Rabbi Ezekiel Isidore Epstein (יחזקא-ל יצחק אפשטיין ;1894-1962)
was an
Orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
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 ...
and rabbinical scholar in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. He is best known as Editor of the first complete English translation of the
Babylonian 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 ...
, and for his role as Principal
of
Jews' College
The London School of Jewish Studies (commonly known as LSJS, originally founded as Jews' College) is a London-based organisation providing adult educational courses and training to the wider Jewish community. Since 2012 LSJS also offers rabbinic ...
, London. He was also the author of numerous scholarly and popular books on
Judaism
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...
.
Biography
Epstein was born in
Kovno
Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...
,
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
on 7 May 1893. His father was David Epstein, a bootmaker and his mother was Malka Epstein. Both parents were Orthodox Jews. The family moved to Paris when he was very young, and in 1903, they moved to London. There, he attende
Old Castle Street School and
Raine's Foundation School
Raine's Foundation School was a Church of England voluntary aided school based on two sites in Bethnal Green in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, England.
It was situated in the north of Bethnal Green, just to the east of ''Cambridge Heath ...
.
At the age of fifteen, he studied
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 ...
a
Great Garden Streets ''
beit midrash
A ''beth midrash'' ( he, בית מדרש, or ''beis medrash'', ''beit midrash'', pl. ''batei midrash'' "House of Learning") is a hall dedicated for Torah study, often translated as a "study hall." It is distinct from a synagogue (''beth knes ...
''. Due to the quality of his work, he was sent to study at the
Pressburg Yeshiva under Rabbi
Akiva Sofer
Akiva ben Yosef (Mishnaic Hebrew: ''ʿĂqīvāʾ ben Yōsēf''; – 28 September 135 CE), also known as Rabbi Akiva (), was a leading Jewish scholar and sage, a '' tanna'' of the latter part of the first century and the beginning of the second c ...
.
(He had also studied in Paris under Rabbi
Zadoc Kahn
Zadoc Kahn (18 February 1839 in Mommenheim, Alsace – 8 December 1905 in Paris) was an Alsatian-French rabbi and chief rabbi of France.
Life
In 1856 he entered the rabbinical school of Metz, finishing his theological studies at the same ...
, chief rabbi of France.
[)
He received '']semikhah
Semikhah ( he, סמיכה) is the traditional Jewish name for rabbinic ordination.
The original ''semikhah'' was the formal "transmission of authority" from Moses through the generations. This form of ''semikhah'' ceased between 360 and 425 C ...
'' (ordination) from Rabbi Isaiah Silberstein of Vác
Vác (; german: Waitzen; sk, Vacov; yi, ווייצען) is a town in Pest county in Hungary with approximately 35,000 inhabitants. The archaic spelling of the name is ''Vácz''.
Location
Vác is located north of Budapest on the eastern bank o ...
, and subsequently from Rabb
Yisrael Chaim Daiches
of Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
, and from Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook
Abraham Isaac Kook (; 7 September 1865 – 1 September 1935), known as Rav Kook, and also known by the acronym HaRaAYaH (), was an Orthodox rabbi, and the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of British Mandatory Palestine. He is considered to be one ...
, while the latter was based in London during World War I.
He was advised by chief rabbi Joseph Hertz
Joseph Herman Hertz (25 September 1872 – 14 January 1946) was a British Rabbi and biblical scholar. He held the position of Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom from 1913 until his death in 1946, in a period encompassing both world wars and the ...
to obtain an academic education.
He studied at the University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
, earning a First Class BA Honours degree in Semitic languages
The Semitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are spoken by more than 330 million people across much of West Asia, the Horn of Africa, and latterly North Africa, Malta, West Africa, Chad, and in large immigra ...
, followed by two doctorates, the PhD and the DLit. [Rabbi Dr Ezekiel Isidore Epstein](_blank)
jewishgen.org
He served as rabbi of Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
Hebrew Congregation (1920-1928), following which he joined the teaching staff of Jews' College
The London School of Jewish Studies (commonly known as LSJS, originally founded as Jews' College) is a London-based organisation providing adult educational courses and training to the wider Jewish community. Since 2012 LSJS also offers rabbinic ...
, London. In 1945 he was appointed Director of Studies and subsequently Principal.
Rabbi Dr Isidore Epstein - A Tribute
He retired in 1961.
Epstein married twice: he married his first wife Jeanie in Belfast in 1921 and the couple had two children, Rachel and Leon.
However, she died in 1924, and Epstein remarried 3 June 1925. With his second wife, Gertrude, Isidore had a third child on 13 April 1926: Samuel Stanley Epstein, who died in 13 March 2018.
[ Rabbi Epstein died on 13 April 1962.][
]
Works
Rabbi Epstein is best known for serving as Editor of the first complete English translation of the Babylonian 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 ...
, published by the Soncino Press
Soncino Press is a Jewish publishing company based in the United Kingdom that has published a variety of books of Jewish interest, most notably English translations and commentaries to the Talmud and Hebrew Bible. The Soncino Hebrew Bible and Tal ...
(London, 35 volumes, 1935-1952);
see .
He recruited many rabbis and scholars for the massive project, personally reviewing all of the work as it was produced, and co-ordinating the many details of notation and transliteration of Hebrew words.[
Epstein was also an editor of ]Joseph H. Hertz
Joseph Herman Hertz (25 September 1872 – 14 January 1946) was a British Rabbi and biblical scholar. He held the position of Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom from 1913 until his death in 1946, in a period encompassing both world wars and the ...
' ''Pentateuch and Haftorahs'' (1929–1936), and editor of a collection of papers (published 1935) in connection with the eighth centenary of the birth of Maimonides
Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...
( 1135).
He was also the author of numerous scholarly and popular books relating to Judaism
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...
.
His publications include:
* 'The Responsa of Rabbi Simon B. Zemah Duran As a Source of the History of the Jews in North Africa' (Oxford University Press, 1930)
* Ed., 'Moses Maimonides: Anglo-Jewish Papers in Connection with the Eighth Centenary of His Birth' (London, 1935)
* 'Judaism' (London, The Epworth Press, 1939)
* 'Social legislation in the Talmud' (Torah Va'Avodah Library, Ideological Series) (Tnuath Torah Va'Avodah, 1943)
* 'Man and his creator: A guide-book for teachers' (Jewish Educational Publications) (London, Woburn House, 1944)
* Ed., 'Joseph Herman Hertz, 1872-1946, in Memoriam' (London, Soncino Press, 1947)
* 'The Jewish Way of Life' (Edward Goldston, 1947)
* 'The Faith of Judaism: an interpretation for our times' (London, Soncino Press, 1954)
* 'Step By Step in the Jewish Religion' (London, Soncino Press, 1958)
* 'Judaism: A Historical Presentation' (Penguin, 1950s, many subsequent editions)
* 'The faith of Judaism;: An interpretation for our times' (London, Soncino Press, 1960)
* 'Step by Step in the Jewish Religion' (London, Soncino Press, 1965)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Epstein, Isidore
British Orthodox rabbis
1894 births
1962 deaths
Academics of the London School of Jewish Studies
Writers from Kaunas
Lithuanian Jews
Lithuanian emigrants to the United Kingdom