Samuel Porrath was born in Jerusalem while the town was under control of the Ottoman Empire in 1908. As a son of a 15th generation rabbi, he was educated in Etz Hayim High School Jerusalem, Doresh Zion Seminary, and Yeshivath Etz Hayim College, before his father, Rabbi Israel Porath, moved to the United States to become rabbi of Congregation Oheb Zedek in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1925. Samuel Porrath quickly emerged as a young religious leader. By 1927, he was a speaker and an administrator at his father's congregation, Oheb Zedek, and he was vice president of the Ohio branch of Mizrachi Youth Organization of America. A year later - at the age of 20 - he was appointed as a spiritual leader of Congregation Sons of Israel, in Cliffside Park, New Jersey, where he had supervised their Hebrew and Sunday schools. From 1931 to 1937, he was appointed rabbi at Temple Beth Israel (TBI), Niagara Falls, New York and also ran the Sunday school. While continuing a connection with TBI, he was appointed rabbi to Congregation Agudath Achim in Hibbing, Minnesota from 1937 to 1941. In 1941, he accepted a position as a civilian chaplain at Camp Grant, Illinois, and also served as a Rabbi of Ohave Sholom synagogue (Rockford, Illinois) for a year, while also working as an editor to the American Hebrew. He returned to Niagara Falls in 1944 and served as a civilian chaplain to Jewish troops stationed at Fort Niagara, Youngstown, during World War II. Throughout the late 1940s and early 1960s, Rabbi Porrath intermittently served as rabbi and spiritual leader of Temple Beth Israel in Niagara Falls while at the same time working within a family business: The Sample Shop, on Main Street in Niagara Falls where he was a buyer and advertising executive. In addition, he was very active in Jewish community and interfaith affairs. In 1968, he was elected as Rabbi Emeritus at Temple Beth Israel for his 20 years of service to Temple Beth Israel. From 1974 to 1989, when he retired in March, just months before his death, he served as the senior full-time rabbi to Temple Beth El, Tonawanda, NY. The congregation of Temple Beth El showed its appreciation for his leadership by dedicating the foyer of their new Sanctuary on Eggert Road in his name. In 1981, he was honored for 50 years of rabbinic and community service with an award for this civic, educational, religious, cultural, social, and humanitarian commitments. Rabbi Samuel Porrath was also an accomplished educator and advocate for broader local community development. He was one of the founders of Niagara County Community College (later becoming a Vice President of the Board of Trustees) and founded Niagara University's Institute of Transportation, Travel and Tourism (ITTT). In 1968, he became Director of ITTT also developing its curricula. During the early 1960s he, he supported a campaign to revitalize Niagara Falls International Airport (later becoming a member of its advisory board). His consulting works for the government and several educational institutions was widely acknowledged. As a spiritual and community leader, Rabbi Porrath was active in furthering interfaith and interracial relationships, and wrote many articles for the Buffalo News, Niagara Falls Gazette, and Buffalo Jewish Review. His prolific writings included Jewish themes and theological topics, but also focused on community issues that affected the daily experience of all Western New Yorkers. Many of his articles included an historical perspective and observations on the varied social changes that had occurred during his own lifetime. In 1985, he published "Life Beyond the Final Curtain" which is his personal statement about the continued benevolent effects the dead have upon the living. One of his unpublished books, "In the Beginning There Was The Word" was a result of his long etymological research analyzing relationships between Hebrew and English languages. Rabbi Porath received awards from many area organizations, including the Interfaith Award from B'nai B'rith (1967) and the Rainbow Award (1980) for outstanding contribution to the area's travel and tourism industry. He was a long-standing member of the National Conference of Christians and Jews; past President of the Niagara Falls Appeals Review Board, Niagara Jewish Federation; Vice President of the Niagara Falls Kiwanis Club; board member of Kadimah School of Buffalo, the Niagara Falls Golden Age Club, Temple Beth El and Temple Beth Israel. He was a 1988 honoree of the Niagara Falls Chapter of the National Conference of Christians and Jews. Married to Theresa "Tibey" Gellman in 1932, the Porraths had two children; a son Saar and a daughter Hedria. On May 13, 1989, Rabbi Samuel Porrath died in Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center.