Mnachem Risikoff
Encyclopedia
Mnachem HaKohen Risikoff (1866–1960), was an orthodox
rabbi
in Russia and the United States, and a prolific author of scholarly works, written in Hebrew
. Risikoff used a highly stylized and symbolic pen-name, יאמהדנונחהים, made up of the Hebrew letters of his first name, the Hebrew word for Lord, and the Tetragrammaton
, one of Judaism's terms for God. It is not clear whether this pen name was used in conversation, or whether it was used only in his writings.
(Talmudic Academy Dean) Rabbi Zvi Yosef Resnick
, was born in Zhetel
, later studying in yeshivot
, academies, in Volozhin
and Vilna
, where he received semikhah (rabbinic ordination) at the age of 17 from a number of well-known rabbis: Yosef Shlupfer, from Slonim
; Avraham DovBer HaKohen Shapira, from Riga
; Shlomo HaKohen
, author of Binyan Shlomo, from Vilna
;, Katriel Nathan, Av Beit Din
of Augustów
; and Eliyahu Adran, of Grajewo
; with other rabbis later adding their ordination as well.
In 1895, after serving as rabbi in a small town in Lithuania, he was appointed rabbi of Kazan
. He emigrated to the United States in 1906, following anti-Jewish riots in that area, serving as rabbi in a number of synagogues in Brooklyn, including Ohev Shalom, in Brownsville
; Keter Israel; Beth Ha-Knesseth Adath B'Nai Israel, also referred to as Williamsburg's Moore Street Congregation; and finally, Dibre Mnachem, a congregation named after the first book Risikoff published after moving to the United States, located in the area now known as Bedford-Stuyvesant, on one floor of the building where he lived for many years, until his death in 1960.
His stationary listed him as רב ואב״ד לאגודת הקהלות דברוקלין -- "Rabbi of the Orthodoctical [sic] Congregations of Brooklyn." In addition, he served as the Recording Secretary of the Knesseth HaRabonim HaOrthdoksim dAmerica vCanada, the Assembly of Orthodox Rabbis of America and Canada.
Risikoff was a frequent contributor to The Degel Israel Torah Journal, and the author of numerous works on Halakha
and Aggadah
, Jewish law and Jewish lore; Biblical commentaries; Divrei Torah (sermons and homiletical writings); and responsa
, including Shaarei Zevah (1913), dealing with the laws of kashrut
and shechita
; Shaarei Shamayim (1937), a commentary on the Jewish legal compilation, the Shulchan Aruch
; and Torat HaKohanim (1948), the laws pertaining to Kohanim
, Jewish priests
, the descendents of Aaron
, the brother of Moses
, a group which included Risikoff himself. This latter work included explanations and commentaries on the rituals still performed by kohanim today, including pidyon haben
(Redemption of the First Born), and birkat kohanim (the Priestly Blessing). Additionally, after explaining the laws and customs regarding such rituals, he added homiletical commentaries. For example, he explained that the mitzvah of Brit milah
(circumcision) tied a new-born baby to the covenant of faith, but the combination of circumcision and pidyon haben was like a double knot. Further, because not all families qualified for the ceremony of pidyon haben on their own, all Jews could participate in the commandment by attending the ritual and celebrating the happiness of others.
However, the book, Torat Hakohanim, also included instruction on priestly responsibilities only applicable during the existence of the Jerusalem Temple
, because of his fervent belief that redemption would come, and the Temple would be rebuilt. In the meantime, he believed that studying the laws served as a substitute for carrying out the duties, and would bring the coming of the Messiah
closer.
Risikoff's strong mystical beliefs, in addition to his command of legal sources, was evident in his frequent references to kabbalah
and Hassidic masters, like the Baal Shem Tov. His link to Jewish mysticism was also manifest in his belief in the power of language, numbers
, and words, sometimes writing prayers or sections of his works using words whose initial letters spelled out his own name, the name of God, or even the letters used to indicate the Jewish year. His book, Palgei Shemen, includes a congratulatory letter he received on the occasion of his fiftieth wedding anniversary from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
, and his response, in which he attributes meaning to each of the President's three names and three initials. For example, one of the explanations he offers for "FDR" was friend (F) to both democrats (D) and republicans (R).
Many of his writings included endorsements not only from some of the leading rabbis in the United States, but also in Jerusalem, including Tzvi Pesach Frank
, and Abraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook
, the Ashkenazi
Chief Rabbi
of the pre-Israel British Mandate of Palestine.
, rabbinical court, to help in situations such as the Agunah, a woman whose husband had left her without granting her a Get
, the religious divorce decree that would allow her to remarry.
