 |
The Pressburg Yeshiva, was the largest and most influential Yeshiva in Central Europe in the 19th century. It was founded in the city of Pressburg, Austrian Empire (today Bratislava, Slovakia) by Rabbi Moshe Sofer (known as the Chasam Sofer or Chatam Sofer) and was considered the largest Yeshiva since the time of the Babylonian Talmud. [1]
Some sources document its establishment in 1803 whilst others cite 1806. The Yeshiva was known as The Chasam Sofer's Yeshiva, or simply as Pressburg Yeshiva. [2] [3] The Pressburg Yeshiva was run as an autonomous institution, without the intervention of the community. [4]
Unlike Yeshivas in Czarist Russia which were forced to operate clandestinely, the Pressburg Yeshiva was recognized by the Austro-Hungarian Empire and its emperor Franz Joseph I. Under the law, the school required the four upper grades to study secular studies. These secular studies were not taught in the yeshiva, but students attended and took exams at another Jewish school in Pressburg run by the orthodox Jewish community. [5] All of the yeshiva's students were exempted from military service; most of the military rabbis who served in the Austro-Hungarian Army were graduates of the Pressburg Yeshiva, and held officers' ranks. [4]
The Yeshiva was founded at the height of the Age of Enlightenment and surge of the Jewish Haskalah movement. As such, the Chasam Sofer stood at the forefront against any reform to traditional Judaism and trained his many students to maintain strict observance of Torah and Shulchan Aruch.
This yeshiva produced hundreds of future leaders of Austro-Hungarian Jewry who made great influence on the general traditional orthodox and future Charedi Judaism. Notable students of the Chasam Sofer were:
|
|
Upon Moses Sofer's death on October 3, 1839, his son, Rabbi Avraham Shmuel Binyamin (known as the Ksav Sofer) succeeded him as Rosh Yeshiva. Like his father, Rabbi Samuel Binyamin was a man of great Talmudic knowledge and of great character. Even the Emperor Franz Joseph, was impressed by him and recognized the Yeshiva as an official theological college. This status exempted students from military service. [2]
Amongst his students were:
Upon Rabbi Shmuel Binyamin's death on December 31, 1871, his son, Rabbi Simcha Bunim Sofer (known as the Shevet Sofer) assumed both the positions of Rav of Pressburg and rosh yeshiva of the Pressburg Yeshiva which number some 400 students at the time. [11]
The Tiferess Shabboss Society was established in 1883 by students of the Pressburg Yeshiva. The society aimed at awakening learning competition between the Yeshiva students. Every Shabbat, one of the young men was chosen to give a "shiur" on the subject being learnt in the yeshiva.
In 1903 a booklet was published by the Tiferess Shabboss Society, bearing its own name. This book names some 240 students who were learning at the Pressburg Yeshiva at that time. Amongst the young men mentioned are dozens of Hungarian rabbis, including a few Gedolei Torah :
Other known students were:
Rabbi Akiva Sofer (Daas Sofer)In 1907, after the passing of Rabbi Simcha Bunim, his son Rabbi Akiva Sofer (known as the Daas Sofer) assumed leadership over the Pressburg Yeshiva and congregation. The First World War and the resultant breakup of the Habsburg Empire brought tumultuous times to the Yeshiva. Pressburg became Bratislava and passed to the dominion of the new country Czechoslovakia. Countries such as Hungary, Austria, Germany and Poland hampered efforts of students trying to reach the Yeshiva with difficulties attaining passports and visas. Nonetheless, the Yeshiva flourished and continued to operate. After the Czech crises of 1938 and Hitler's invasion of the country, Rabbi Akiva fled Hungary. Upon the advice of his uncle, Rabbi Shimon Sofer of Erlau, he escaped to Switzerland and from there to Jerusalem, where he re-established the yeshiva in the Kiryat Moshe neighborhood. [16] [17] Amongst his students were:
