Dr. Ben Krengel was born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1933, and lives in the southern suburbs. He studied chemistry, botany and medicine at the Universities of Witwatersrand and Edinburgh. He is a doctor at East Rand hospital, where he is active in the treatment of AIDS, and researches sinusitis and dietary conditions. He is also the gabbai of the 80-year-old Rosettenville synagogue. The Krengels often come to Israel to visit the Israeli branch of their family, in Beit Shemesh. Ben is a frequenter of old bookshops (English and Yiddish) in Jerusalem, and also keeps an eye open for classical records, his collection runs into uncounted hundreds. He and his wife Felicia have two children and nine grandchildren.