Moshe Greenwald (1853–1910), also spelled Grunwald, a

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as '' semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form o ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

at the end of the 19th century. He was the rabbi of Chust, Hungary and progenitor of the Pupa Hasidic dynasty through his son Yaakov Yechezkiya. He was also the author of ''Arugas Habosem'', a book of

responsa ''Responsa'' (plural of Latin , 'answer') comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them. In the modern era, the term is used to describe decisions and rulings made by scholars ...

covering

halakhic ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical comman ...

issues.

Biography

He was the eldest son of Amram Greenwald He studied at the

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy a ...

of Menachem Katz, a disciple of

Hatam Sofer Moses Schreiber (1762–1839), known to his own community and Jewish posterity in the Hebrew translation as Moshe Sofer, also known by his main work ''Chatam Sofer'', ''Chasam Sofer'', or ''Hatam Sofer'' ( trans. ''Seal of the Scribe'', and acron ...

, in

Deutschkreutz Deutschkreutz ( hu, Sopronkeresztúr until 1899, ''Németkeresztúr'' yi, צעלעם, translit=Zelem hr, Kerestur) is an Austrian market town in the district of Oberpullendorf in the state of Burgenland. Geography Deutschkreutz lies in Middle ...

, now in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, with his grandfather Yosef Greenwald, and at the Pressburg Yeshiva under the Ketav Sofer His father died when he was twenty and he worked in timber trading, while continuing his studies. At that time, he married his relative Zissel Gestetner. At the age of twenty-six he began working as a rabbi in the city of

Humenné Humenné (; hu, Homonna; ukr, Гуменне) is a town in the Prešov Region ("kraj") in eastern Slovakia and the second largest town of the historic Zemplín region. It lies at the volcanic Vihorlat mountains and at the confluence of the ...

in Hungary (today in

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

). In 1887, he became rabbi of the city of Kisvárda in Hungary. Greenwald was originally from a non-hasidic family but as a young man he became a hasid and traveled to the Admorim of

Belz Belz ( uk, Белз; pl, Bełz; yi, בעלז ') is a small city in Lviv Oblast of Western Ukraine, near the border with Poland, located between the Solokiya river (a tributary of the Bug River) and the Richytsia stream. Belz hosts the administ ...

and Siget. He was a disciple of the second Belzer Rebbe, Rabbi

Yehoshua Rokeach Rabbi Yehoshua Rokeach (1825 – February 3, 1894), known as the ''Mitteler Ruv'', was the second Rebbe of the Belz Hasidic dynasty. He combined Torah scholarship with practical common sense to guide thousands of Hasidim and to fight the Haskal ...

.''A World That Was'',

Hamodia ''Hamodia'' ( he, המודיע – "''the Informer''") is a Hebrew-language daily newspaper published in Jerusalem. A daily English-language edition is also published in the United States, and weekly English-language editions in England and Israe ...

Magazine, 18 March 2010, p. 7. His descendants led a Hasidic community, called the community of Papa, after the city where his son served as rebbe and Admor. Greenwald was a rabbi and ''

av beis din The ''av beit din'' ( ''ʾabh bêth dîn'', "chief of the court" or "chief justice"), also spelled ''av beis din'' or ''abh beth din'' and abbreviated ABD (), was the second-highest-ranking member of the Sanhedrin during the Second Temple period, ...

'' in Humenné, where he established a yeshiva. From there he became the rabbi of Kisvárda and in 1887 he moved to

Khust Khust ( uk, Хуст; hu, Huszt) is a city located on the Khustets River in Zakarpattia Oblast ( province) in western Ukraine. It is near the сonfluence of the Tisa and Rika Rivers. Serving as the administrative center of Khust Raion (distr ...

, where he also headed a yeshiva. In 1893, Greenwald became rabbi of the city of Khost in Hungary (now in Western Ukraine), replacing Yoel Zvi Rata who died that year. Greenwald continued his war against

Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous sear ...

and against any deviation from the tradition of Orthodox Judaism. Greenwald was a prolific author, but most of his fame comes from the ''responsa'' he wrote – "Arugat HaBosem". Greenwald eschewed ''

pilpul ''Pilpul'' ( he, פלפול, loosely meaning 'sharp analysis'; ) is a method of studying the Talmud through intense textual analysis in attempts to either explain conceptual differences between various halakhic rulings or to reconcile any appare ...

'' and advised his students to acquire breadth and depth in the study of

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

and

Gemara The Gemara (also transliterated Gemarah, or in Yiddish Gemo(r)re; from Aramaic , from the Semitic root ג-מ-ר ''gamar'', to finish or complete) is the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah ...

. His descendants include his sons Yaakov Yechezkiya Greenwald, Yaakov's son

Yosef Greenwald Yosef Greenwald ( he, יוסף גרינוואלד 1903 – Brooklyn 1984) was the second Rebbe of the Pupa Hasidic dynasty, and the charismatic leader of all the Pupa Hasidim. Prior to World War II, he was a rabbi and rosh yeshiva in Pápa, Hun ...

, and Yosef's son Yaakov Yechezkiya Greenwald II. His students included Leopold Greenwald.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenwald, Moshe Greenwald family 1853 births 1910 deaths Hungarian Orthodox rabbis 19th-century Hungarian rabbis 20th-century Hungarian rabbis