Menachem Mendel Kasher
Encyclopedia
Menachem Mendel Kasher was a Polish
-born Israeli rabbi and prolific author who authored an encyclopedic work on the Torah
entitled Torah Sheleimah.
, Poland (then part of the Russian Empire
). His father was Rabbi Yitzhak Peretz. At the age of 19, he edited the periodical Degel Ha'Torah, the mouthpiece of the Polish branch of Agudath Israel
.
In 1924, in response to a call from the Ger
Rebbe
, Rabbi Avraham Mordechai Alter
, Kasher moved to Jerusalem, in Mandate Palestine, to establish the Sfas Emes Yeshiva
in honour of the Rebbe's father, Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter
. He subsequently served as the rosh yeshiva
of the yeshiva for its first two years. He later helped bring the Rebbe to Palestine about six months after the outbreak of World War II
.
and Midrash
im) side by side. Kasher published from manuscript form several previously unknown midrashic works such as the Midrash Teiman. The latter part consists of the extensive annotations and addendum in which he uses his awareness of variant texts as well as his almost encyclopedic knowledge in all Jewish works to clarify many obscure points in the Talmud and the Rambam
's commentary.
The first volume of Torah Sheleimah was published in Jerusalem in 1927 and included 352 entries to the first chapter of Bereishit.
The 38th volume was still published in his lifetime (1983) and included Parshat Beha'alotcha.
The 39th volume was published posthumously by his son-in-law Dr. Rabbi Aaron Greenbaum and includes a short biography. The 40th volume includes an expanded biography and full list of his works.
To date, 45 volumes have been printed and they include the first 4 Chumashim.
Another work, Gemara Shelemah, which was to have discussed and compared variant texts of the Talmud was never completed.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
-born Israeli rabbi and prolific author who authored an encyclopedic work on the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
entitled Torah Sheleimah.
Early life
Kasher was born in 1895 in WarsawWarsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, Poland (then part of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
). His father was Rabbi Yitzhak Peretz. At the age of 19, he edited the periodical Degel Ha'Torah, the mouthpiece of the Polish branch of Agudath Israel
Agudath Israel
Agudath Israel can refer to any of several related organizations, including:*World Agudath Israel, an international movement*Agudath Israel of America, an American organization*Agudat Yisrael, an Israeli political party...
.
In 1924, in response to a call from the Ger
Ger (Hasidic dynasty)
Ger, or Gur is a Hasidic dynasty originating from Ger, the Yiddish name of Góra Kalwaria, a small town in Poland....
Rebbe
Rebbe
Rebbe , which means master, teacher, or mentor, is a Yiddish word derived from the Hebrew word Rabbi. It often refers to the leader of a Hasidic Jewish movement...
, Rabbi Avraham Mordechai Alter
Avraham Mordechai Alter
Avraham Mordechai Alter , also known as the Imrei Emes after the works he authored, was the third Rebbe of the Hasidic dynasty of Ger, a position he held from 1905 until his death in 1948. He was one of the founders of the Agudas Israel in Poland and was influential in establishing a network of...
, Kasher moved to Jerusalem, in Mandate Palestine, to establish the Sfas Emes Yeshiva
Sfas Emes Yeshiva
Sfas Emes Yeshiva is an Orthodox Jewish yeshiva in Jerusalem, Israel, serving the Gerrer Hasidic community. Founded in 1925 in the Mekor Baruch neighborhood of Jerusalem, two blocks north of the Mahane Yehuda Market, it was one of the few Hasidic yeshivas in Israel in the early twentieth...
in honour of the Rebbe's father, Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter
Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter
Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter , also known by the title of his main work, the Sfas Emes, was a Hasidic rabbi who succeeded his grandfather, Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Alter, as the av beis din and Rav of Góra Kalwaria, Poland , and succeeded the Rebbe, Reb Heynekh of Alexander, as Rebbe of the Gerrer...
. He subsequently served as the rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva, , , is the title given to the dean of a Talmudical academy . It is made up of the Hebrew words rosh — meaning head, and yeshiva — a school of religious Jewish education...
of the yeshiva for its first two years. He later helped bring the Rebbe to Palestine about six months after the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Torah Sheleimah
Kasher's major work, Torah Sheleimah ("The Complete Torah") is divided into two parts. The first part is the encyclopedia, the first work to publish all of the Written Law (the Pentateuch) and the Oral Teachings (TalmudTalmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
and Midrash
Midrash
The Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
im) side by side. Kasher published from manuscript form several previously unknown midrashic works such as the Midrash Teiman. The latter part consists of the extensive annotations and addendum in which he uses his awareness of variant texts as well as his almost encyclopedic knowledge in all Jewish works to clarify many obscure points in the Talmud and the Rambam
Maimonides
Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
's commentary.