In his writings, he advanced the idea, even before the establishment of the modern State of Israel, that some solution might be found in a worldwide Jewish recognition of the special authority of the Jerusalem Beth-Din. He introduced the idea, at least as one worthy of serious discussion within the realm of Halakhah, Jewish law, that the groom could declare that he was not only marrying the bride in accordance with "the laws of Moses and Israel" (kedat Mosheh weYisrael) the normal formulaic wording for a Jewish ceremony, but also, "in accordance with the Great Rabbinical Court of Jerusalem" (ukhdat Bet Din HaGadol biYerushalayim), so that the court could then step in to help a woman whose husband's actions violated the intrinsic meaning of the covenant of marriage, including that meaning as interpreted and understood by the court—declaring, in essence, that the marriage never took place, or was retroactively annulled. Similar ideas would be discussed by other orthodox thinkers after Israel's creation in 1948, but Risikoff was clearly ahead of his time—as one writer put it, writing "in apparent anticipation of future events" -- in terms of such thinking.
An alternative approach to the problem, also introduced by Risikoff as a theoretical possibility worthy of halakhic discussion, was the reintroduction of the ancient institution of Pilegesh
, an alternative category to formal marriage (and one that would not have the same requirements for a Get upon the dissolution of the relationship).
. He fervently believed that redemption would come for humanity, but never turned a blind eye to suffering, struggling with the existence of evil, its meaning, and the question of human response to it. His writings showed his sorrow and horror at the anti-Jewish attacks in Hebron
, Jerusalem, and Safed
, in 1929, and when Rav Kook
died in 1935, Risikoff—with "a presentiment of the catastrophe" yet to come -- published a eulogy in which he put forth his belief that Kook might have been taken early to spare him from even worse times to come, based on the Biblical verse (Isaiah 57:11), "The righteous is taken away from the evil to come."
In 1938, with the outbreak of violence that would come to be known as Kristallnacht
, Risikoff wrote about keeping faith, and yet taking action in religious ways that would include worship, liturgy, and both concrete and internal responses of teshuva/repentance
. He wrote that Levite
s, members of the Levitical tribe—and especially Kohanim, the family dynasty of Jewish Priests within that tribe—must play a special role. In his writings, especially in his book, HaKohanim vHaLeviim, The Priests and the Levites, he stressed that members of these groups exist in the realm between history (below) and redemption (above), and were called upon to take a leading role in a call to prayer, repentance, and action that would help bring an end to suffering. He wrote, "Today, we also are living through a time of flood, Not of water, but of a bright fire, which burns and turns Jewish life into ruin. We are now drowning in a flood of blood...Through the Kohanim and Levi'im help will come to all Israel.
His writings reflected a combination of what has been called meta-history (ultimate redemption) and history, including the idea that part of the problem on earth was dishonesty not only among individuals, but also among nations. For example, with a keen eye to developments in politics and current events, he wrote that governments of a number of nations had promised Austria and Czechoslovakia that they would come to their defense if the need arose, but they ultimately broke their promises.
On the other hand, when he wrote the words, "Nazis", "swastikas", and "Mussolini", he spelled their names backwards as a way, linked to mystical traditions and beliefs, to obliterate those names, and the existence of those represented by the names. This ability to deal with two worlds was noted by one scholar who wrote that Risikoff "distilled metahistory into history with his program for priestly action to mediate redemption."
Risikoff's ability to deal with practical questions, rooted in reality, even as he kept faith in the promise of ultimate redemption, was clear in his response to the question as to whether Jews in Europe during the Holocaust should "accept martyrdom" for their faith, or escape if they could, to preserve their lives. He responded that it was clear in many Jewish sources that there were times to accept death for the sake of our faith (Mesirut nefesh al kiddush Hashem: submitting the soul in sanctification of God’s name), but that Hitler was not out to crush the Jewish faith, since (unlike some earlier enemies of the Jews) Jews were not given the option of conversion or abandoning their faith in order to live. Instead, Hitler's goal was to destroy the Jewish people, and therefore the responsibility to preserve life (individual life and the life of the people) became paramount so that Jews could continue to perform God's commandments, and flight was therefore one valid option.
A 1942 article in "The Brooklyn Daily Eagle"
noted that Risikoff believed that fighting against evil was also a valid option:
Risikoff's writings clearly reveal how he struggled to accept what was one traditional religious response to suffering—the idea that it was punishment for sin, and a call to repentance—and early on did consider that Hitler might somehow be part of such a divine plan. But he ultimately wrote that it was not possible to accept the idea that blame for a tragedy of the magnitude of the Holocaust could be understood in this way. He wrote that such extreme suffering could never come from God, for God acted according to Torah
. The gift was made on behalf of two of Risikoff's grandsons, Rabbi Arnold E. Resnicoff and Professor Steven H. Resnicoff, to be restored and preserved as part of the library's permanent Hebraica collection. Arnold Resnicoff was present at the ceremony, along with his daughter, Malka Sarit Resnicoff, Risikoff's great-granddaughter.
