Joseph Saul Nathanson (1808 - 1875) (Hebrew: יוסף שאול בן אריה הלוי) was a Polish rabbi and posek, and a leading rabbinical authority of his day.

Biography

Rabbi Nathanson was born at Berezhany (Berzan), Galicia (Central Europe) (today's western Ukraine); he was the son of Aryeh Lebush Nathanson, rabbi at Berzan and author of "Bet El." He studied Talmud at Lviv (Lemberg) together with his brother-in-law Mordecai Zeeb Ettinger. In the 1830s in Lemberg - then under the rule of the Austrian Empire - he founded an informal study-group under his tutelage; this “yeshiva” attracted some of the most brilliant students in Galicia. In 1857 Nathanson was elected rabbi of Lemberg, where he officiated for eighteen years. He was widely recognized as a rabbinical authority, and was asked to rule on various contemporary issues; his rulings are still widely cited (for instance he was one of the first to permit the use of machinery in baking Matzah ). Rabbi Nathanson was very wealthy, and was known for his activity as a philanthropist. He died at Lemberg March 4, 1875.

Works

Rabbi Nathanson is author of:

• "Mefareshe ha-Yam" (Lemberg, 1828), in cooperation with Mordecai Zeeb Ettinger: notes by Joshua Heschel on the "Yam ha-Talmud," to which they appended their own respona;
• "Me'irat 'Enayim" (Wilna, 1839), on the ritual examination of the lungs;
• "Magen Gibborim" (Lemberg, part i., 1832; part ii., 1837), on Shulkhan Arukh, Orach Chayim;
• "Yad Yosef" and "Yad Sha'ul," on the Shulkhan Arukh, Yoreh De'ah (Lemberg, 1851);
• "Ner Ma'arabi", on the Jerusalem Talmud;
• "Haggahot ha-Shass", critical notes on the Talmud;
• "Ma'ase Alfas", commentary on Isaac Alfasi;
• "Sho'el u-Meshiv", responsa (Lemberg, 1865-79);
• "Dibre Sha'ul ve-Yosif Da'at", responsa (ib. 1879).

External links and references

• Nathanson, Joseph Saul, jewishencyclopedia.com
• The “yeshiva world” of Eastern Europe, Berel Wein
• Memorial page to the bygone world of Berezhany Jews