Moses Sofer

Early years

His father's name was Shmuel (Samuel) (d. 1779, 15 Sivan 5539) and his mother's name was Reisil the daughter of Elchanan (d. 1822, 17 Adar 5582). Shmuel's mother Reizchen (d. 5 May 1731 in Frankfurt am Main) was a daughter of the Gaon of Frankfurt Rabbi Shmuel Schotten, known as the Marsheishoch (died, 1719, 14 Tamuz 5479 in Frankfurt am Main), his namesake.

Education

Boskowitz, Prossnitz, Dresnitz, and Mattersdorf

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 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 Ash (Maharam Ash) (1780-1854), Rabbi of Ungvar.

Work in Pressburg (today's Bratislava) and his death

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 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.

He died in Pressburg on October 3, 1839 (25 Tishrei 5600), and was succeeded by his son Rabbi Avraham Shmuel Binyamin Sofer known as the Ketav Sofer.

Fight against changes in Judaism

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 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 (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

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 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.

Gravesite

A modern Jewish memorial, containing Moses Sofer's grave and those of many of his associates and family is in Bratislava. It is situated underground below Bratislava Castle at the left bank of the Danube). 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 regime of Jozef 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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References

External sources

• Rabbi Hatam Sofer & Jewish Bratislava
• The guide to the Chatam Sofer Memorial in Bratislava, synagogues and other Jewish heritage sites in Slovakia