Baruch Epstein or Baruch ha-Levi Epstein (1860–1941) ( he, ברוך הלוי אפשטיין) was a

Lithuanian Jewish Lithuanian Jews or Litvaks () are Jews with roots in the territory of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania (covering present-day Lithuania, Belarus, Latvia, the northeastern Suwałki and Białystok regions of Poland, as well as adjacent areas o ...

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

, best known for his '' Torah Temimah''

commentary Commentary or commentaries may refer to: Publications * ''Commentary'' (magazine), a U.S. public affairs journal, founded in 1945 and formerly published by the American Jewish Committee * Caesar's Commentaries (disambiguation), a number of works ...

on the

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

. He was the son of Rabbi

Yechiel Michel Epstein Yechiel Michel ha-Levi Epstein ( he, יחיאל מיכל הלוי אפשטיין) (24 January 1829 – 25 March 1908), often called "the ''Aruch haShulchan''" after his magnum opus, Aruch HaShulchan, was a Rabbi and ''Posek'' (authority in Jewi ...

, 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

Pinsk Pinsk ( be, Пі́нск; russian: Пи́нск ; Polish: Pińsk; ) is a city located in the Brest Region of Belarus, in the Polesia region, at the confluence of the Pina River and the Pripyat River. The region was known as the Marsh of Pinsk a ...

after his marriage to the daughter of Rabbi Elazar Moshe Horowitz, and lived there until his death, apart from a period from 1923 to 1926, which he spent in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

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 around the year 1925. Although Epstein was a bookkeeper by profession, he had been a student at the

Volozhin Yeshiva Yeshivas Etz Ḥayyim (), commonly called the Volozhin Yeshiva (), was a prestigious Lithuanian ''yeshiva'' located in the town of Volozhin, Russian Empire (now Valozhyn, Belarus). It was founded around 1803 by Rabbi Ḥayyim Volozhiner, a stude ...

under his uncle Rabbi

Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin (20 November 1816 in Mir, Russia – 10 August 1893 in Warsaw, Poland), also known as Reb Hirsch Leib Berlin, and commonly known by the acronym Netziv, was an Orthodox rabbi, '' Rosh yeshiva'' (dean) of the Volozhin ...

(who became his brother-in-law after being widowed and remarrying Epstein's sister). Epstein authored a number of popular and scholarly works which are still used widely. Epstein died of natural causes in the Jewish hospital when Pinsk was under Nazi occupation..

Works

* '' Torah Temimah'' ("The Perfect Torah", a reference to Psalms 19:8) - a commentary on the

and the

Five Megillot The Five Scrolls or The Five Megillot ( he, חמש מגילות , ''Hamesh Megillot'' or ''Chomeish Megillos'') are parts of the Ketuvim ("Writings"), the third major section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). The Five Scrolls are the Song of Songs, ...

citing all quotes of a particular verse in the

Oral Torah According to Rabbinic Judaism, the Oral Torah or Oral Law ( he, , Tōrā šebbəʿal-pe}) are those purported laws, statutes, and legal interpretations that were not recorded in the Five Books of Moses, the Written Torah ( he, , Tōrā šebbīḵ� ...

(

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...

Midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...

), 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) - Multiple volumes, including a commentary on the

siddur A siddur ( he, סִדּוּר ; plural siddurim ) is a Jewish prayer book containing a set order of daily prayers. The word comes from the Hebrew root , meaning 'order.' Other terms for prayer books are ''tefillot'' () among Sephardi Jews, ' ...

(Jewish prayerbook), Passover Haggadah and Pirkei Avot (Ethics of Our Fathers). * ''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). * ''Mekor Baruch''- on the Jerusalem Talmud * ''Tosefet Beracha'' ("Added Blessing") -

novellae In Roman law, a novel ( la, novella constitutio, "new decree"; gr, νεαρά, neara) is a new decree or edict, in other words a new law. The term was used from the fourth century AD onwards and was specifically used for laws issued after the publi ...

on the

References

Great Leaders of our People: Rabbi Baruch HaLevi Epstein
*My Uncle the Netziv, Mesorah Publications Ltd,

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, 1988. .

External links

English translation of Tosefet Beracha (selections)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Epstein, Baruch 1860 births 1941 deaths Haredi rabbis in Europe Levites Bible commentators