Holocaust studies scholar Gershon Greenberg, who has written extensively about Risikoff, delivered remarks regarding Risikoff's works. Greenberg noted that because Risikoff's works deserve more extensive scrutiny, he is seeking a PhD student, possibly at Bar Ilan University, who would be interested in writing a doctoral dissertation on the subject of Risikoff's thinking.
, a distinguished Rosh yeshiva
in Suvalk and Slonim
, had rejected many requests to publish his teachings and commentaries. He said that he did not want to take any time away from studying and teaching. However, Resnick did include a short written note in his son's book, Shaarei Zevach, as an haskama (rabbinic endorsement) of the book, and an opportunity to express his pride in his son's achievements., so Risikoff included some of his father's teachings in his works, especially in the volume MiTorat Zvi Yosef ("From the Torah [teachings] of Zvi Yosef"). In his praise for his father in this work, Risikoff states that his own knowledge is like "a drop in the ocean" compared to that of his father.
One of Risikoff's brothers, Shlomo Chaim Resnick, was a cantor/hazzan
, mohel
, and shohet
, referred to as the Grajewo
Hazzan. One of Risikoff's sons, Leon Risikoff, was a rabbi in Brooklyn, New York; his son-in-law, Herbert Simckes,was a rabbi in Massachusetts; and three of his grandsons, Arnold Resnicoff
, Steven (Shlomo Chaim) Resnicoff, and Joseph Simckes, are American rabbis.
"Mendel" is the Yiddish
equivalent for the Hebrew
name, "Mnachem."
Risikoff's first name, "Mnachem," appears in variant forms including "Menachem" and "Menahem," but "Mnachem" is the spelling he seems to have preferred during his time in the United States, and was the spelling used in writings that spanned many years—from the 1938 letter from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, congratulating Risikoff on his 50th wedding anniversary; http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%205/Brooklyn%20NY%20Daily%20Eagle/Brooklyn%20NY%20Daily%20Eagle%201951%20%20Grayscale/Brooklyn%20NY%20Daily%20Eagle%201951%20%20Grayscale%20-%200276.pdf#xml=http://fultonhistory.com/dtSearch/dtisapi6.dll?cmd=getpdfhits&u=20c87652&DocId=14698900&Index=Z%3a%2fFulton%20Historical&HitCount=3&hits=2ee+307+308+&SearchForm=C%3a%5cinetpub%5cwwwroot%5cFulton%5fNew%5fform%2ehtml&.pdfa news story] in the Brooklyn Eagle
about Risikoff that referred to him as "one of the oldest Orthodox rabbis in Brooklyn;
a photo and caption on file with the Brooklyn Public Library
; and the 2010 press release from the Library of Congress that described the donation of two of Risikoff's unpublished manuscripts. (In another http://www.fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%205/Brooklyn%20NY%20Daily%20Eagle/Brooklyn%20NY%20Daily%20Eagle%201942%20Grayscale/Brooklyn%20NY%20Daily%20Eagle%201942%20Grayscale%20-%206232.pdf#xml=http://www.fultonhistory.com/dtSearch/dtisapi6.dll?cmd=getpdfhits&u=a583d7c&DocId=14036424&Index=Z%3a%2fFulton%20Historical&HitCount=3&hits=30e+375+41c+&SearchForm=C%3a%5cinetpub%5cwwwroot%5cFulton%5fNew%5fform%2ehtml&.pdfBrooklyn Eagle article], Mnachem is used as the spelling of his first name, although his last name is spelled differently.) Most importantly, however, "Mnachem Risikoff" was the spelling Risikoff used on his own printed stationery.
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
in Russia and the United States, and a prolific author of scholarly works, written in Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
. Risikoff used a highly stylized and symbolic pen-name, יאמהדנונחהים, made up of the Hebrew letters of his first name, the Hebrew word for Lord, and the Tetragrammaton
Tetragrammaton
The term Tetragrammaton refers to the name of the God of Israel YHWH used in the Hebrew Bible.-Hebrew Bible:...
, one of Judaism's terms for God. It is not clear whether this pen name was used in conversation, or whether it was used only in his writings.
Life and work
Risikoff, the son of well-known Rosh yeshivaRosh 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...
(Talmudic Academy Dean) Rabbi Zvi Yosef Resnick
Zvi Yosef Resnick
Rabbi Zvi Yosef HaKohen Resnick was a well-known orthodox Russian rabbi and Rosh yeshivah , also known as Rebbe Hirsch Meitsheter .-Life and work:Resnick lived in Zhetel , a town in Belarus, and at least one of his children was born...
, was born in Zhetel
Zhetel ghetto
The Zdzięcioł Ghetto, Dzyatlava Ghetto or Zhetel Ghetto was a Jewish ghetto established by Nazi Germany in the town of Zdzięcioł in the occupied eastern part of the Republic of Poland during Holocaust in World War II...
