Rabbi Shimon Sofer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Title | Rabbi ofErlau |
| Personal life | |
| Born | Shimon Sofer 1850 |
| Died | 12 June 1944 (aged 94) |
| Nationality | Hungarian |
| Spouse |
|
| Children | 15 |
| Parent(s) | RabbiSamuel Benjamin Sofer and Chava Leah Weiss |
| Occupation | Rabbi,rosh yeshiva |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Judaism |
| Denomination | Orthodox Judaism |
| Jewish leader | |
| Successor | Rabbi Moshe Sofer II |
| Began | 1881 |
| Ended | 1944 |
Shimon Sofer (1850 – 2 June 1944)[1] was the rabbi of the Hungarian city ofEger (Erlau) and the progenitor of theErlauerHasidic dynasty. His grandsonYochanan Sofer was the Erlauerrebbe in Israel.
Sofer was one of 10 children ofSamuel Benjamin Sofer (1815 – 1872), a rabbi known as theKsav Sofer, who was the son ofMoses Sofer (1762 – 1839), known as theChasam Sofer, the rabbi of Pressburg (present-dayBratislava).
Sofer lived the early part of his life inKisvárda (Kleinwardein) in Hungary.
In 1870 he married Esther Fried. The couple had a daughter. Esther died after two years of marriage. In 1874 Sofer married his cousin, Glikle Birnbaum. The couple had a son, Akiva, but divorced soon after his birth.[1]
During this period, Sofer lived both inUman andKiev.
He then lived in the Polish city ofKraków, where his uncle, also a rabbi namedShimon Sofer (author ofMichtav Sofer).[2]
In approximately 1875 Sofer returned to Pressburg and married another cousin, Malka Esther Spitzer, with whom he had 13 children.[1]
In 1881, Sofer became rabbi of the Hungarian city ofEger (Erlau)[1][3] where he founded a largeyeshiva. He also foughtNeolog Judaism, a Hungarian reform movement.[1]
Later one of his sons,Moses Sofer (author ofYad Sofer) became rabbi anddayan (rabbinical judge) of Erlau.
Sofer led the Jewish community in Erlau for some 64 years. Shortly after the Germansoccupied Hungary in May 1944, they placed the Jewish population inghettos. In June, the Germans deported Sofer and his entire community – some 3,000 Jews[4] – toAuschwitz. They arrived on 21Sivan (June 2), and were gassed a few hours later.[1] Sofer was 94 at the time of his death. His son, Rabbi Moshe Sofer, was murdered at the same time.[5]
Sofer authored a book of responsa,Hisorerus Teshuva (hence he is known as "The Hisorerus Teshuva"), andShir Maon on the Torah. He also edited the works of his father and grandfather and prepared them for publication.[1]
Sofer's grandson, Yochanan Sofer, re-founded the Erlau community in Israel in 1953. Yochanan printed his grandfather'ssefarim at the Institute for Research of the Teachings of the Chasam Sofer (Hebrew:מכון חת"ם סופר), which he established and also presided over the Ohel Shimon-Erlau Yeshiva, named in memory of Shimon Sofer.
Sofer had 15 children from his three wives, includingMoshe Sofer. His son Avraham, a Torah literature scholar, won of theIsrael Prize for Torah Literature in 1981, and theRabbi Kook Prize in 1943.
{{cite web}}:Check|url= value (help)| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
