Hillel Lichtenstein

RabbiHillel Lichtenstein(1814–1891) was aHungarianrabbiand the leader of hasidicOrthodoxyinHungary.

Life

Hillel Lichtenstein was born at Vécs, Hungary (also called Vágvecse; today Veča, part ofŠaľa,Slovakia) in 1814 to thedayanR. Baruch Bendit. After studying at theyeshivaof theChassam Sofer,he married in 1837 the daughter of a well-to-do resident ofGalanta,where he remained until 1850, when he was elected rabbi ofMargarethen(Szent Margit). In 1854 he was elected rabbi ofKlausenburg,but the opposition of the district rabbi,Avrohom Friedman,made it impossible for him to enter upon the duties of the office; finally he was expelled from Klausenburg by the authorities. Having lived for some time atNagyvárad,he was recalled to Margarethen, where he remained until about 1865, when he was called toSzikszó.Thence he went, in 1867, to Kolomyia, where he remained until his death.

He was a prominent leader of Haredi Judaism in Hungary: he not only resisted the slightest deviation from the traditional ritual, as the removal of thebimahfrom the center of the synagogue, but also vigorously denounced the adoption of non-Jewish social manners and dress and the acquisition of secular education. He directed his criticism not only at the reformers, but also at the moderate OrthodoxAzriel Hildesheimer.He bitterly opposed theHungarian Jewish congress of 1868–69and the establishment of theNeolograbbinical seminary inBudapest.In 1865 he called a rabbinical convention atMichalovce,which banned reforming synagogues.

His religious practise was unusually strict even among Hungarian Orthodox rabbis, even going so far as to keep a she-donkey in order to be able to fulfill the law ofPetter Chamor.He kept a sheep also in order to be able to give the first fleece to aKohen(Deuteronomy 18:4), from whom subsequently he bought it back to maketzitzitfrom it. Rabbi Lichtenstein was an ardent admirer ofHasidic Judaism,and made pilgrimages to the famousRebbeofSanz,theDivrei Chaim.He offered his own intercession through prayer to people in distress, but declined any gifts. He died on 18 May 1891 inKolomyia,Galicia(nowUkraine).

Views

Lichtenstein was a powerful preacher and a popular writer, and the resistance to modern tendencies among the Jews of northern Hungary is largely due to his influence. He inveighed against the use of other than traditional Jewish names; he denounced not only secular education, but even the playing of musical instruments and innocent social games, like chess and checkers; and he condemned those who relied on reason, for the ideal Jew should live up to the principle ofPsalm73:22, "I was as a beast before thee".He was a decided opponent also of all agitation for the political emancipation of the Jews, saying that it is the duty of the Jews to suffer the tribulations of the Exile until God finds them ripe for Messianicredemption.

Works

Of the numerous works which Lichtenstein wrote, some of them being inHebrewand others inJudæo-German,the most important of which were published included his responsa in Teshuvot Beit Hillel (Satmar 1908) and his sermonsMaskil el Dal(Lemberg,1867),Eis La'asos(ib. 1881), andAvkath Roichel(ib. 1883), all of which have been repeatedly reedited. They are all devoted to the denunciation ofreform Judaism.

References

This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Singer, Isidore;et al., eds. (1901–1906).The Jewish Encyclopedia.New York: Funk & Wagnalls.{{cite encyclopedia}}:Missing or empty|title=(help)