, later studying in yeshivot
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
, academies, in Volozhin
Volozhin yeshiva
The Volozhin Yeshiva, also known as Etz Chaim Yeshiva, was a prestigious Lithuanian yeshiva located in the town of Volozhin, Russia, . It was founded by Rabbi Chaim Itzkovitz, a student of the famed Vilna Gaon, and trained several generations of scholars, rabbis, and leaders...
and Vilna
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
, where he received semikhah (rabbinic ordination) at the age of 17 from a number of well-known rabbis: Yosef Shlupfer, from Slonim
Slonim
Slonim is a city in Hrodna Voblast, Belarus, capital of the Slonim District. It is located at the junction of the Shchara and Isa rivers, 143 km southeast of Hrodna. The population in 2008 was 50,800.-Etymology and historical names:...
; Avraham DovBer HaKohen Shapira, from Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
; Shlomo HaKohen
Shlomo HaKohen (Vilna)
Shlomo HaKohen was the famed Av Beis Din and Posek of Vilna.In 1828, Shlomo was born to Rabbi Yisroel Meir HaCohen, a dayan in the rabbinic court in Vilna. As a young child, Shlomo was known for his diligence and devotion to Torah study...
, author of Binyan Shlomo, from Vilna
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
;, Katriel Nathan, Av Beit Din
Av Beit Din
Av Beit Din, Av Beis Din, or Abh Beyth Diyn . was the second-highest ranking member of the Sanhedrin during the Second Commonwealth period. He presided over the Sanhedrin in the absence of the Nasi, and was the chief of the Sanhedrin when it sat as a criminal court...
of Augustów
Augustów
Augustów is a town in north-eastern Poland with 29,600 inhabitants . It lies on the Netta River and the Augustów Canal. It is situated in the Podlaskie Voivodeship , having previously been in Suwałki Voivodeship . It is the seat of Augustów County and of Gmina Augustów.In 1970 Augustów became...
; and Eliyahu Adran, of Grajewo
Grajewo
Grajewo , is a town in north-eastern Poland with 23,302 inhabitants .It is situated in the Podlaskie Voivodeship ; previously, it was in Łomża Voivodeship...
; with other rabbis later adding their ordination as well.
In 1895, after serving as rabbi in a small town in Lithuania, he was appointed rabbi of Kazan
Kazan
Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,546 , it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the...
. He emigrated to the United States in 1906, following anti-Jewish riots in that area, serving as rabbi in a number of synagogues in Brooklyn, including Ohev Shalom, in Brownsville
Brownsville, Brooklyn
Brownsville is a residential neighborhood located in eastern Brooklyn, New York City.The total land area is one square mile, and the ZIP code for the neighborhood is 11212....
; Keter Israel; Beth Ha-Knesseth Adath B'Nai Israel, also referred to as Williamsburg's Moore Street Congregation; and finally, Dibre Mnachem, a congregation named after the first book Risikoff published after moving to the United States, located in the area now known as Bedford-Stuyvesant, on one floor of the building where he lived for many years, until his death in 1960.
His stationary listed him as רב ואב״ד לאגודת הקהלות דברוקלין -- "Rabbi of the Orthodoctical [sic] Congregations of Brooklyn." In addition, he served as the Recording Secretary of the Knesseth HaRabonim HaOrthdoksim dAmerica vCanada, the Assembly of Orthodox Rabbis of America and Canada.
Risikoff was a frequent contributor to The Degel Israel Torah Journal, and the author of numerous works on Halakha
Halakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...
and Aggadah
Aggadah
Aggadah refers to the homiletic and non-legalistic exegetical texts in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, particularly as recorded in the Talmud and Midrash...
, Jewish law and Jewish lore; Biblical commentaries; Divrei Torah (sermons and homiletical writings); and responsa
Responsa
Responsa 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...
, including Shaarei Zevah (1913), dealing with the laws of kashrut
Kashrut
Kashrut is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha is termed kosher in English, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew term kashér , meaning "fit" Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus) is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha (Jewish law) is termed...
and shechita
Shechita
Shechita is the ritual slaughter of mammals and birds according to Jewish dietary laws...
; Shaarei Shamayim (1937), a commentary on the Jewish legal compilation, the Shulchan Aruch
Shulchan Aruch
The Shulchan Aruch also known as the Code of Jewish Law, is the most authoritative legal code of Judaism. It was authored in Safed, Israel, by Yosef Karo in 1563 and published in Venice two years later...
; and Torat HaKohanim (1948), the laws pertaining to Kohanim
Kohen
A Kohen is the Hebrew word for priest. Jewish Kohens are traditionally believed and halachically required to be of direct patrilineal descent from the Biblical Aaron....
, Jewish priests
Kohen
A Kohen is the Hebrew word for priest. Jewish Kohens are traditionally believed and halachically required to be of direct patrilineal descent from the Biblical Aaron....
, the descendents of Aaron
Aaron
In the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an, Aaron : Ααρών ), who is often called "'Aaron the Priest"' and once Aaron the Levite , was the older brother of Moses, and a prophet of God. He represented the priestly functions of his tribe, becoming the first High Priest of the Israelites...
