In 1953 Sofer founded the Erlau yeshiva and community in the Katamon neighbourhood of south-central Jerusalem, starting with the purchase of a few rooms in the building of the former Syrian Consulate on Yotam Street. The yeshiva was named the High Yeshiva of Rabbi Akiva Eiger after the father-in-law of the Chasam Sofer and later expanded to the whole building, where Sofer founded a dormitory and orphanage for Holocaust survivors and students from needy families. According to the Jerusalem Post, "He never moved from the non-haredi neighborhood, unlike other hassidic leaders who once lived in the area but who moved to haredi neighborhoods elsewhere in Jerusalem." In 1961, Sofer constructed a new building in the empty lot adjacent to the yeshiva, named Ohel Shimon-Erlau after his grandfather. The campus includes a beth midrash, which serves as the main synagogue and study hall for the yeshiva gedola, a smaller study hall for the yeshiva ketana, dormitory, classrooms, library, kitchen and offices. In addition, Sofer opened the Institute for Research of the Teachings of the Chasam Sofer. This Institute researches, deciphers, and distributes handwritten documents of the Chasam Sofer, his pupils and descendants. He died on February 22, 2016. Streets in Jerusalem were closed as thousands attended the funeral procession. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said he was a unique figure, beloved and admired by secular, religious and ultra-Orthodox Jews. With his pleasant ways, he represented both the Hasidim and Mitnagdim of Hungarian Jewry. The death of a public leader and head of a dynasty who was a Holocaust survivor and refugee who lost his father, mother and sisters in the labor and death camps, must also remind us of the respect and concern for the Holocaust survivors whose numbers are steadily dwindling, and the obligation to tell our people's history until the last generation. Erlau communities Sofer set up a network of communities around Israel and abroad, including batei medrash (called by the name Yad Sofer), Talmud Torahs (known as Ksav Sofer) and kollelim (called by the name Chasam Sofer). The main communities are in Katamon, Ezrat Torah, El'ad, Bnei Brak, Beitar Illit, Ashdod and Haifa. The community in Israel is estimated to number 500 families. Sofer was known to the Jewish population as the Erlauer Rebbe (Yiddish) or Admor of Erlau (Hebrew). He was actively involved in all aspects of the yeshiva, giving daily shiurim to both students and elderly members