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 Street
s ''

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
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

, 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

, 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

. 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