Chaim Sofer (also known as the Machne Chaim, the name of his

responsa ''Responsa'' (plural of Latin , 'answer') comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them. In the modern era, the term is used to describe decisions and rulings made by scholars i ...

) (September 29, 1821 – June 28, 1886) was a renowned Hungarian rabbi and "scholarly spokesperson for

Orthodox Judaism Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Torah, Written and Oral Torah, Oral, as literally revelation, revealed by God in Ju ...

during his time."

Biography

Chaim Sofer was born in Pressburg, Hungary (now

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

, Slovakia), on September 29, 1821. His father was Mordechai Efraim Fischel. Sofer attended the famous ''

yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; 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 studied in parallel. The stu ...

'' of Rabbi Moses Sofer (no relation) in Pressburg, and was considered his "most distinguished student". He also attended the ''yeshiva'' of Rabbi Meir Eisenstaedter in Ungvar, Hungary (now

Uzhhorod Uzhhorod (, ; , ; , ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality on the Uzh, Uzh River in western Ukraine, at the border with Slovakia and near the border with Hungary. The city is approximately equidistan ...

, Ukraine). In 1844, aged 23, he was hired to teach high-school students in a ''yeshiva'' in Mattersdorf, Hungary (now Mattersburg, Austria). He subsequently served as the rabbi of the Orthodox Jewish communities in Gyömöre, Hungary (1852)

Sajószentpéter Sajószentpéter (; ) is a town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County, Northern Hungary. It lies in the Miskolc–Kazincbarcika agglomeration, 10 kilometres away from the county capital. History The town was mentioned first in 1281 as ''Szentpéter'' ...

, Hungary (1859), and Munkacs, Hungary (now Mukachevo, Ukraine (1868). While he was Chief Rabbi in Munkacs, Sofer was against introducing any "innovations" in Judaism. Nevertheless, he was not considered "conservative" enough and in 1879 was replaced by one of the Munkacs Hassidic rabbis. In 1879, he was chosen rabbi of the Orthodox congregation in the newly merged city of

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, Hungary, where he officiated until his death. His position was replaced by Rabbi Koppel Reich. Sofer died in Budapest on June 28, 1886, and was buried in Pressburg, the city of his birth.

Notable rulings

*According to ''

Halakha ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Torah, Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is ...

'' (Jewish law), abortion is permitted when the life of the mother is in danger. Sofer ruled that once the baby is "partially born", one cannot even injure the baby to save the mother, unless non-interference will mean both mother and child die. J. David Bleich, "Abortion in Halakhic Literature", ''

Tradition A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common e ...

'', 1968, 10(2), p. 101. According to J. David Bleich: :

Interpreted in a similar manner the further provision of the Mishnah. . . "but once the major portion has emerged one may not touch it" he fetusimplies that even the maiming of a partially born child or amputation of a limb is forbidden in order to save the mother. R. Chaim Sofer (''Machaneh Chaim, Choshen Mishpat'', no. 50) draws such an inference and indicates that the rationale motivating the decision is the fact that the physician "cannot guarantee with certainty" that the child will survive the surgical procedure. However, if non-interference will result in the loss of both mother and child, R. Sofer permits maiming of the child in an attempt to save the life of the mother.

Modernism

Sofer held that it was important that the

Yiddish language Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

be preserved and be established as a part of Jewish life. He was also opposed in general to the introduction of modern innovations to religious activity and services in the same vein as his mentor, Moses Sofer. His stance was in opposition to that of Azriel Hildesheimer who supported secular studies.

Works by Sofer

*''Peles Chaim'' (Pressburg, 1854) *''Machne Chaim'' (4 vols., 2 editions), a collection of responsa *''Chillul Shabbat'' (Sajószentpéter) *''Kol Sofer,'' a commentary on the ''

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...

'' *''Dibrei Sharei Chaim'' *''Sharei Chaim''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sofer, Chaim 1821 births 1886 deaths Hungarian Orthodox rabbis 19th-century Hungarian rabbis Rabbis from Bratislava