Rabbi is the term in Judaism for a religious teacher. The word rabbi derives from the Hebrew root word , rav, which in biblical Hebrew means ‘great’ in many senses, including "revered." The word comes from the Semitic root R-B-B, and is cognate to Arabic ربّ rabb, meaning "lord" Rabbi ' onMouseout='HidePop("97515")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Hebrew_alphabet">Hebrew
The Hebrew alphabet , known variously by scholars as the Jewish script, square script, block script, and because of its place of origin, the Assyrian script is the better-known of two script standards used to write the...
initials of his name, and became his surname by frequent usage.
Biography
Malbim was born at
VolochyskVolochysk is a town located on the left bank of the Zbruch River in Khmelnytskyi Oblast of western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Volochyskyi Raion ....
,
VolhyniaVolhynia, Volynia, or Volyn is a historic region in western Ukraine located between the rivers Prypiat and Western Bug, to the north of Galicia and Podolia. The area has some of the oldest Slavic settlements in Europe...
and educated in
HebrewHebrew is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Culturally, it is considered a Jewish language. Hebrew in its modern form is spoken by more than seven million people in Israel while Classical Hebrew has been used for prayer or study in Jewish communities around the world for over...
and the
TalmudThe Talmud is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs, and history. It is a central text of mainstream Judaism....
by his father and, after being orphaned a child, by his stepfather, Rabbi Leib of Volochisk. At the age of 13 he went to study in
WarsawWarsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River roughly from both the Baltic Sea coast and the Carpathian Mountains. Its population as of 2009 was estimated at 1,709,781, and the Warsaw metropolitan area at approximately 2,785,000...
. where he was known as the iluy (prodigy) from Volhynia. He showed talent from his early childhood, and his works indicate that he had a considerable knowledge of secular sciences. From 1838 to 1845 he was rabbi of
WreschenWrześnia is a town in central Poland with 28,600 inhabitants .It is situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship , previously in Poznań Voivodeship , on the Wrzesnica River.- History :...
, in the district of
PosenPoznań is a city in west-central Poland with over 557,264 inhabitants . Located on the Warta River, it is one of the oldest cities in Poland, making it an important historical centre and a vibrant centre of trade, industry, and education. Poznań is Poland's fifth largest city and fourth biggest...
, and in the latter year was called to the rabbinate of
KempenKępno is a town in Poland. It lies on the outskirts of the Greater Poland Voivodeship, as it borders on Silesia and the Łódz Land, at the crossing point of two transport routes: north to south and east to west . As of December 31, 2004 Kępno had a population of 14,755...
, where he remained until 1859; he was thereafter also known as "der Kempener Magid".
In 1859 Malbim became
chief rabbiChief Rabbi 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...
of
BucharestBucharest is the capital city, industrial and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmboviţa River....
,
RomaniaRomania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory...
. He did not get along with the upper-class and educated Jews there, some of them Austrian citizens (called in Romanian "sudiţi"); led by the famous dr.
Iuliu Barasch, they wished to introduce changes in the spirit of the modern European life in the life of the local Jewry, which were at great variance with the beliefs and practices of the traditional rabbinic Judaism. The Malbim defended the old fashion-style
Orthodox JudaismOrthodox Judaism is a formulation of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmudic texts and as subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and Acharonim.Orthodox...
, which demanded very strict adherence to
Jewish law and traditionHalakha — also transliterated Halocho and Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish religious law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions....
, and rejected almost all editing of the
SiddurA siddur is a Jewish prayer book, containing a set order of daily prayers. This article discusses how some of these prayers evolved, and how the siddur, as we know it today has developed...
, the traditional Jewish prayer book, giving up beards and other changes in the exterior appearance, and other similar changes in some observances. Malbim was very opposed to the building of the big
Choral TempleThe Choral Temple is a synagogue located in Bucharest, Romania. It followed the plans of Vienna's Leopoldstadt-Tempelgasse Great Synagogue . It was designed by Enderle and Freiwald and built between 1857 - 1867. It was devastated by the extreme right Legionaries and then restored after World War...
, with choir and organ, imitation of the
Great Synagogue of LeopoldstadtThe Leopoldstädter Tempel was the largest synagogue of Vienna, in the district of Leopoldstadt. It was also known as the Israelitische Bethaus in der Wiener Vorstadt Leopoldstadt. It was built in 1858 in a Moorish Revival style by the architect Ludwig Förster...
in
ViennaVienna is the capital of the Republic of Austria and also one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.7 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre. It is the 10th largest city by...
, and which would become soon (1864) the main neo-orthodox synagogue in Romania.
Also he condemned the foundation (before his coming) of the two first elementary schools with general knowledge curriculum aimed to the Jewish children in Bucharest, projects which were encouraged in that period by the Romanian officialities who agreed for a while to a better integration of the Jews into the Romanian life.
The severe authoritative style of religious leadership of Malbim caused also to a part of the religious personnel (shohtim, dayanim) to become hostile to him. He threatened with excommunication those who did not comply to his decisions.
