Chesdovi: /* Fight against changes in Judaism */

2007-10-25T13:58:36Z

‎Fight against changes in Judaism

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{{Infobox Person
| name = <font>Rabbi Moshe Sofer</font>
| image = Chasamsofer.JPG
| image_size = 240px
| caption = ''Oil painting of the Chasam Sofer based on Ber Frank Halevi’s drawing''
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1762|9|26}} (7 [[Tishrei]] 5523 [[Anno Mundi]])
| birth_place = [[Frankfurt|Frankfurt am Main]], [[Germany]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1839|10|3|1762|9|24}} (25 [[Tishrei]] 5600 [[Anno Mundi]])
| death_place = [[Bratislava|Pressburg]]
| resting_place = [[Bratislava]]
| resting_place_coordinates =
| residence = [[Bratislava|Pressburg]]
| nationality = {{flagicon|Germany}}German<br />{{flagicon|Hungary|1867}}Hungarian
| other_names = Rabbi Moses Schreiber, the Chasam Sofer
| known_for =
| occupation = Rabbi
| religion = [[Haredi]] [[Orthodox Judaism]]
| spouse =
| children =
| parents =
| relatives =
| signature =
| website =
| footnotes =
}}
Rabbi '''Moshe Sofer''', ([[German language|German]]: Moses Schreiber), also known by his main work '''Chasam Sofer''', ([[translation|trans.]] ''Seal of the Scribe''), (1762 - 1839), was one of the leading [[rabbi]]s of European Jewry in the first half of the nineteenth century.

==Early years==
Moshe Sofer was born in [[Frankfurt|Frankfurt am Main]], [[Germany]] on [[September]], 24 [[1762]] (''8 [[Tishrei]] 5523'' on the [[Hebrew calendar]]) and died in Pressburg (now [[Bratislava]]) on [[3 October]] [[1839]] ''(25 Tishrei 5600)''.

His father's name was Shmuel (Samuel) (d. [[1779]], ''15 [[Sivan]] 5539'') and his mother's name was Reisil (d. [[1822]], ''17 [[Adar]] 5582''). Shmuel's mother was a daughter of the ''[[Gaon]]'' of [[Frankfurt]] Rabbi [[Samuel Schotten|Shmuel Schotten]], known as the ''Marsheishoch'' (died, [[1719]], ''14 [[Tamuz]] 5479''), his namesake.

==Education==
At the age of nine Moshe entered the [[yeshiva]] of Rabbi [[Nathan Adler]] (1742-1800, d. ''27 Elul 5560'') at Frankfurt, and when only thirteen years old he delivered public lectures. He was so extraordinary that Rabbi [[Pinchas Horowitz]] of [[Frankfurt]] asked him to become his pupil. He agreed, but remained under Rabbi Horowitz for only one year, and then left in 1776 for the [[yeshiva]] of Rabbi [[David Tebele Scheuer]] (1712-1782, d. ''Shmini Atzeres 5543'') in the neighboring city of [[Mainz]], which gladly welcomed him. There he studied under its [[Rosh Yeshiva]] Rabbi [[Mechel Scheuer]] (1739-1810 d. ''27 Shevat 5570'') son of Rabbi Tebele during the years 1776 and 1777 until he yielded to the entreaties of his former teachers in Frankfurt and returned to his native city. In Mainz many prominent residents took an interest in his welfare and facilitated the progress of his studies. In addition to his vast [[Talmudic]] knowledge, he was also proficient in [[astronomy]], [[geometry]], and [[history]].

==Boskowitz, Prossnitz, Dresnitz, and Mattersdorf==
In 1782 Rabbi Nathan Adler was called to the rabbinate of [[Boskowitz]] (Boskovice), [[Moravia]] and Rabbi Sofer followed him. He went, at Rabbi Adler's advice, to [[Prostejov|Prossnitz]] (Prostejov), where he married Sarah (d. 1812), the daughter of the deceased rabbi of Prossnitz, Rabbi Moses Jerwitz (d. 1785). Rabbi Moses Sofer became a member of the [[Chevra Kadisha]] ([[Responsa|Shu"t Chasam Sofer]], [[Yoreh De'ah|Y"D]]:327) and eventually became head of the yeshiva there.