, the brother of Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
, a group which included Risikoff himself. This latter work included explanations and commentaries on the rituals still performed by kohanim today, including pidyon haben
Pidyon HaBen
The Pidyon HaBen, or Redemption of the first born son, is a mitzvah in Judaism whereby a Jewish firstborn son is redeemed by use of silver coins from his birth-state of sanctity....
(Redemption of the First Born), and birkat kohanim (the Priestly Blessing). Additionally, after explaining the laws and customs regarding such rituals, he added homiletical commentaries. For example, he explained that the mitzvah of Brit milah
Brit milah
The brit milah is a Jewish religious circumcision ceremony performed on 8-day old male infants by a mohel. The brit milah is followed by a celebratory meal .-Biblical references:...
(circumcision) tied a new-born baby to the covenant of faith, but the combination of circumcision and pidyon haben was like a double knot. Further, because not all families qualified for the ceremony of pidyon haben on their own, all Jews could participate in the commandment by attending the ritual and celebrating the happiness of others.
However, the book, Torat Hakohanim, also included instruction on priestly responsibilities only applicable during the existence of the Jerusalem Temple
Temple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple , refers to one of a series of structures which were historically located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, the current site of the Dome of the Rock. Historically, these successive temples stood at this location and functioned as the centre of...
, because of his fervent belief that redemption would come, and the Temple would be rebuilt. In the meantime, he believed that studying the laws served as a substitute for carrying out the duties, and would bring the coming of the Messiah
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
closer.
Risikoff's strong mystical beliefs, in addition to his command of legal sources, was evident in his frequent references to kabbalah
Kabbalah
Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...
and Hassidic masters, like the Baal Shem Tov. His link to Jewish mysticism was also manifest in his belief in the power of language, numbers
Gematria
Gematria or gimatria is a system of assigning numerical value to a word or phrase, in the belief that words or phrases with identical numerical values bear some relation to each other, or bear some relation to the number itself as it may apply to a person's age, the calendar year, or the like...
, and words, sometimes writing prayers or sections of his works using words whose initial letters spelled out his own name, the name of God, or even the letters used to indicate the Jewish year. His book, Palgei Shemen, includes a congratulatory letter he received on the occasion of his fiftieth wedding anniversary from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
, and his response, in which he attributes meaning to each of the President's three names and three initials. For example, one of the explanations he offers for "FDR" was friend (F) to both democrats (D) and republicans (R).
Many of his writings included endorsements not only from some of the leading rabbis in the United States, but also in Jerusalem, including Tzvi Pesach Frank
Tzvi Pesach Frank
Rabbi Tzvi Pesach Frank was a renowned halachic scholar and the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem for several decades.-Biography:...
, and Abraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook
Abraham Isaac Kook
Abraham Isaac Kook was the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of the British Mandate for Palestine, the founder of the Religious Zionist Yeshiva Merkaz HaRav, Jewish thinker, Halachist, Kabbalist and a renowned Torah scholar...
, the Ashkenazi
Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...
Chief Rabbi
Chief Rabbi
Chief 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 the pre-Israel British Mandate of Palestine.
Risikoff's views regarding the agunah
Risikoff's encyclopedic grasp of Jewish sources and his commitment to orthodox Judaism were so well respected that he could be a strong voice for discussions of innovative solutions to modern problems and challenges facing Jewish law. One key example was his proposal for enhanced authority of the modern Beth dinBeth din
A beth din, bet din, beit din or beis din is a rabbinical court of Judaism. In ancient times, it was the building block of the legal system in the Biblical Land of Israel...
, rabbinical court, to help in situations such as the Agunah, a woman whose husband had left her without granting her a Get
Get
Get or GET may refer to:*Get , the offspring of an animal*Get , legal issues around the Jewish divorce procedure*Get , the Jewish divorce procedure...
, the religious divorce decree that would allow her to remarry.
In his writings, he advanced the idea, even before the establishment of the modern State of Israel, that some solution might be found in a worldwide Jewish recognition of the special authority of the Jerusalem Beth-Din. He introduced the idea, at least as one worthy of serious discussion within the realm of Halakhah, Jewish law, that the groom could declare that he was not only marrying the bride in accordance with "the laws of Moses and Israel" (kedat Mosheh weYisrael) the normal formulaic wording for a Jewish ceremony, but also, "in accordance with the Great Rabbinical Court of Jerusalem" (ukhdat Bet Din HaGadol biYerushalayim), so that the court could then step in to help a woman whose husband's actions violated the intrinsic meaning of the covenant of marriage, including that meaning as interpreted and understood by the court—declaring, in essence, that the marriage never took place, or was retroactively annulled. Similar ideas would be discussed by other orthodox thinkers after Israel's creation in 1948, but Risikoff was clearly ahead of his time—as one writer put it, writing "in apparent anticipation of future events" -- in terms of such thinking.
