Zelig Reuven Bengis
Encyclopedia
Zelig Reuven Bengis was the Chief Rabbi
of Jerusalem for the Edah HaChareidis. He wrote a seven-volume commentary on the Talmud, called "Leflagos Reuven".
of the Russian Empire
(now Lithuania
n) town of Šnipiškės (now a neighborhood of Vilna
) and his wife Shayna, the granddaughter of Rabbi Aaron Brody, dayan of Vilna. Rabbi Zelig Reuven was soon known as "the Shnipishoker illui
" (prodigy). When he was 17 years old, he went to learn in the Volozhin yeshiva
under the Netziv
, who called him 'the living Shas
'. While learning at Valozhyn, his reputation quickly grew and he was known as an extremely sharp student and a diligent learner.
After having learned in Volozhin for several years, he married the daughter of Rabbi Chaim Tzvi Broide, Rav of the towns Nemakščiai
(Nemoksht in Yiddish), Švėkšna
(Shvkshna in Yiddish) and Žagarė
(Zhager in Yiddish). After his marriage, he spent eight years living with his in-law
s, learning all day. In 1892 he was appointed Rabbi of Boćki (Bodki)
, Poland
, succeeding Rabbi Malkiel Tzvi Tenenbaum who took the position of Rabbi of Lomza.
, a Russian town where many non-religious Jews lived. In Smolensk, Rabbi Bengis involved himself in teaching these non-religious Jews about Judaism. In this, he received strong encouragement from the Chofetz Chaim
.
After the war, Bengis returned to Kalvarija. His reputation grew, and he was known as an expert in all areas of Judaism - he knew countless Jewish works, including the entire Tanach, both the Yerushalmi
and Bavli
, the Rambam, Shulchan Aruch
, backward and forward. He received halachic
questions from all over the world. Some of his halachic rulings were published in the periodical HaTevunah, but they were never published in bookform
.
, Bengis was asked to become rosh av beit din (Ravad) - 2nd Chief Rabbi - of the Edah HaChareidis in Jerusalem. At that point, however, he declined the offer, since his rival there would be Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook - a fellow student of the Netziv of Volozhin.
However, the leadership of the Edah repeated their offer in 1937. Since Rav Kook had died, Rabbi Bengis accepted the offer, and moved from Lithuania to Palestine - shortly before World War II broke out.
In 1947, he and Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Dushinsky, the Chief Rabbi
- Gaavad - of the Edah, appeared before a United Nations
commission which was to decide the future of the British Mandate of Palestine. They spoke against the establishment of a Jewish state there, requesting the UN to recognize Jerusalem as a holy city which should not be part of any state, but should be ruled by the UN itself as an international city. He also requested the commission to allow the immigration of homeless Jews who had survived the war in Europe.
When Rabbi Dushinsky died in 1948, Bengis succeeded him as govad of the Edah. Simultaneously, he also fulfilled the position of Rosh Yeshiva
at Yeshivas Ohel Moshe, also in Jerusalem.
Bengis died on the 7th of Sivan
, 5713 (21 May 1953). He was almost 90 years old, and had fulfilled rabbinical roles in Lithuania and Jerusalem for over 60 years. He was intered on Har HaMenuchot
.
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 Jerusalem for the Edah HaChareidis. He wrote a seven-volume commentary on the Talmud, called "Leflagos Reuven".
Youth
He was the son of Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Bengis, the RabbiRabbi
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...
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...
(now Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n) town of Šnipiškės (now a neighborhood of 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...
) and his wife Shayna, the granddaughter of Rabbi Aaron Brody, dayan of Vilna. Rabbi Zelig Reuven was soon known as "the Shnipishoker illui
Illui
Illui is a noun derived from the Hebrew and Yiddish, meaning a young Torah and Talmudic prodigy or genius....
" (prodigy). When he was 17 years old, he went to learn in the Volozhin yeshiva
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...
under the Netziv
Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin
Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin, , also known as Reb Hirsch Leib Berlin, and commonly known by the acronym Netziv, was an Orthodox rabbi, dean of the Volozhin Yeshiva and author of several works of rabbinic literature in Lithuania.- Family :Berlin was born in Mir, Russia in 1816 into a family of Jewish...
, who called him 'the living Shas
Talmud
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....
'. While learning at Valozhyn, his reputation quickly grew and he was known as an extremely sharp student and a diligent learner.
After having learned in Volozhin for several years, he married the daughter of Rabbi Chaim Tzvi Broide, Rav of the towns Nemakščiai
Nemakščiai
Nemakščiai is a small town in Kaunas County in central Lithuania. As of 2001 it had a population of 905.-References:*This article was initially translated from the Lithuanian Wikipedia....
(Nemoksht in Yiddish), Švėkšna
Švekšna
Švėkšna is a town in the Šilutė District municipality, 21 km northeast of Šilutė It is the administrative center of Švėkšna elderate. There are 29 streets in the town...