In 1794, Rabbi Sofer accepted his first official position, becoming Rabbi of Dresnitz, after he had procured the sanction of the government to settle in that town. In 1797 he was appointed Rabbi of [[Mattersburg|Mattersdorf]] (currently Mattersburg, [[Austria]]); one of the seven communities (known as the ''Sheva kehillot'') of [[Burgenland]]. There he established a [[yeshiva]], and pupils flocked to him. His prime pupil in Mattersdorf, was the future [[Gaon]] Rabbi [[Meir Eisenstaedter|Meir Ash]] ''(Maharam Ash)'' (1780-1854), Rabbi of [[Ungvar]].

==Pressburg (Bratislava)==
He declined many offers for the rabbinate, but in 1806 accepted a call to [[Bratislava|Pressburg]]. In Pressburg, he established a yeshiva which was attended by as many as 500 pupils. Hundreds of these pupils became the rabbis of Hungarian Jewry. Among them were:
{| width="100%"
|- valign=top
|width="50%"|
*Rabbi Avrohom Schag, (1801-1876)
*Rabbi [[Maharam Shik|Moshe Schick]] ''(Maharam Schick)'', (1807-1879)
*Rabbi Chaim Zvi Manheimer, (1814-1886)
*Rabbi [[Hillel Lichtenstein]] ([[Kolomea]]), (1815-1891)
*Rabbi Avraham Yehuda Hacohen Schwartz ''(Kol Aryeh)'', (1824-1875)
*Rabbi Meir Perles, (1811-1893)
*Rabbi Chaim Sofer ''(Machne Chaim)'', (1822-1886)
*Rabbi Menachem Mendel Panet ''(Maglei Tzedek)'', (1818-1884)
*Rabbi Menachem Katz, (1795-1891)
*Rabbi Aharon Singer, (c. 1806-1868)
|width="50%"|
*Rabbi Yisroel Yitzchok Aharon Landesberg, (1804-1879)
*Rabbi Aharon Fried, (1813-1891)
*Rabbi Aharon Duvid Deutch ''(Goren Duvid)'', (1813-1878)
*Rabbi Yehuda Modrin ''(Trumas Hacri)'', (1820-1893)
*Rabbi Yoel Unger, (1800-1886)
*Rabbi Naftali Sofer, (1819-1899)
*Rabbi Avrohom [[Samuel Benjamin Sofer|Shmuel Binyamin Sofer]] ''(Ktav Sofer)'', (1815-1872) (son)
*Rabbi Shimon Sofer, (1821-1883) (son)
*Rabbi Dovid Zvi Eherenfeld (d. 1861), (son-in-law)
*Rabbi Shmuel Eherenfeld (1835-1883), ''(Chasan Sofer)'' (grandson)
|}

Rabbi Sofer's first wife died childless. Afterwards, he married Sarel (Sarah) (1790-1832, d. ''18 Adar II 5592''), the widowed daughter of Rabbi [[Akiba Eiger]], (1761-1837) Rabbi of [[Poznań|Posen]], in 1812 ''(23 Cheshven 5573)''. She was the widow of Rabbi Avraham Moshe Kalischer (1788-1812), Rabbi of [[Piła]], the son of Rabbi Yehuda Kalischer, author of ''Hayod Hachazoka''.

==Fight against changes in Judaism==
[[Image:Chatam Sofer colour.JPG‎|thumb|200px|The Chasam Sofer led the fight against the Reform Movement]]
From the late 18th century onwards, movements which eventually developed into [[Reform Judaism]] began to progress. Synagogues subscribing to these new views began to appear in centres such as [[Berlin]] and [[Hamburg]]. Rabbi Sofer was profoundly opposed to the reformers and attacked them in his speeches and writings. For example in a [[responsum]] of 1816 he forbade the congregation in [[Vienna]] to allow a performance in the synagogue of a [[cantata]] they had commissioned from the composer [[Ignaz Moscheles]] because it would involve a mixed choir. In the same spirit he also contested the founders of the ''Reformschule'' (Reform synagogue) in [[Bratislava|Pressburg]], which was established in the year 1827.