An alternative approach to the problem, also introduced by Risikoff as a theoretical possibility worthy of halakhic discussion, was the reintroduction of the ancient institution of Pilegesh
Pilegesh
Pilegesh is a Hebrew term for a concubine with similar social and legal standing to a recognized wife, often for the purpose of producing offspring.-Etymology:...
, an alternative category to formal marriage (and one that would not have the same requirements for a Get upon the dissolution of the relationship).
Risikoff's responses to the Holocaust
Another area in which Risikoff's writings represented ideas ahead of his time was the subject of religious responses to the Shoah, an area that would only much later be referred to as Holocaust theologyHolocaust theology
Holocaust theology refers to a body of theological and philosophical debate and reflection, and related literature, primarily within Judaism, that attempts to come to grips with various conflicting views about the role of God in the universe and the human world in light of the Holocaust of the late...
. He fervently believed that redemption would come for humanity, but never turned a blind eye to suffering, struggling with the existence of evil, its meaning, and the question of human response to it. His writings showed his sorrow and horror at the anti-Jewish attacks in Hebron
Hebron
Hebron , is located in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judean Mountains, it lies 930 meters above sea level. It is the largest city in the West Bank and home to around 165,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Jewish settlers concentrated in and around the old quarter...
, Jerusalem, and Safed
Safed
Safed , is a city in the Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and of Israel. Due to its high elevation, Safed experiences warm summers and cold, often snowy, winters...
, in 1929, and when Rav Kook
Abraham Isaac Kook
Abraham Isaac Kook was the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of the British Mandate for Palestine, the founder of the Religious Zionist Yeshiva Merkaz HaRav, Jewish thinker, Halachist, Kabbalist and a renowned Torah scholar...
died in 1935, Risikoff—with "a presentiment of the catastrophe" yet to come -- published a eulogy in which he put forth his belief that Kook might have been taken early to spare him from even worse times to come, based on the Biblical verse (Isaiah 57:11), "The righteous is taken away from the evil to come."
In 1938, with the outbreak of violence that would come to be known as Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass, and also Reichskristallnacht, Pogromnacht, and Novemberpogrome, was a pogrom or series of attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on 9–10 November 1938.Jewish homes were ransacked, as were shops, towns and...
, Risikoff wrote about keeping faith, and yet taking action in religious ways that would include worship, liturgy, and both concrete and internal responses of teshuva/repentance
Repentance in Judaism
Repentance in Judaism known as teshuva , is the way of atoning for sin in Judaism.According to Gates of Repentance, a standard work of Jewish ethics written by Rabbenu Yonah of Gerona, if someone commits a sin, a forbidden act, he can be forgiven for that sin if he performs teshuva, which...
. He wrote that Levite
Levite
In Jewish tradition, a Levite is a member of the Hebrew tribe of Levi. When Joshua led the Israelites into the land of Canaan, the Levites were the only Israelite tribe that received cities but were not allowed to be landowners "because the Lord the God of Israel himself is their inheritance"...
s, members of the Levitical tribe—and especially Kohanim, the family dynasty of Jewish Priests within that tribe—must play a special role. In his writings, especially in his book, HaKohanim vHaLeviim, The Priests and the Levites, he stressed that members of these groups exist in the realm between history (below) and redemption (above), and were called upon to take a leading role in a call to prayer, repentance, and action that would help bring an end to suffering. He wrote, "Today, we also are living through a time of flood, Not of water, but of a bright fire, which burns and turns Jewish life into ruin. We are now drowning in a flood of blood...Through the Kohanim and Levi'im help will come to all Israel.
His writings reflected a combination of what has been called meta-history (ultimate redemption) and history, including the idea that part of the problem on earth was dishonesty not only among individuals, but also among nations. For example, with a keen eye to developments in politics and current events, he wrote that governments of a number of nations had promised Austria and Czechoslovakia that they would come to their defense if the need arose, but they ultimately broke their promises.
On the other hand, when he wrote the words, "Nazis", "swastikas", and "Mussolini", he spelled their names backwards as a way, linked to mystical traditions and beliefs, to obliterate those names, and the existence of those represented by the names. This ability to deal with two worlds was noted by one scholar who wrote that Risikoff "distilled metahistory into history with his program for priestly action to mediate redemption."
Risikoff's ability to deal with practical questions, rooted in reality, even as he kept faith in the promise of ultimate redemption, was clear in his response to the question as to whether Jews in Europe during the Holocaust should "accept martyrdom" for their faith, or escape if they could, to preserve their lives. He responded that it was clear in many Jewish sources that there were times to accept death for the sake of our faith (Mesirut nefesh al kiddush Hashem: submitting the soul in sanctification of God’s name), but that Hitler was not out to crush the Jewish faith, since (unlike some earlier enemies of the Jews) Jews were not given the option of conversion or abandoning their faith in order to live. Instead, Hitler's goal was to destroy the Jewish people, and therefore the responsibility to preserve life (individual life and the life of the people) became paramount so that Jews could continue to perform God's commandments, and flight was therefore one valid option.
