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Rabbi Moses ben Samuel Sofer or Schreiber, also known by his main work Hatam Sofer or the Chasam Soifer ("שו"ת חתם סופר" - "Responsa the Seal of the Scribe"), was one of the leading rabbis of European Jewry in the first half of the nineteenth century. His German name was Moses Schreiber.
Early years
Rabbi Moshe Sofer was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany in September, 1762 (7 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 Siven 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 Shmuel Shatin, known as the Marsheishoch (died 1719, 14 Tamuz 5479), his namesake.
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 (1736-1805, d. 4 Tamuz 5565), author of "Sefer Hafla'ah" and Rabbi of Frankfurt (from 1772 until 1805), 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 Tebele Scheuer (1712-1782, d. Shmini Atzeres 5542) in the neighboring city of Mainz, which gladly welcomed him. In Mainz, he continued his studies of Torah and Talmud, and he studied there for two years. Many prominent residents there took an interest in his welfare and facilitated the progress of his studies.
Education
Rabbi Sofer's teacher gave him semicha—rabbinical ordination—authorizing him to render decisions on questions of Jewish law. He also was proficient in astronomy, geometry, and history. Yielding to the entreaties of his former teachers in Frankfurt, Rabbi Sofer returned to his native city.
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 Prossnitz (Prostejov), where he married Sarah (d. 1812), the daughter of Rabbi Moses Jerwitz (d. 1785), rabbi of Prostejov. Rabbi Sofer eventually became head of the yeshiva at Prostejov.
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.
Pressburg (Bratislava)
He declined many offers for the rabbinate, but in 1806 accepted a call to 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: Rabbi Avrohom Schag (1801-1876); Rabbi 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); 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); his sons, Rabbi Avrohom Shmuel Binyamin Sofer (Ktav Sofer) (1815-1872) and Rabbi Shimon Sofer (1821-1883); his son-in-law Rabbi Dovid Zvi Eherenfeld (d. 1861), father of Rabbi Shmuel Eherenfeld (1835-1883) (Chasan Sofer) and many others.
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 Eger, (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.
Fight against changes in Judaism
From the late 18th century onwards, movements which evnetually 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 with all the force at his command. 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,". 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.
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 tractates of the Talmud contain his emendations and additions.
Grave
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 regime of Josef Tiso in the early 1940s 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, or (according to another) for fear of a curse if the graves were destroyed, or (according to a third) both of these. After the independence of Slovakia in 1992, new negotiations were undertaken to restore public access to the preserved graves. This involved relocation of the roadway and the tram-lines that had been built in it. Access to the mausoleum can be arranged through the local Jewish community organisation.
"Moses Sofer"