international kosher certification agencies.
He is regularly invited to lecture on the halachic and technical aspects of kosher food production, in Israel and abroad, and consults for kosher certification bodies on ingredient analysis and on setting up kosher production facilities. His work required extensive international travel and gave him first-hand experience of the challenges kosher travellers face. Those experiences became the Guide for the Kosher Traveler.
Community and education
In Australia, Mordechai founded a shidduch service for traditional and non-observant Jews aged 30 and over, which led to at least 50 marriages, and hosted a weekly radio programme for the same audience. He also gave a weekly shiur on Jewish law, philosophy and Chassidic teachings.
His study of Mechir Yayin, the Rema's commentary on Megillat Esther, became the foundation of A Guide for Life Through the Eyes of the Book of Esther.
Stories and family
Mordechai and his wife, Devorah, are blessed with eight children. Their nightly custom of reading Jewish stories to the children built up a large collection of tales. Those stories now live on as Stories for the Soul, a free library of narrated stories for children in English and Hebrew.