Pinchas Paul Biberfeld (31 October 1915 – 23 January 1999) was a

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 ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Childhood

Rabbi Pinchas Paul Biberfeld was born on October 31, 1915 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 ...

. His father, Dr. Chaim Eduard Biberfeld (1864–1939), a famous rabbi and physician, was a co-founder of the Israelitische Krankenheim (Jewish hospital) in

Life

Biberfeld completed his rabbinical studies at the

Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary The Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary (officially in german: Rabbinerseminar für das orthodoxe Judenthum in Berlin until 1880, thereafter ''Rabbiner-Seminar zu Berlin''; in , ''Bet ha-midrash le-Rabanim be-Berlin'') was founded in Berlin on 22 Octo ...

(Rabbiner Seminar für das Orthodoxe Judenthum) in

where he received his

smicha 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 ...

from Dr. Jechiel Weinberg. After his family was forced to leave

in 1939 Biberfeld immigrated to Palestine via

Triest Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

and

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

. In the same year his father died after a longstanding illness. In Palestine he continued his studies at the

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are st ...

s of

Kol Torah Kol Torah is a yeshiva in the Bayit Vegan neighborhood of Jerusalem. History Yeshivas Kol Torah was founded in 1939 by Yechiel Michel Schlesinger (1898–1948), born in Hamburg, Germany and Boruch Kunstadt, a dayan from Fulda, Germany. It w ...

and

Hebron Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after Eas ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, before marrying the daughter of Zvi Aryeh Twersky, Rebbe of Zlatipol-Chortkov. In the 1950s Rabbi Biberfeld founded the still functioning

Kollel A kollel ( he, כולל, , , a "gathering" or "collection" f scholars is an institute for full-time, advanced study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features shiurim (lectures) and learning ''sedarim'' (sessions); ...

Zlatipol- Chortkov in

Tel-Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...

, where he served as Rosh-Kollel for 30 years. Moreover he was a publisher of the rabbinic journal "Hane'eman", printing responsa of distinguished rabbinical scholars and his own novel insights. Rabbi Biberfeld also edited the Hebrew edition of his father's classical manual about the laws of the Sabbath ("Die Sabbath Vorschriften") under the Hebrew title "Menucho Nechauno", which has been reprinted several times. In 1984 Rabbi Biberfeld succeeded Rabbi Hans Isaak Grünewald in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

.''American Jewish Year Book 1984'' During the ten years as Chief Rabbi of

(Oberrabbiner der Israelitischen Kultusgemeinde München) he influenced Jewish life in

profoundly, especially by redefining the rabbi's role as the foremost authority within the community. After a sudden deterioration of his health in 1998, he spent his last months with his son, Rabbi Chaim Michoel (Michael) Biberfeld - Rabbi of South Tottenham Synagogue as well as rabbi of the Chortkov Hassidic synagogue in Stamford Hill, London - where he died on January 23, 1999. He is buried at the Jewish cemetery on the

Mount of Olives The Mount of Olives or Mount Olivet ( he, הַר הַזֵּיתִים, Har ha-Zeitim; ar, جبل الزيتون, Jabal az-Zaytūn; both lit. 'Mount of Olives'; in Arabic also , , 'the Mountain') is a mountain ridge east of and adjacent to Jeru ...

Publications

A short list of Rabbi Biberfeld's writings in German: * Es führt ein mühsamer Weg ans Licht, Jüdische Zeitung, April 6, 1987 * Altes und neues Wunder, Jüdische Zeitung, April 1, 1988 * Eine Nacht, die anders ist, Jüdische Zeitung, April 9, 1990 * Die zehn Plagen, Münchner Jüdische Gemeindezeitung, Heft 22, March 29, 1993

Sources

References

Archive of Jewish culture and history, Chaim Frank, Munich

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Biberfeld, Pinchas Paul 1915 births 1999 deaths 20th-century German rabbis Chief rabbis of cities Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Mandatory Palestine German Hasidic rabbis Hasidic rabbis in Europe Israeli Hasidic rabbis Jewish biblical scholars Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary alumni Descendants of the Baal Shem Tov 20th-century Jewish biblical scholars Clergy from Munich 20th-century Israeli rabbis