By frequent complaints and even intrigues and false accusations, his opponents almost succeeded having him thrown into prison. Though he was soon liberated through the intervention of Sir
Moses MontefioreSir Moses Haim Montefiore, 1st Baronet, Kt was one of the most famous British Jews of the 19th century. Montefiore was a financier, banker, philanthropist and Sheriff of London.- Biography:...
, it was upon the condition that he leave Romania.
Malbim went to
ConstantinopleConstantinople was the imperial capital of the Roman Empire , the Byzantine/Eastern Roman Empire , the Latin Empire , and the Ottoman Empire...
and complained to the
Turkish governmentTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
, but obtained no satisfaction. After staying six months in
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, he went to Lunshitz,
KaliszKalisz is a city in central Poland with 107,910 inhabitants , the capital city of Kalisz Region. Situated on the Prosna river in the southeastern part of the Greater Poland Voivodeship, the city forms a conurbation with the nearby towns of Ostrów Wielkopolski and Nowe Skalmierzyce...
guberniyaA guberniya was a major administrative subdivision of Imperial Russia, usually translated as government, governorate, or province. A guberniya was ruled by a governor , a word borrowed from Latin , in turn from Greek...
, Russian Poland, as successor to his deceased father-in-law, Hayyim Auerbach (1866). Shortly afterwards he became rabbi at
KhersonKherson is a city in southern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Kherson Oblast , and is designated as its own separate raion within the oblast...
, and thence was called to the rabbinate of Mahilyow (Moghilef), on the
DnieperThe Dnieper River or Dnipro River is one of the major rivers in Europe that flows from Russia, through Belarus and Ukraine, to the Black Sea. Its total length is , of which lie within Russia, within Belarus, and within Ukraine. Its basin covers , of which are within Ukraine...
(1870). There, too, his lack of subservience provoked the resentment of the richer Jews; these denounced him as a political criminal, and the governor of Moghilef ordered him to leave the town.
Malbim then went to
KönigsbergKönigsberg was the capital of eastern Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945. It was founded by the Teutonic Knights just south of the Sambian peninsula in the year 1255 AD during the Northern Crusades and named for King Ottokar II of Bohemia...
as chief rabbi of the Polish community, but there he fared no better than in Bucharest and Moghilef; he was continually harassed by the German Jews. When Malbim passed through Vilna in 1879 the community there would have appointed him rabbi in place of
Isaac Elijah LandauIsaac Elijah ben Samuel Landau was a Jewish-Russian preacher, exegete, and communal worker born at Wilna. At the age of 18 he settled at Dubno, his wife's native town, where he carried on a prosperous business. On Saturdays and holy days he used to preach in the synagogues, attracting large...
, but the governor of Vilna opposed the election on the ground that he could not sanction the appointment of a rabbi who had been expelled from Moghilef as a political criminal. Thereafter he declined appointment as chief rabbi of the
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
. In September of the same year Malbim was on his way to
KremenchukKremenchuk is an important industrial city in the Poltava Oblast of central Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Kremenchutskyi Raion , the city itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast, and is located on the banks of Dnieper River.-History:Kremenchuk was...
, to the rabbinate of which town he had been appointed, when he fell sick and died at
KievKiev or Kyiv , is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300...
.
Malbim's fame and popularity rest upon his novel commentary to the Bible. His first published commentary was on
Megillat EstherThe Book of Esther is one of the books of the Ketuvim of the Tanakh and of the Historical Books of the Old Testament. The Book of Esther or the Megillah is the basis for the Jewish celebration of Purim...
(1845), followed by his commentary on other biblical books from then until 1876.
His commentary on the Bible is based upon the principle that there are no true synonyms in the Bible; apparent stylistic repetitions are not that, but rather each introduces a distinct idea.
Works
- "Artzoth haChayim", commentary and novellae on the Shulchan Aruch
The Shulchan Aruch is a codification, or written manual, of halacha , composed by Rabbi Yosef Karo in the 16th century...
(section Orah Hayim, Breslau, 1837);
- "Artzoth haShalom", collection of sermons (Krotoschin, 1839);
- "HaTorah vehaMitzva", analytical and innovative commentary on the Pentateuch and the midrash halakha
Midrash halakha was the ancient Judaic rabbinic method of Torah study that expounded upon the traditionally received 613 Mitzvot by identifying their sources in the Tanakh , and by interpreting these passages as proofs of the laws' authenticity. Midrash more generally also refers to the...
(Warsaw, 1874–80), including the linguistic guide Ayelet ha-Shachar on differences between similar terms in Hebrew;
- "Mikra'ei Kodesh", commentary on the Prophets and Hagiographa (ib. 1874; this commentary is in parallel, on the words and on the sense; Malbim always endeavored to explain the different meanings of synonyms);
- "Mashal uMelitza", dramatic philippic, in verse, against hypocrisy (Paris, 1867).
Sources