Baruch Epstein
Encyclopedia
Baruch Epstein or Baruch ha-Levi Epstein (1860-1941) (Hebrew: ברוך הלוי אפשטיין) was a Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
, best known for his Torah Temimah
Torah Temimah
Disambiguation: For the Avigdor Hirsch Torah Temimah Primary School in Dollis Hill, London UK, see Torah_Temimah_Primary_SchoolThe Torah Temimah is the magnum opus of Rabbi Baruch Epstein...
commentary on the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
. He was the son of Rabbi Yechiel Michel Epstein
Yechiel Michel Epstein
Yechiel Michel Epstein , often called "the Aruch ha-Shulchan" , was a Rabbi and posek in Lithuania...
, rabbi of Novarodok and author of the work Arukh HaShulkhan.
Biography
Epstein grew up in Novarodok, where his father was the communal rabbi, but moved to the city of PinskPinsk
Pinsk , a town in Belarus, in the Polesia region, traversed by the river Pripyat, at the confluence of the Strumen and Pina rivers. The region was known as the Marsh of Pinsk. It is a fertile agricultural center. It lies south-west of Minsk. The population is about 130,000...
after his marriage and lived there until his death, apart from a period from 1923 to 1926, which he spent in the United States of America looking (unsuccessfully) for a rabbinic position. During this period he served as the first menahel (director) of Ezras Torah from around 1924 until he was succeeded by Rav Henkin
Yosef Eliyahu Henkin
Rabbi Yosef Eliyahu Henkin was a prominent Orthodox rabbi in the United States.He was born in 1881 in Klimavichy, Belarus, then in the Russian Empire, and studied at the Slutzker Yeshiva under Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer...
around the year 1925.
Although Epstein was a bookkeeper
Bookkeeping
Bookkeeping is the recording of financial transactions. Transactions include sales, purchases, income, receipts and payments by an individual or organization. Bookkeeping is usually performed by a bookkeeper. Bookkeeping should not be confused with accounting. The accounting process is usually...
by profession, he had been a student at the Volozhin Yeshiva
Volozhin yeshiva
The Volozhin Yeshiva, also known as Etz Chaim Yeshiva, was a prestigious Lithuanian yeshiva located in the town of Volozhin, Russia, . It was founded by Rabbi Chaim Itzkovitz, a student of the famed Vilna Gaon, and trained several generations of scholars, rabbis, and leaders...
(under his uncle Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin
Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin
Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin, , also known as Reb Hirsch Leib Berlin, and commonly known by the acronym Netziv, was an Orthodox rabbi, dean of the Volozhin Yeshiva and author of several works of rabbinic literature in Lithuania.- Family :Berlin was born in Mir, Russia in 1816 into a family of Jewish...
) and authored a number of popular and scholarly works.
Works
- Torah Temimah ("The Perfect Torah", a reference to Psalms 19:8) - a commentary on the TorahTorahTorah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
and the Five Megillot citing all quotes of a particular verse in the Oral TorahOral TorahThe Oral Torah comprises the legal and interpretative traditions that, according to tradition, were transmitted orally from Mount Sinai, and were not written in the Torah...
(TalmudTalmudThe Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
or MidrashMidrashThe Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
), and giving textual explanations. - Baruch she-Amar ("Praised He Who Spoke", a reference to the opening paragraph of the Verses of Praise, daily morning prayers) - a commentary on the siddurSiddurA siddur is a Jewish prayer book, containing a set order of daily prayers. This article discusses how some of these prayers evolved, and how the siddur, as it is known today has developed...
(Jewish prayerbook). - Mekor Baruch ("Source of Blessing") - autobiographical work with notes on life in the Volozhin yeshiva and his uncle. Selections were translated as "My Uncle the Netziv" (see below).
- Tosefet Beracha ("Added Blessing") - novellae on the TorahTorahTorah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...