From Kovno to Coca-Cola 

As violent anti-Semitism reared its ugly head at the turn of the century, Rabbi Geffen and his family joined the mass immigration to the United States. He commenced his rabbinic career on the Lower East Side before moving to Canton, Ohio. He eventually took a position in Atlanta in 1910, where he would spend the next six decades shepherding the burgeoning community, as well as influencing the greater Southeast.

Along with his wife Sara Hene, he built a home that was legendary for its warmth and chesed. From Rav Elchonon Wasserman to newly minted Jewish GIs stationed at a local base, few passed through Atlanta without stopping at the Geffen home. The Geffen children recalled that during World War I, their home was so crowded with soldiers for the Pesach Seder, there were no seats for them at the table.

A legendary baal darshan and the author of five seforim, Rav Geffen did not see himself above sitting alongside his mispallelim on a regular bench in shul. He encouraged his community to go above and beyond in tzedakah activities, raising large amounts of funds for relief efforts in Europe. He also served as an emissary of the Slabodka yeshivah, making regular trips to neighboring states like Alabama and Tennessee to raise funds for his alma mater.

In 1935, he was tasked by the Agudath Harabonim with determining whether Atlanta-based Coca-Cola was fit for consumption by the kosher consumer, and he quickly discovered that it was not. There seemed to be two distinct issues — the soft drink contained glycerin, which would make it nonkosher all year round, and the sweetener used presented a problem on Pesach.