Rogatchover Gaon
Encyclopedia
Joseph Rosen known as the Rogatchover Gaon, ("Genius of Rogachev"), and also often referred to by the title of his main work Tzofnath Paneach ("Decipherer of Secrets"), (Rogachev, 1858 – Vienna
, 5 March 1936), was a rabbi
and one of the most prominent talmudic scholars of the early 20th-century, known as a genius (gaon
) because of his photographic memory and ability to connect sources from the Talmud to seemingly unrelated situations.
, into a Hasidic
family of Kapust
er Hasidim
, and was educated in the local cheder
(Torah
school for small children). His unusual capabilities were noticed at the age of thirteen, when he was sent to study in Slutzk along with Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik
, five years his senior, under the Beis Halevi, Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik
. He subsequently studied under Rabbi Yehoshua Leib Diskin
(Maharil Diskin) in Shklov. He then assumed (in 1889) the rabbinate of the Hasidic community in Dvinsk
for almost 50 years, where his non-Hasidic counterpart was Rabbi Meir Simcha of Dvinsk
; they served in parallel until the late 1920's, and enjoyed excellent relations.
Among those who received semicha
(Rabbinic ordination) from him were, Rabbi Mordecai Savitsky of Boston
; Rabbi Zvi Olshwang (1873–1959?) of Chicago
a brother-in-law of Rabbi Shimon Shkop
; Rabbi Avrohom Elye Plotkin, the author of Birurei Halachot (a copy of the actual semicha is included in that work); and Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson
, the seventh Lubavitcher
Rebbe
.
The Rogachover is remembered for his breadth of Torah knowledge and caustic wit. He did not suffer inadequacy lightly. He was similarly reputed to rarely quote any rabbinic authority after Maimonides
, and avoided recent rabbinic works of the Achronim in favour of the Rishonim
(those preceding the late 15th century). His responses to queries of Jewish law are generally enigmatic and cryptic.
He died in Vienna
in 1936 following unsuccessful surgery.
Throughout his life, despite not being an official Lubavitcher Chassid, he maintained very close connections to Lubavitcher Chabad
Chassidim and their Rebbeim, Rashab and Rayatz (after Rashab's death, he supported the decision to appoint the young Rayatz as the new Rebbe). He also gave rabbinic ordination (smichah) to the 7th Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson
. The Rogatchover is a famous figure in Chabad Lubavitch folklore; his name often comes up in stories told in yeshivas and during farbrengens—content ranging from self-sacrifice and dedication to Torah values despite the pressures of Russian government, to special sensitivity of spiritual dimension of the Torah (in Chassidus and Kabbalah), to his genius in the revealed Torah. Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson
once quoted the Rogachover, who said that the whole Judaism to him could be condensed into ten basic ideas, and were he to be smarter, it would be only one idea.
many years after his death; all are titled Tzofnath Paneach "decipherer of secrets", (a title given to the Biblical Joseph
by Pharaoh
(Genesis 41:45)). His manuscripts were smuggled out of Latvia
on microfilm during World War II by his successor, Rabbi Yisrael Alter Safrin-Fuchs (1911–1942), who remained in Latvia to complete this task, and his daughter, who had come to Dvinsk from Eretz Yisroel to help preserve her father's manuscripts. Both died at the hands of the Nazis as a result. A portion of these manuscripts were edited and published by Rabbi Menachem M. Kasher
of New York.
His works include responsa
and novellae on Torah
and Talmud
. They are regarded as difficult and inaccessible, as he employs the philosophical terminology of Maimonides
' Guide for the Perplexed
even in non-philosophical analyses. Rabbi Kasher therefore included Mefa'aneach Tzefunoth, an explanatory commentary, to facilitate understanding of the Rogatchover's influential work.
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, 5 March 1936), was a 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...
and one of the most prominent talmudic scholars of the early 20th-century, known as a genius (gaon
Gaon (Hebrew)
Gaon originally referred in Ancient Hebrew to arrogance and haughty pride . Later became known as pride in general: whether good or bad . Today it may refer to:...
) because of his photographic memory and ability to connect sources from the Talmud to seemingly unrelated situations.