(Shvkshna in Yiddish) and Žagarė
Žagare
Žagarė is a city located in the Joniškis district, northern Lithuania, close to the border with Latvia. It has a population of about 2,000.-Names:Foreign renderings of the name include: , , .-History:The foundation of Žagarė dates back to the 12th century...
(Zhager in Yiddish). After his marriage, he spent eight years living with his in-law
In-law
In-law may refer to:*Affinity , kinship by marriage, such as a**Mother-in-law**Father-in-law**Brother-in-law**Sister-in-law**Daughter-in-law**Son-in-law**Cousin-in-law**Uncle-in-law**Aunt-in-law**Nephew-in-law**Niece-in-law...
s, learning all day. In 1892 he was appointed Rabbi of Boćki (Bodki)
Bocki
Boćki is a village in Bielsk County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Boćki. It lies approximately south-west of Bielsk Podlaski and south of the regional capital Białystok....
, Poland
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...
, succeeding Rabbi Malkiel Tzvi Tenenbaum who took the position of Rabbi of Lomza.
Rav in Lithuania
After having spent 19 years as Rav of Boćki (Bodki), in 1911 he became the Rav of Kalvarija, Lithuania. During his time as Rav of Kalvarija, World War I broke out. During the war, the Russian government forced Jews to move further eastward. Rabbi Bengis settled in SmolenskSmolensk
Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler. Today, Smolensk...
, a Russian town where many non-religious Jews lived. In Smolensk, Rabbi Bengis involved himself in teaching these non-religious Jews about Judaism. In this, he received strong encouragement from the Chofetz Chaim
Chofetz Chaim
"The Chofetz Chaim" is a book on the Jewish laws of speech written by Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan....
.
After the war, Bengis returned to Kalvarija. His reputation grew, and he was known as an expert in all areas of Judaism - he knew countless Jewish works, including the entire Tanach, both the Yerushalmi
Jerusalem Talmud
The Jerusalem Talmud, talmud meaning "instruction", "learning", , is a collection of Rabbinic notes on the 2nd-century Mishnah which was compiled in the Land of Israel during the 4th-5th century. The voluminous text is also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud de-Eretz Yisrael...
and Bavli
Jerusalem Talmud
The Jerusalem Talmud, talmud meaning "instruction", "learning", , is a collection of Rabbinic notes on the 2nd-century Mishnah which was compiled in the Land of Israel during the 4th-5th century. The voluminous text is also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud de-Eretz Yisrael...
, the Rambam, 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...
, backward and forward. He received halachic
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...
questions from all over the world. Some of his halachic rulings were published in the periodical HaTevunah, but they were never published in bookform
Codex
A codex is a book in the format used for modern books, with multiple quires or gatherings typically bound together and given a cover.Developed by the Romans from wooden writing tablets, its gradual replacement...
.
Rav in the Holy Land
In 1932, after the death of Rabbi Yosef Chaim SonnenfeldYosef Chaim Sonnenfeld
Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, also spelled Zonnenfeld, was the Chief Rabbi and co-founder of the Edah HaChareidis, Haredi Jewish community in Jerusalem, during the years of the British Mandate of Palestine. He was originally given the name "Chaim", however, the name "Yosef" was added to him while he...
, Bengis was asked to become rosh av beit din (Ravad) - 2nd Chief Rabbi - of the Edah HaChareidis in Jerusalem. At that point, however, he declined the offer, since his rival there would be Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook - a fellow student of the Netziv of Volozhin.
However, the leadership of the Edah repeated their offer in 1937. Since Rav Kook had died, Rabbi Bengis accepted the offer, and moved from Lithuania to Palestine - shortly before World War II broke out.
In 1947, he and Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Dushinsky, the 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...
- Gaavad - of the Edah, appeared before a United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
commission which was to decide the future of the British Mandate of Palestine. They spoke against the establishment of a Jewish state there, requesting the UN to recognize Jerusalem as a holy city which should not be part of any state, but should be ruled by the UN itself as an international city. He also requested the commission to allow the immigration of homeless Jews who had survived the war in Europe.
When Rabbi Dushinsky died in 1948, Bengis succeeded him as govad of the Edah. Simultaneously, he also fulfilled the position of 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...
at Yeshivas Ohel Moshe, also in Jerusalem.
Bengis died on the 7th of Sivan
Sivan
Sivan is the ninth month of the civil year and the third month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. It is a spring month of 30 days...
, 5713 (21 May 1953). He was almost 90 years old, and had fulfilled rabbinical roles in Lithuania and Jerusalem for over 60 years. He was intered on Har HaMenuchot
Har HaMenuchot
Har HaMenuchot is the largest cemetery in Jerusalem, Israel. It is located at the western edge of the city adjacent to the neighborhood of Givat Shaul, with commanding views of Mevaseret Zion to the north, Motza to the west, and Har Nof to the south.-History:...
.
External links
- Rav Zelig Reuven Bengis ZT"L (biography)
- Leflagos Reuven / לפלגות ראובן online at Hebrewbooks.org