Moses Schreiber, 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 acronym for Chiddushei Torat Moshe Sofer), was one of the leading Orthodox rabbis of European Jewry in the first half of the nineteenth century.
Background
Moses Sofer was born in Frankfurt am Main, Holy Roman Empire, on September 24, 1762, during the Seven Years' War. His father's name was Shmuel (Samuel) and his mother's name was Reizel, the daughter of Elchanan. Shmuel's mother, Reizchen, was a daughter of the Gaon of Frankfurt, Rabbi Shmuel Schotten, known as the Marsheishoch, his namesake.
Education
At the age of nine, Sofer entered the yeshiva of Rabbi Nathan Adler at Frankfurt, a kabbalist known for his strict and unusual ritual practices. At the age of thirteen, Sofer began to deliver public lectures. His knowledge was so extraordinary that Rabbi Pinchas Horowitz of Frankfurt asked him to become his pupil. He agreed, but remained under Rabbi Horowitz for only one year, and left in 1776 for the yeshiva of Rabbi David Tebele Scheuer in the neighboring city of Mainz. There he studied under its Rosh yeshiva Rabbi Mechel Scheuer, son of Rabbi Tebele, during the years 1776 and 1777 until he yielded to the entreaties of his former teachers in Frankfurt and returned to his native city. In Mainz many prominent residents took an interest in his welfare and facilitated the progress of his studies.
Career
After some years of quiet contemplation, he occupied the pulpit of Dresnitz (Moravia) and in 1798 was called to the Rabbinate of Nagymarton (Mattersdorf). This was one of the “Seven Communities” in western Hungary, each small in number of congregants but flourishing under the protection and privilege of the Princes Esterhazy. In his own small community, with its centuries of tradition, Sofer began his activities. He established his first yeshiva (Talmudic academy) and introduced his own method of Talmud teaching. When the rabbinate of Pressburg (Bratislava) feli vacant in 1806, he was called to become chief rabbi of Hungary’s largest Jewish community. By his time, he was so renowned that students came to his yeshiva from far and wide. In Pressburg, he developed the yeshiva into the world’s greatest rabbinical school, which never had fewer that five-hundred pupils. While strictly adhering to rabbinic law, he also insisted on his pupils’ physical fitness, compelling them to swim in the Danube. For the rest of his life, he remained in Pressburg, which, due to his fame, became a stronghold of Orthodoxy. By his second wife, he founded a dynasty of scholars.
The Hatam Sofer’s unique personality left a deep impression not only on Talmudic scholarship but also on Jewish religious life in general, his decisions being regarded as relevant until this day. When the Reform movement developed from 1819, Sofer recognized the threat it meant for Orthodoxy and from the very start fought it and persecuted its adherents with all the intellecutal and spiritual force at his disposal. He fought the introduction of vernacular prayer as a threat to the unity of the Jewish people.
His strict adherence to traditional teaching inspired his followers, who unconditionally accepted his authority. Communities and scholars, even in Asia and Africa, sought his opinion and abided by his decisions.
The fact that many graduates of his yeshiva became leading rabbis in important communities, chiefly in western Europe, in large measure contributed to his great influence. He abstained from and even objected to the contemporary battle for emancipation, opposing Haskalah (Jewish enlightenment) which, in his view, led to assimilation.
His pupils, Rabbi Moshe Schoenlak and M. Eisner, published part of his works in 1816. His responsa, answering queries from Jewish scholars from many parts of the world, were published in seven volumes under the title Hatam Sofer in 1855-1864. He also wrote short stories, poetry, and religious songs which were published in 1857. His ethical testament was published in 1863, his Bible commentary, Torat Moshe, in 1879-1895, and his memoirs of the Napoleonic wars and his Passover Haggadah in 1896.
Sofer died in Pressburg on October 3, 1839.
Politics
In addition to Reform, he also opposed both Hasidism and the nascent Zionist movement, but supported the Old Jewish settlement in the Holy Land and collected funds to distribute among its members.
Personality
Sofer was a modest, selfless person, of small physical stature, who signed his letters and decisions “Moshe ha-katan mi-Frankfurt” (“little Moses from Frankfurt”).
Connections
His first wife was the daughter of the rabbi of Prossnitz (Moravia). After the death of his first wife in 1812, he married Sarah, the daughter of the distinguished rabbi Akiva Eger of Posen.
He had 3 sons: Avraham Shemuel Benjamin Wolf (1815— 1871), Shimon Sofer, Joseph Sofer and additional seven daughters.