A 1942 article in "The Brooklyn Daily Eagle"
Brooklyn Eagle
The Brooklyn Daily Bulletin began publishing when the original Eagle folded in 1955. In 1996 it merged with a newly revived Brooklyn Daily Eagle, and now publishes a morning paper five days a week under the Brooklyn Daily Eagle name...
noted that Risikoff believed that fighting against evil was also a valid option:
A proud man is Rabbi Mnachem Resnicoff [sic] of 691 Lafayette Ave, one of the borough's scholars of Hebraic law and the Talmud, for his three sons have dropped their civilian duties to fight for the preservation of democratic freedoms.
Although a firm believer in settling differences by peaceful means, the venerable, bearded member of the rabbinate reverted to the teachings of Moses and Solomon and gladly sent forth his sons to defeat those who persecute his people.
One son, Murray H. Resnicoff, is a Lt. Colonel in the Army, and Jack, an attorney, enlisted in the Navy two days after the treacherous attack on Pearl Harbor. He has received a first class yeoman's rating, and is stationed "somewhere in the South Pacific." The third son, Samuel, also an attorney, and for many years active in Borough politics, is a member of the enlisted reserve corps, and was ordered to report for active duty September 21.
Risikoff's writings clearly reveal how he struggled to accept what was one traditional religious response to suffering—the idea that it was punishment for sin, and a call to repentance—and early on did consider that Hitler might somehow be part of such a divine plan. But he ultimately wrote that it was not possible to accept the idea that blame for a tragedy of the magnitude of the Holocaust could be understood in this way. He wrote that such extreme suffering could never come from God, for God acted according to 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...
Unpublished manuscripts
On June 7, 2010, unpublished manuscripts for two of Risikoff's works, "Shaarei Mizrach" and "Zikron Mnachem," were gifted to the Library of CongressLibrary of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
. The gift was made on behalf of two of Risikoff's grandsons, Rabbi Arnold E. Resnicoff and Professor Steven H. Resnicoff, to be restored and preserved as part of the library's permanent Hebraica collection. Arnold Resnicoff was present at the ceremony, along with his daughter, Malka Sarit Resnicoff, Risikoff's great-granddaughter.
Holocaust studies scholar Gershon Greenberg, who has written extensively about Risikoff, delivered remarks regarding Risikoff's works. Greenberg noted that because Risikoff's works deserve more extensive scrutiny, he is seeking a PhD student, possibly at Bar Ilan University, who would be interested in writing a doctoral dissertation on the subject of Risikoff's thinking.
Family
Risikoff's father, Zvi Yosef ResnickZvi Yosef Resnick
Rabbi Zvi Yosef HaKohen Resnick was a well-known orthodox Russian rabbi and Rosh yeshivah , also known as Rebbe Hirsch Meitsheter .-Life and work:Resnick lived in Zhetel , a town in Belarus, and at least one of his children was born...
, a distinguished 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...
in Suvalk and Slonim
Slonim
Slonim is a city in Hrodna Voblast, Belarus, capital of the Slonim District. It is located at the junction of the Shchara and Isa rivers, 143 km southeast of Hrodna. The population in 2008 was 50,800.-Etymology and historical names:...
, had rejected many requests to publish his teachings and commentaries. He said that he did not want to take any time away from studying and teaching. However, Resnick did include a short written note in his son's book, Shaarei Zevach, as an haskama (rabbinic endorsement) of the book, and an opportunity to express his pride in his son's achievements., so Risikoff included some of his father's teachings in his works, especially in the volume MiTorat Zvi Yosef ("From the Torah [teachings] of Zvi Yosef"). In his praise for his father in this work, Risikoff states that his own knowledge is like "a drop in the ocean" compared to that of his father.
One of Risikoff's brothers, Shlomo Chaim Resnick, was a cantor/hazzan
Hazzan
A hazzan or chazzan is a Jewish cantor, a musician trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the congregation in songful prayer.There are many rules relating to how a cantor should lead services, but the idea of a cantor as a paid professional does not exist in classical rabbinic sources...
, mohel
Mohel
A mohel is a Jewish person trained in the practice of brit milah "covenant of circumcision."-Etymology of the Hebrew and Aramaic term:...
, and shohet
Shechita
Shechita is the ritual slaughter of mammals and birds according to Jewish dietary laws...
, referred to as the Grajewo
Grajewo
Grajewo , is a town in north-eastern Poland with 23,302 inhabitants .It is situated in the Podlaskie Voivodeship ; previously, it was in Łomża Voivodeship...
