Israel Salanter
Rabbi Israel Lipkin of Salant most often called Rabbi Israel Salanter ( Zaghir , 1810 - February 2 1883 ) is one of the founders of the movement of Mussar.
Summary |
His life
His father, Rabbi Zev Wolf Lipkin, professor of Talmud at Zaghir and subsequently became Rav of several cities, including Telzhe. He is considered one of the central figures of his generation. He wrote a commentary on the Talmud and other works, under the generic name of Hagaoth ben Arie.
From his youth, Rabbi Israel is considered a flagship of Lithuanian Jewry. It will look at Salant , important Jewish city. When he was fourteen, the Rav of the city, Rabbi Tsewa Broida , suggested sending him a pamphlet he wrote to Rabbi Akiva Eiger , a leading authority of his generation. The latter said later that these writings were obviously from the pen of a "genius among geniuses" ... Very young, it already gives courses to students.
Rabbi Israel married a girl from Salant. Many students gathered at that time in this city, seven great scholars who formed an outstanding group around the Rav of the city, Rabbi Breud. One of them is Rabbi Shmuel Salant , a close friend of Rabbi Israel, which later became the Rabbi of Jerusalem , a position he accepted 40 years. It remains to Salant for eighteen years, then was invited to direct one of the institutions most prominent of Vilna , the Yeshiva's Mayles. In 1849 he moved to Kaunas , where he stayed for nine years. it becomes the recognized authority on Mussar. In 1857, he left Lithuania for Germany , starting at the origin caused by reasons of health. Then Paris , where even university students under its influence. Finally, he went to Konigsberg in 1882, after the death of Malbim , it is supposed to replace. But it makes the soul itself in 1883.
His thought
Rabbi Israel engages in a serious questioning of the system of Jewish life in his time with the remarkable power of analysis that appears in all areas: it has already found that his contemporaries live their Judaism without reflection or depth, and there is no doubt in his eyes that reform is necessary. He also knows that only a leading figure will be able to have any influence on the world of Torah in Lithuania. Modesty and discretion are no longer used, it must now come forward. He leaves and the conquest of the Jewish communities of Lithuania and began a lecture series, which quickly earned him a wide reputation. He speaks more of Mussar to bring people back on track. Thanks to his remarkable gifts as an orator, he succeeded in an outstanding mission.
Rabbi Israel Salanter occupied a prime position in the elite of Lithuanian Jewry, sparking a revolution in attitudes and providing a response to an existential problem in his generation, one raised by the Haskalah and the emerging materialism. He also met the expectations expressed by the intellectual circles of the study of Torah, becoming more demanding. Torana important personality of our century, Rabbi Yehiel Yaakov Weinberg , has even drawn parallels between the Baal Shem Tov and Rabbi Israel Salanter, believing that the revolution brought by the latter was as large as that initiated by the first!
His work
It publishes a unique, known Tevouna (twelve issues were published between 1861 and 1862). In each issue (or almost), is a text of Rabbi Israel concerning the School of Mussar , alongside articles Halacha classic of the greatest personalities of his time. Various books were published in his name: Imre (the best-known work), and but they are his students, under his inspiration, who write them.
Bibliography
- Menachem G. Glenn. Rabbi Israel Salanter. Religious-Ethical Thinker. The Story Of A Religious-Ethical Current in Nineteenth Century Judaism. First published in 1953 by Dropsa College and Bloch Publishing Company. Yashar Books, 2005. ISBN 1-933143-02-9
- Hillel Goldberg, Rabbi. 125 Years Since The Passing of Harav Yisrael Salanter, zt "l. Hamodia Magazine, Vol. X, Issue 494, January 30, 2008/23 Shevat 5768, Parasha Mishpatim, p. 10-15.
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