See alsoRelated Research Articles A yeshiva is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha, while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The studying is usually done through daily shiurim as well as in study pairs called chavrusas. Chavrusa-style learning is one of the unique features of the yeshiva.  A kollel is an institute for full-time, advanced study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features shiurim (lectures) and learning sedarim (sessions); unlike most yeshivot, the student body of a kollel typically consists mostly of married men. A kollel generally pays a regular monthly stipend to its members. Rosh yeshiva is the title given to the dean of a yeshiva, a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and the Torah, and halakha.  Moses Schreiber (1762–1839), known to his own community and Jewish posterity in the Hebrew translation as Moshe Sofer, also known by his main work Chatam Sofer, Chasam Sofer, or Hatam Sofer, was one of the leading Orthodox rabbis of European Jewry in the first half of the nineteenth century.  Telshe Yeshiva is a yeshiva in Wickliffe, Ohio, formerly located in Telšiai, Lithuania. During World War II the yeshiva began relocating to Wickliffe, Ohio, in the United States and is now known as the Rabbinical College of Telshe, commonly referred to as Telz Yeshiva, or Telz in short.  Kiryat Mattersdorf is a Haredi neighborhood in Jerusalem. It is located on the northern edge of the mountain plateau on which central Jerusalem lies. It is named after Mattersburg, a town in Austria with a long Jewish history. It borders Kiryat Itri and Romema. The main thoroughfare is Panim Meirot Street, which segues into Sorotzkin Street at the neighborhood's eastern end. In 2015, Kiryat Mattersdorf had approximately 700 residents.  Yeshiva Torah Vodaas is a yeshiva in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York.  Avraham Shmuel Binyamin Sofer, also known by his main work Ksav Sofer or Ketav Sofer, (1815–1871), was one of the leading rabbis of Hungarian Jewry in the second half of the nineteenth century and rosh yeshiva of the famed Pressburg Yeshiva. Pressburg Yeshiva of Jerusalem is a leading yeshiva located in the Givat Shaul neighborhood of Jerusalem. It was founded in 1950 by Rabbi Akiva Sofer, a great-grandson of Rabbi Moses Sofer, who established the original Pressburg Yeshiva in the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1807. As of 2009, the rosh yeshiva is Rabbi Simcha Bunim Sofer. After his death in 2017, his son Rabbi Avraham Shmuel Binyamin Sofer-Schreiber, who also serves as rosh kollel, succeeded him.  Yochanan Sofer was the rebbe of the Erlau dynasty. He was born in Eger, Hungary, where his father and grandfather were also rebbes. After surviving the Holocaust, he founded a yeshiva, first in Hungary and then a few years later in Jerusalem. Erlau, is a Haredi dynasty of Hungarian origin, which follows the teachings of the Chasam Sofer and is often considered Hasidic. In Jewish law, a posek is a legal scholar who determines the application of halakha, the Jewish religious laws derived from the written and Oral Torah in cases of Jewish law where previous authorities are inconclusive, or in those situations where no clear halakhic precedent exists.  Shmuel Ehrenfeld, known as the Mattersdorfer Rav, was a pre-eminent Orthodox Jewish rabbi in pre-war Austria and a respected Torah leader and community builder in post-war America. He established Yeshivas Ch'san Sofer in New York City and taught thousands of students who went on to become leaders of American Torah Jewry. He also founded the neighborhood of Kiryat Mattersdorf in Jerusalem, where his son and grandson became prominent Torah educators. He was the great-great-grandson of the Chasam Sofer through the Chasam Sofer's daughter Hindel, who married Rabbi Dovid Tzvi Ehrenfeld.  Chaim Sofer was a renowned Hungarian rabbi and "scholarly spokesperson for Orthodox Judaism during his time." Nosson Dovid Rabinowich is an American scholar of classical and medieval Jewish history former Dean of Ahavath Torah Institute in Brooklyn, New York. He is a descendant of Nathan David Rabinowich of Shidlowce and is a modern advocate of "the theory of the two Jesuses." In February 2013 he was arrested for attempting to lure a child for sex.  Shimon Sofer was a prominent Austrian Orthodox Jewish rabbi in the 19th century. He was Chief Rabbi of Kraków, Poland after serving as Chief Rabbi of Mattersdorf. He was the second son of Rabbi Moshe Sofer of Pressburg. Moshe Sofer (II) (1885–1944) (German; Moses Schreiber) was a prominent Orthodox Jewish (Charedi) Rabbi in the early 20th century. He was Dayan of Erlau, Hungary and author of a halachic responsa sefer named Yad Sofer.  Akiva Ehrenfeld was an Orthodox Jewish rabbi who helped establish the Kiryat Mattersdorf and Unsdorf neighborhoods of northern Jerusalem. He served as president of Kiryat Mattersdorf and president of the Chasan Sofer Institutions in the United States. References
External links
|
