“The first Sabbath I spent here, I had lunch in his home,” Traub recalled.
Langer died July 18 in Riverdale, N.Y., at 88. He and his wife, Zmira Langer, had moved to Riverdale about five years ago to be closer to their son and daughter.
Born in Wielopole, Poland, in 1912, Langer attended yeshiva as a boy. He lost his entire family in the Holocaust, except for one brother, who survived the concentration camps.
Langer escaped Poland by obtaining a visa to the Far East from Chiune Sugihara, the Japanese consul to Lithuania, who was recognized as a “Righteous Gentile” by Israel for saving thousands of Jews.
His escape route took him through Lithuania and Japan, and he settled in Shanghai, China, where he met Zmira. They married in 1942.
In 1946, the Langers arrived in San Francisco, and their first son, Larry, was born two weeks later.
The Langers briefly moved to New York but quickly returned to San Francisco in 1947. Moses Langer began working in the fabric business, employed by a manufacturer that represented a line of woolens.
Later, he opened Langer Fabrics, a wholesale business.
He was an ardent supporter of Torah education, sending his oldest son away to Los Angeles at the age of 11 to receive a yeshiva education. Others in the community followed suit, his wife said, and he continued to encourage boys to attend yeshiva.
He served two terms as president of Adath Israel, the only member in the history of the congregation to do so, said Traub.
“He was probably the only synagogue president, not in San Francisco, but in all of America, who left office with more friends than when he entered office,” Traub said. “Because of his personality, it was impossible not to like him.”
“He always encouraged small children to put on tzitzit, and kept candy in his tallis bag in the synagogue,” Langer’s wife said. Calling her husband a “people person, who especially loved children,” she said that “several people have told me their lives were completely turned around because of his help and his example.”
“He gave off a moral and honest tone,” said Traub. “He had a good sense of humor, and did not take himself terribly seriously.
“He was the elder statesman and goodwill ambassador of the congregation to the overall community,” Traub added.
Langer was buried in Jerusalem on the Mount of Olives.
In addition to his wife of 58 years, he is survived by two sons, Larry and Sidney; one daughter, Rebecca; 10 grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.
Donations can be made to Congregation Adath Israel, 1851 Noriega St., S.F., CA., 94122.