The first volume of Torah Sheleimah was published in Jerusalem in 1927 and included 352 entries to the first chapter of Bereishit.
The 38th volume was still published in his lifetime (1983) and included Parshat Beha'alotcha.
The 39th volume was published posthumously by his son-in-law Dr. Rabbi Aaron Greenbaum and includes a short biography. The 40th volume includes an expanded biography and full list of his works.
To date, 45 volumes have been printed and they include the first 4 Chumashim.
Other activities
He was the driving force behind the 25 Torah journal "Noam", and wrote many of the articles. His son Moshe edited its 25 volumes which appeared between 1958 and 1984.Another work, Gemara Shelemah, which was to have discussed and compared variant texts of the Talmud was never completed.
Halachic rulings
- He permitted an eruvEruvAn Eruv is a ritual enclosure around most Orthodox Jewish and Conservative Jewish homes or communities. In such communities, an Eruv is seen to enable the carrying of objects out of doors on the Jewish Sabbath that would otherwise be forbidden by Torah law...
in ManhattanManhattanManhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
(against the ruling of Rav Moshe FeinsteinMoshe FeinsteinMoshe Feinstein was a Lithuanian Orthodox rabbi, scholar and posek , who was world-renowned for his expertise in Halakha and was regarded by many as the de facto supreme halakhic authority for Orthodox Jewry of North America during his lifetime...
) - He formulated a halakhic stance on the International Dateline in Jewish law
- He argued against the "Lieberman clause" as a solution to the problem of agunahAgunahAgunah ; literally 'anchored or chained') is a halachic term for a Jewish woman who is "chained" to her marriage. The classic case of this, is a man who has left on a journey, and has not returned, or has gone into battle and is MIA...
s (see Get (conflict)Get (conflict)A get or gett is the Jewish form of divorce which, when one is available in the state of residence, is supervised by a Beth Din , a rabbinical court...
)
Awards and honours
- In 1963, Rabbi Kasher was awarded the Israel PrizeIsrael PrizeThe Israel Prize is an award handed out by the State of Israel and is largely regarded as the state's highest honor. It is presented annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state ceremony in Jerusalem, in the presence of the President, the Prime Minister, the Knesset chairperson, and the...
in Rabbinical literature. - He was awarded an honorary doctorate from Yeshiva UniversityYeshiva UniversityYeshiva University is a private university in New York City, with six campuses in New York and one in Israel. Founded in 1886, it is a research university ranked as 45th in the US among national universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2012...
.
Published works
- Torah Sheleimah — an encyclopedic work on the Torah
- HaTekufah HaGedolah (Jerusalem 1969) — a treatise explaining the meaning of our times according to JudaismJudaismJudaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
- Ha'odom Al Hayarei'ach (Jerusalem 1970) — a discussion of the theological and legal issues involved when the moon was explored
- HaMechilta DeRashbi VeHaRambam (New York 1943) — a discussion of the relationship between the RambamMaimonidesMoses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
's Mishneh Torah and a recently published midrash. - Divrei Menachem — responsaResponsaResponsa comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them.-In the Roman Empire:Roman law recognised responsa prudentium, i.e...
from many of the foremost scholars of the day, including the Rogatchover GaonRogatchover GaonJoseph Rosen known as the Rogatchover Gaon, , and also often referred to by the title of his main work Tzofnath Paneach , , was a rabbi and one of the most prominent talmudic scholars of the early 20th-century, known as a genius because of...
and the Klei Chemda. 4 volumes were published; in 1977, 19080, 1981 and 1983. - Haggada Sheleimah (New York 1961) — an encyclopedic work on the Pesach Haggada
- Haggadat Pessach EretzYisraelit (New York 1950, Jerusalem 1976)- the famous Kasher Haggada - with a short runniing explanation. This was one of the first haggadot to be translated into English with commentary.
- Haggda Leil Shimurim (Jerusalem 1983) - includes about 100 "Pessach-related" sayings from the 5 sages who are mentioned in the Haggada.
- Arab'at Haroim discussing the opinions of 4 earlier Rabbis about the upcoming redemption
- Kuntres haKotel Hama'arivi (Jerusalem 1981) was published anonymously, and has 9 chapters about the Western Wall.
- Kav Hata'arich (Jerusalem 1977) - discusses the date line in Jewish law. It includes full color maps and the 3 major opnions on the subject as well as his own, a 4th opinion.
- Sefer Shma Yisrael (Jerusalem 1980) and includes about 500 sayings on the first chapter of the Shma.
See also
- List of Israel Prize recipients