In response to those who stated that [[Judaism]] could change or evolve, Rabbi Sofer applied the motto ''Hadash asur min ha-Torah'' ({{lang|he|חדש אסור מן התורה}}), "Anything new is forbidden by the [[Torah]]," (homelitically based on the Biblical law, in Leviticus 23:14, that new grains are forbidden to be used before Passover, see [[Yoshon]]). For Rabbi Sofer, [[Judaism]] as previously practiced was the only form of [[Judaism]] acceptable. In his view the rules and tenets of [[Judaism]] never changed — and cannot ever change. This became the defining idea for the opponents to Reform, and in some form, it has continued to influence Orthodox response to innovation in Jewish doctrine and practice.

==Influence==
He is one of the most important figures in the development of [[Haredi Judaism]], where his influence is still felt today. He is also the patriarch of the Sofer family of rabbis. His son Rabbi Avrohom Shmuel Binyamin Sofer (1815-1872) (the ''Ktav Sofer'') succeeded him as rabbi of Pressburg, and his son Rabbi Shimon Sofer (1821-1883) became rabbi of [[Kraków]]. One of his descendants is the Grand Rabbi of the [[Erlau]] sect, which is a Hasidic-style sect in Jerusalem that follows the customs of Rabbi Moses Sofer, as opposed to Hasidic customs of prayer.

In Orthodox Jewry, he is an often-quoted authority. Many of his [[responsa]] are required reading for [[semicha]] (rabbinic ordination); his novellæ on the [[Torah]] sparked a new style in [[Meforshim|Torah commentary]], and some editions of the [[Talmud]] contain his emendations and additions.

His students included many rabbinic leaders, including Rabbi [[Hayyim Joseph Gottlieb of Stropkov|Hayyim Joseph Gottlieb]] of [[Stropkov]].

==Gravesite==
[[Image:Sofermausoleum.jpg|thumb|left|Interior of the memorial, (the grave of Moses Sofer at the left)]]A modern Jewish memorial, containing Moses Sofer's grave and those of many of his associates and family, is in Bratislava (underground, below [[Bratislava Castle]] at the [[Danube]]), and the nearby [[tram]] station is named after him.

The preservation of these graves has a curious history. The Jewish cemetery in Bratislava was confiscated during the [[Slovak Republic (WWII)|regime]] of [[Josef Tiso]] in 1943 to build a roadway. Negotiations with the regime enabled the community to preserve the section of the cemetery including Chatam Sofer's grave, enclosed in concrete, below the surface of the new road. The regime complied either (according to one story) as a consequence of a large bribe, foreign pressure (according to another) or (according to yet another) for fear of a curse if the graves were destroyed. After the independence of Slovakia in 1992, new negotiations were undertaken to restore public access to the preserved graves. In the mid-1990s the International Committee for Preservation of Gravesites of Geonai Pressburg was formed to support and oversee relocation of tram tracks and building of a mausoleum. In 1999 a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the then mayor of Bratislava Jozef Moravcik, Chairman of the Committee Romi Cohn and Chairman of the Bratislava Jewish Religious Community Peter Salner. Construction of the mausoleum was completed after overcoming numerous technical and religious issues and opened on July 8, 2002. Access to the mausoleum can be arranged through the local Jewish community organisation.

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==External sources==
[http://www.chatamsofer.com Rabbi Hatam Sofer & Jewish Bratislava]

[http://www.slovak-jewish-heritage.org The guide to the Chatam Sofer Memorial in Bratislava (Pressburg), synagogues and other Jewish heritage sites in Slovakia]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sofer, Moses}}
[[Category:1762 births]]
[[Category:1839 deaths]]
[[Category:Later Acharonim]]
[[Category:History of Bratislava]]

[[fr:Hatam Sofer]]
[[he:חת"ם סופר]]
[[ru:Хатам Софер]]
[[sk:Chatam Sófer]]
[[yi:חתם סופר]]

Moses Sofer - Revision history

Chesdovi: /* Fight against changes in Judaism */