Hazzan. One of Risikoff's sons, Leon Risikoff, was a rabbi in Brooklyn, New York; his son-in-law, Herbert Simckes,was a rabbi in Massachusetts; and three of his grandsons, Arnold Resnicoff
Arnold Resnicoff
Arnold E. Resnicoff is an American Conservative rabbi, a decorated retired military officer and military chaplain, and a consultant on leadership, values, and interreligious affairs to military and civilian leaders...
, Steven (Shlomo Chaim) Resnicoff, and Joseph Simckes, are American rabbis.
Names
The discrepancy between Risikoff's last name and the family name, Resnick (or Resnikoff/Resnicoff, the Russian equivalent for "son of Resnick"), was the result of a name change, coupled with a physical relocation in Russia, as attempts to avoid the harsh Russian military draft that specifically targeted very young Jewish men, as part of a purposeful targeted attempt to weaken the Jewish community."Mendel" is the Yiddish
Yiddish language
Yiddish is a High German language of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. It developed as a fusion of German dialects with Hebrew, Aramaic, Slavic languages and traces of Romance languages...
equivalent for the Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
name, "Mnachem."
Risikoff's first name, "Mnachem," appears in variant forms including "Menachem" and "Menahem," but "Mnachem" is the spelling he seems to have preferred during his time in the United States, and was the spelling used in writings that spanned many years—from the 1938 letter from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, congratulating Risikoff on his 50th wedding anniversary; http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%205/Brooklyn%20NY%20Daily%20Eagle/Brooklyn%20NY%20Daily%20Eagle%201951%20%20Grayscale/Brooklyn%20NY%20Daily%20Eagle%201951%20%20Grayscale%20-%200276.pdf#xml=http://fultonhistory.com/dtSearch/dtisapi6.dll?cmd=getpdfhits&u=20c87652&DocId=14698900&Index=Z%3a%2fFulton%20Historical&HitCount=3&hits=2ee+307+308+&SearchForm=C%3a%5cinetpub%5cwwwroot%5cFulton%5fNew%5fform%2ehtml&.pdfa news story] in the Brooklyn Eagle
Brooklyn Eagle
The Brooklyn Daily Bulletin began publishing when the original Eagle folded in 1955. In 1996 it merged with a newly revived Brooklyn Daily Eagle, and now publishes a morning paper five days a week under the Brooklyn Daily Eagle name...
about Risikoff that referred to him as "one of the oldest Orthodox rabbis in Brooklyn;
a photo and caption on file with the Brooklyn Public Library
Brooklyn Public Library
The Brooklyn Public Library is the public library system of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. It is the fifth largest public library system in the United States. Like the two other public library systems in New York City, it is an independent nonprofit organization that is funded by the...
; and the 2010 press release from the Library of Congress that described the donation of two of Risikoff's unpublished manuscripts. (In another http://www.fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%205/Brooklyn%20NY%20Daily%20Eagle/Brooklyn%20NY%20Daily%20Eagle%201942%20Grayscale/Brooklyn%20NY%20Daily%20Eagle%201942%20Grayscale%20-%206232.pdf#xml=http://www.fultonhistory.com/dtSearch/dtisapi6.dll?cmd=getpdfhits&u=a583d7c&DocId=14036424&Index=Z%3a%2fFulton%20Historical&HitCount=3&hits=30e+375+41c+&SearchForm=C%3a%5cinetpub%5cwwwroot%5cFulton%5fNew%5fform%2ehtml&.pdfBrooklyn Eagle article], Mnachem is used as the spelling of his first name, although his last name is spelled differently.) Most importantly, however, "Mnachem Risikoff" was the spelling Risikoff used on his own printed stationery.
Published works (online links to complete texts)
All of the following books (in Hebrew) are available for free download from HebrewBooks.org:- תפארת מנחם Tiferet Mnachem (1894)
- דברי מנחם Divrei Mnachem (1911)
- שערי זבח Shaarei Zevach (1913)
- מתורת צבי יוסף MiTorat Zvi Yosef (1925)
- שערי רצון א Shaarei Ratzon, Vol I (1931)
- שערי רצון ב Shaarei Ratzon, Vol II (1931)
- שערי שמים חלק א Shaarei Shamayim, Vol I (1937)
- שערי שמים חלק ב Shaarei Shamayim, Vol II (1937)
- שערי שמים חלק ג Shaarei Shamayim, Vol III (1937)
- שערי שמים חלק ד Shaarei Shamayim,Vol IV (1937)
- שערי שמים חלק ה Shaarei Shamayim, Vol V (1937)
- פלגי שמן Palgei Shemen (1939)
- הכהנים והלוים HaKohanim vHaLeviim(1940)
- לקוטי דינים תורת הכהנים Likutei Dinim Torat HaKohanim (1948)
Unpublished manuscripts (online links to texts)
- Shaarei Mizrach שערי מזרח
- Zikhron Mnachem זכרון מנחם
See also
- Video: Remarks by Dr. Gershon Greenberg, June 7, 2010, Library of Congress acceptance of Risikoff's two unpublished manuscripts.