Szlomo Zalman Lipszyc (1765

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

- 1839

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

), also known as Salomon Zalman Pozner as well as the Chemdas Shlomo from the title of the works he authored, was a prominent

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, and first

Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi ( he, רב ראשי ''Rav Rashi'') is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a ...

of Warsaw. Grob Szlomo Zelmana Lipszyca zewnatrz-Grave of Szlomo Zelman Lipszyc outside

He studied

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

in his hometown of Poznań until 1804. Later, material conditions forced him to accept the position of Rabbi of

Nasielsk Nasielsk is a small town in Masovian Voivodeship, Poland. It is located approximately north of the Polish capital Warsaw, on the Warsaw- Gdańsk rail line and serves as a railway junction. In 2020, the population of the town was estimated at 7, ...

, where he founded a

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 1819 he became Rabbi of

Praga Praga is a district of Warsaw, Poland. It is on the east bank of the river Vistula. First mentioned in 1432, until 1791 it formed a separate town with its own city charter. History The historical Praga was a small settlement located at ...

near Warsaw, and in 1821 he was elected the first Chief Rabbi of Warsaw. As chief rabbi, he did not become involved in the disputes of

Misnagdim ''Misnagdim'' (, "Opponents"; Sephardi pronunciation: ''Mitnagdim''; singular ''misnaged''/''mitnaged'') was a religious movement among the Jews of Eastern Europe which resisted the rise of Hasidism in the 18th and 19th centuries. The ''Misna ...

with the

Hasidim Ḥasīd ( he, חסיד, "pious", "saintly", "godly man"; plural "Hasidim") is a Jewish honorific, frequently used as a term of exceptional respect in the Talmudic and early medieval periods. It denotes a person who is scrupulous in his observ ...

. He opposed assimilation, condemning the

Haskala 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 ...

's Szkoła Rabinów w Warszawie (

Warsaw Rabbinical School Warsaw Rabbinical School (Warszawska Szkoła Rabinów) was a Junior High School for Jewish male youth established in 1826 on the basis of the ukase of the Nicholas I of Russia, emperor Nicholas of July 1, 1825 and existed until the school year 186 ...

), and the entry of Jews to the

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

in 1831 (due to the necessary condition of shaving their beards and

payot ''Pe'ot'', anglicized as payot ( he, פֵּאוֹת, pēʾōt, "corners") or payes (), is the Hebrew term for sidelocks or sideburns. Payot are worn by some men and boys in the Orthodox Jewish community based on an interpretation of the Tanakh's ...

). Many Polish rabbis studied in his Warsaw yeshiva. He was a prominent

halakhic ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...

authority and the author of three works entitled Chemdas Shlomo:

rabbinical responsa The history of '' responsa'' in Judaism (Hebrew: שאלות ותשובות; Sephardic: ''She'elot Utshuvot''; Ashkenazic: ''Sheilos Utshuvos;'', usually shortened to שו"ת Shu"t ), spans a period of 1,700 years. Rabbinic responsa constitute a ...

(1839),

novellae In Roman law, a novel ( la, novella constitutio, "new decree"; gr, νεαρά, neara) is a new decree or edict, in other words a new law. The term was used from the fourth century AD onwards and was specifically used for laws issued after the publi ...

to several Talmudic treatises (vol. 1-3, 1851-1892) and

sermons A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. El ...

(1890). He carried on a scientific correspondence with Rabbi

Akiva Eger Rabbi Akiva Eiger (, also spelled Eger; , yi, עקיבא אייגער), or Akiva Güns (17611837) was an outstanding Talmudic scholar, influential halakhic decisor and foremost leader of European Jewry during the early 19th century. He was also ...

and Rabbi

Jacob of Lissa Yaakov ben Yaakov Moshe Lorberbaum of Lissa (1760-1832) (known in English as Jacob ben Jacob Moses of Lissa, Jacob Lorberbaum or Jacob Lisser, Hebrew: יעקב בן יעקב משה מליסא) was a rabbi and posek. He is most commonly known as the ...

. He was buried in the

Jewish cemetery in Warsaw Jewish cemeteries of Warsaw refers to a number of Jewish necropolises in the city. Okopowa Street Jewish Cemetery Okopowa Street Jewish Cemetery is one of the largest Jewish cemeteries in Europe. Located on Okopowa Street and abutting the Powązk ...

where an ohel was erected above his grave. Grandson Mojżesz Lipszyc was a rabbi in

Golub-Dobrzyń Golub-Dobrzyń () is a town in northern Poland, located on the Drwęca. Situated in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship (since 1999), it was previously in the Torun Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is the capital of Golub-Dobrzyń County and has a po ...

, and then in

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...

, where his great-grandson, Natan Lipszyc, also held rabbinical functions.

References

1765 births 1839 deaths 19th-century Polish rabbis Clergy from Poznań {{Authority control