Shmuel Schotten HaCohen (1644 – 5 July 1719), known as the ''Mharsheishoch'', became

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 ...

of the Grand Duchy of

Hesse-Darmstadt The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Darmstadt) was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a younger branch of the House of Hesse. It was formed in 1567 following the division of the Landgraviate of Hesse betwee ...

in west Germany in 1685.

Life and work

Shmuel (Samuel) Schotten HaCohen was born in

Schotten Schotten is a town in the middle of Hesse, Germany. Larger towns nearby include Alsfeld in the north, Fulda in the east, Friedberg in the south and Gießen in the west. Geography Location The officially recognised climatic spa lies between 168 m ...

in 1644 and moved to

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

in 1682. That year, he was granted the right to live i
Frankfurt
under the Frankfurt residence code. His brother, a clothing and

drapery Drapery is a general word referring to cloths or textiles (Old French , from Late Latin ). It may refer to cloth used for decorative purposes – such as around windows – or to the trade of retailing cloth, originally mostly for clothin ...

merchant, had moved to Frankfurt one year before. In 1685, Schotten HaCohen was appointed

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of the zu
Klause

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 s ...

in Frankfurt and Rabbi of the

Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Darmstadt) was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a younger branch of the House of Hesse. It was formed in 1567 following the division of the Landgraviate of Hesse betwee ...

. For two years starting 1703, when there was no chief rabbi of Frankfurt, he served as acting head rabbi of the city. During the laying of the foundation stone for the new synagogue following the

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

that had ravaged Frankfurt's Jewish ghetto in 1711, Schotten HaCohen recited prayers he had composed in Hebrew. In 1715, he instructed community members to wear simple dress and limit their spending on festivals.t In 1711, Schotten HaCohen wrote a commentary on several passages of 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 cente ...

entitled ''"Kos ha-Yeshu'os"'' ("The

Chalice A chalice (from Latin 'mug', borrowed from Ancient Greek () 'cup') or goblet is a footed cup intended to hold a drink. In religious practice, a chalice is often used for drinking during a ceremony or may carry a certain symbolic meaning. Re ...

of Salvation"). It is also known as ''Mharsheishoch,'' an abbreviation MHSSC: "Moreinu Harav Shmuel Schotten Cohen." He was regarded as the leading Frankfurt Talmud scholar of his day, writing in a clear and lucid style.Samuel"
Jewish Museum of Frankfurt, 1992-2002. He died on July 5, 1719 (''18 Tamuz 5479'' on the

Hebrew calendar The Hebrew calendar ( he, הַלּוּחַ הָעִבְרִי, translit=HaLuah HaIvri), also called the Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today for Jewish religious observance, and as an official calendar of the state of Israel. I ...

) in Frankfurt.

Descendants

Rabbi Shmuel was the maternal grandfather of the

Chasam Sofer Moses Schreiber (1762–1839), known to his own community and Jewish posterity in the Hebrew translation as Moshe Sofer, also known by his main work ''Chatam Sofer'', ''Chasam Sofer'', or ''Hatam Sofer'' ( trans. ''Seal of the Scribe'', and acron ...

's father Shmuel. He was also the great great grandfather of Rabbi Chanokh Heynekh of Aleksander's mother, Sara Chana Szatan. Several of his descendants subsequently moved t
Amsterdam

Reference Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schotten, Samuel 17th-century German rabbis 18th-century German rabbis Kohanim writers of Rabbinic literature 1644 births 1719 deaths Rosh yeshivas People from Vogelsbergkreis Rabbis from Frankfurt