Biography
He was born in Rogachev, now in BelarusBelarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, into a Hasidic
Hasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...
family of Kapust
Kapust
The Kopuster Hasidic dynasty was based on the Chabad school of thought.The first three Rebbes of Chabad were Shneur Zalman of Liadi, Dovber Schneuri, and Menachem Mendel Schneersohn, also known as the "Tzemach Tzedek". When the Tzemach Tzedek died, he did not leave a clear successor...
er Hasidim
Hasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...
, and was educated in the local cheder
Cheder
A Cheder is a traditional elementary school teaching the basics of Judaism and the Hebrew language.-History:...
(Torah
Torah study
Torah study is the study by Jewish people of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature and similar works, all of which are Judaism's religious texts...
school for small children). His unusual capabilities were noticed at the age of thirteen, when he was sent to study in Slutzk along with Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik
Chaim Soloveitchik
Chaim Soloveitchik , also known as Reb Chaim Brisker, was a rabbi and Talmudic scholar credited as the founder of the popular Brisker approach to Talmudic study within Judaism. He was born in Volozhin in 1853, where his father, Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik served as a lecturer in the famous...
, five years his senior, under the Beis Halevi, Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik
Yosef Dov Soloveitchik (Beis Halevi)
Yosef Dov Soloveitchik was the author of Beis Halevi, by which name he is better known among Talmudic scholars. He was the great-grandson of Rabbi Chaim Volozhin.-Early years:In his youth Yosef Dov lived in Brod. One anecdote illustrates his early mastery of rabbinic learning...
. He subsequently studied under Rabbi Yehoshua Leib Diskin
Yehoshua Leib Diskin
Yehoshua Yehuda Leib Diskin , also known as the Maharil Diskin, was a leading rabbi, Talmudist and Biblical commentator. He served as a rabbi in Łomża, Mezritch, Kovno, Shklov, Brisk and finally Jerusalem, after moving to Eretz Yisrael in 1878....
(Maharil Diskin) in Shklov. He then assumed (in 1889) the rabbinate of the Hasidic community in Dvinsk
Daugavpils
Daugavpils is a city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. Daugavpils literally means "Daugava Castle". With a population of over 100,000, it is the second largest city in the country after the capital Riga, which is located some...
for almost 50 years, where his non-Hasidic counterpart was Rabbi Meir Simcha of Dvinsk
Meir Simcha of Dvinsk
Meir Simcha of Dvinsk was a rabbi and prominent leader of Orthodox Judaism in Eastern Europe in the early 20th century. He was a kohen, and is therefore often referred to as Meir Simcha ha-Kohen...
; they served in parallel until the late 1920's, and enjoyed excellent relations.
Among those who received semicha
Semicha
, also , or is derived from a Hebrew word which means to "rely on" or "to be authorized". It generally refers to the ordination of a rabbi within Judaism. In this sense it is the "transmission" of rabbinic authority to give advice or judgment in Jewish law...
(Rabbinic ordination) from him were, Rabbi Mordecai Savitsky of Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
; Rabbi Zvi Olshwang (1873–1959?) of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
a brother-in-law of Rabbi Shimon Shkop
Shimon Shkop
Shimon Yehuda Hakohen Shkop was a rosh yeshiva in the Yeshiva Shaar Hatorah and in the Telshe yeshiva and a renowned Talmudic scholar. He was born in Torez in 1860. At the age of twelve he went to study in the Mir yeshiva, and at fifteen he went to Volozhin yeshiva where he studied six years...
; Rabbi Avrohom Elye Plotkin, the author of Birurei Halachot (a copy of the actual semicha is included in that work); and Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Menachem Mendel Schneerson , known as the Lubavitcher Rebbe or just the Rebbe among his followers, was a prominent Hasidic rabbi who was the seventh and last Rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. He was fifth in a direct paternal line to the third Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe, Menachem Mendel...
, the seventh Lubavitcher
Chabad-Lubavitch
Chabad-Lubavitch is a Chasidic movement in Orthodox Judaism. One of the world's larger and best-known Chasidic movements, its official headquarters is in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York...
Rebbe
Rebbe
Rebbe , which means master, teacher, or mentor, is a Yiddish word derived from the Hebrew word Rabbi. It often refers to the leader of a Hasidic Jewish movement...
