Baruch Schick of Shklov (1744–1808) was a Polish–Lithuanian-born rabbi, author, scholar,

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 ce ...

ist, physicist, and scientist. He is famous for having translated many scientific works into

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

upon the request of the Vilna Gaon. He wrote about topics ranging from medicine to hygiene, and was known as one of the many pioneers of the

Haskalah The ''Haskalah'', often termed Jewish Enlightenment ( he, השכלה; literally, "wisdom", "erudition" or "education"), was an intellectual movement among the Jews of Central and Eastern Europe, with a certain influence on those in Western Euro ...

movement (Jewish

Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...

). He served as a dayan in the communities of

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

and

Slutsk Slutsk ( officially transliterated as Sluck, be, Слуцк; russian: Слуцк; pl, Słuck, lt, Sluckas, Yiddish/Hebrew: סלוצק ''Slutsk'') is a city in Belarus, located on the Sluch River south of Minsk. As of 2022, its population i ...

throughout his life. Baruch descended from the famous Jewish families of Schick and Ginzberg. He was acknowledged as the first Jew to translate from English to Hebrew.

Early life (1744–1764)

Baruch ben Jacob Schick was born in 1744 in the town of

Shklov Shklow ( be, Шклоў, ; Škłoŭ; russian: link=no, Шклов, ''Shklov''; yi, שקלאָוו, ''Shklov'', lt, Šklovas, pl, Szkłów) is a town in Mogilev Region, Belarus, located north of Mogilev on the Dnieper river. It has a railway ...

. His father served as the rabbi there. His uncle, Arye Leib Ginzberg was one of the foremost halakhists of his generation. In fact, much of Schick's family consisted of some of the great rabbinic scholars in Byelorussia. At a young age, he began to follow the path of his ancestors, and study the

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 ce ...

under his father's guidance. Later in 1760, Schick moved to the city of

and joined the elite society of ''shivah keru'im'', reserved for only the leaders of the community and scholars. There, he worked his way up the hierarchy of the society. Eventually in 1764, Schick was given ordination by the Rabbi Avraham ben David Katzenellenbogen''.'' He later served as a dayan in

. While he was in

, he gained a desire for learning.

Interest in the Sciences

When Schick was a young boy, he developed a fascination of the sciences. According to his second written testimony written in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, "When I was still in the home of my father, the famous rabbi and scholar, and we used to study together the

with the commentaries of

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compre ...

Tosafot The Tosafot, Tosafos or Tosfot ( he, תוספות) are medieval commentaries on the Talmud. They take the form of critical and explanatory glosses, printed, in almost all Talmud editions, on the outer margin and opposite Rashi's notes. The auth ...

, and codes, day and night, my soul longed to lift up the crown of Israel, and to translate books into the

Hebrew language Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

on every discipline and science. But the vicissitudes of time overtook me, and these thoughts of mine came to an end...due to my dislocation from one home to another, and from one city to another." After Schick moved to

, he began to write Hebrew books on science.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shick, Baruck 1808 deaths 1744 births People from Vilnius Voivodeship 18th-century Lithuanian rabbis People from Shklow Rabbis from Minsk