.
The Rogachover is remembered for his breadth of Torah knowledge and caustic wit. He did not suffer inadequacy lightly. He was similarly reputed to rarely quote any rabbinic authority after Maimonides
Maimonides
Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
, and avoided recent rabbinic works of the Achronim in favour of the Rishonim
Rishonim
"Rishon" redirects here. For the preon model in particle physics, see Harari Rishon Model. For the Israeli town, see Rishon LeZion.Rishonim were the leading Rabbis and Poskim who lived approximately during the 11th to 15th centuries, in the era before the writing of the Shulkhan Arukh and...
(those preceding the late 15th century). His responses to queries of Jewish law are generally enigmatic and cryptic.
He died in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
in 1936 following unsuccessful surgery.
Throughout his life, despite not being an official Lubavitcher Chassid, he maintained very close connections to Lubavitcher Chabad
Chabad
Chabad or Chabad-Lubavitch is a major branch of Hasidic Judaism.Chabad may also refer to:*Chabad-Strashelye, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism*Chabad-Kapust or Kapust, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism...
Chassidim and their Rebbeim, Rashab and Rayatz (after Rashab's death, he supported the decision to appoint the young Rayatz as the new Rebbe). He also gave rabbinic ordination (smichah) to the 7th Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Menachem Mendel Schneerson , known as the Lubavitcher Rebbe or just the Rebbe among his followers, was a prominent Hasidic rabbi who was the seventh and last Rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. He was fifth in a direct paternal line to the third Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe, Menachem Mendel...
. The Rogatchover is a famous figure in Chabad Lubavitch folklore; his name often comes up in stories told in yeshivas and during farbrengens—content ranging from self-sacrifice and dedication to Torah values despite the pressures of Russian government, to special sensitivity of spiritual dimension of the Torah (in Chassidus and Kabbalah), to his genius in the revealed Torah. Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Menachem Mendel Schneerson , known as the Lubavitcher Rebbe or just the Rebbe among his followers, was a prominent Hasidic rabbi who was the seventh and last Rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. He was fifth in a direct paternal line to the third Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe, Menachem Mendel...
once quoted the Rogachover, who said that the whole Judaism to him could be condensed into ten basic ideas, and were he to be smarter, it would be only one idea.
Works
His main work, a commentary on Maimonides, was published during his lifetime, as were five volumes of halachic responsa. The remainder of his surviving writings appeared in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
many years after his death; all are titled Tzofnath Paneach "decipherer of secrets", (a title given to the Biblical Joseph
Joseph (Hebrew Bible)
Joseph is an important character in the Hebrew bible, where he connects the story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in Canaan to the subsequent story of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt....
by Pharaoh
Pharaoh
Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
(Genesis 41:45)). His manuscripts were smuggled out of Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
on microfilm during World War II by his successor, Rabbi Yisrael Alter Safrin-Fuchs (1911–1942), who remained in Latvia to complete this task, and his daughter, who had come to Dvinsk from Eretz Yisroel to help preserve her father's manuscripts. Both died at the hands of the Nazis as a result. A portion of these manuscripts were edited and published by Rabbi Menachem M. Kasher
Menachem Mendel Kasher
Menachem Mendel Kasher was a Polish-born Israeli rabbi and prolific author who authored an encyclopedic work on the Torah entitled Torah Sheleimah.-Early life:...
of New York.
His works include responsa
Responsa
Responsa comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them.-In the Roman Empire:Roman law recognised responsa prudentium, i.e...
and novellae on 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...
and Talmud
Talmud
The 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....
. They are regarded as difficult and inaccessible, as he employs the philosophical terminology of Maimonides
Maimonides
Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
' Guide for the Perplexed
Guide for the Perplexed
The Guide for the Perplexed is one of the major works of Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, better known as Maimonides or "the Rambam"...
even in non-philosophical analyses. Rabbi Kasher therefore included Mefa'aneach Tzefunoth, an explanatory commentary, to facilitate understanding of the Rogatchover's influential work.
External links
- Rabbi Y. Feitman, The Rogatchover Gaon (biography)
- Jewish Daugavpils today