Baruch Schick of Shklov (1744–1808) was a Polish–Lithuanian-born rabbi, author, scholar,

talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

ist, physicist, and scientist. He is famous for having translated many scientific works into

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

upon the request of the

Vilna Gaon Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, ( ''Rabbi Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman''), also known as the Vilna Gaon ( ''Der Vilner Goen''; ; or Elijah of Vilna, or by his Hebrew acronym Gr"a ("Gaon Rabbenu Eliyahu": "Our great teacher Elijah"; Sialiec, April 23, 172 ...

. He wrote about topics ranging from medicine to hygiene, and was known as one of the many pioneers of the

Haskalah The ''Haskalah'' (; literally, "wisdom", "erudition" or "education"), often termed the Jewish Enlightenment, was an intellectual movement among the Jews of Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, with a certain influence on those in Wester ...

movement (Jewish

Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment (also the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment) was a Europe, European Intellect, intellectual and Philosophy, philosophical movement active from the late 17th to early 19th century. Chiefly valuing knowledge gained th ...

). He served as a dayan in the communities of

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

and

Slutsk Slutsk is a town in Minsk Region, in central Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Slutsk District, and is located on the Sluch (Belarus), Sluch River south of the capital Minsk. As of 2025, it has a population of 59,450. Geography ...

throughout his life. Baruch descended from the famous Jewish families of Schick and Ginzberg. He was acknowledged as the first Jew to translate from English to Hebrew.

Early life (1744–1764)

Baruch ben Jacob Schick was born in 1744 in the town of Shklov. His father served as the rabbi there. His uncle, Arye Leib Ginzberg was one of the foremost halakhists of his generation. In fact, much of Schick's family consisted of some of the great rabbinic scholars in Byelorussia. At a young age, he began to follow the path of his ancestors, and study the

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

under his father's guidance. Later in 1760, Schick moved to the city of

and joined the elite society of ''shivah keru'im'', reserved for only the leaders of the community and scholars. There, he worked his way up the hierarchy of the society. Eventually in 1764, Schick was given ordination by the Rabbi Avraham ben David Katzenellenbogen''.'' He later served as a dayan in

. While he was in

, he gained a desire for learning.

Interest in the Sciences

When Schick was a young boy, he developed a fascination of the sciences. According to his second written testimony written in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, "When I was still in the home of my father, the famous rabbi and scholar, and we used to study together the

with the commentaries of

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki (; ; ; 13 July 1105) was a French rabbi who authored comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Hebrew Bible. He is commonly known by the List of rabbis known by acronyms, Rabbinic acronym Rashi (). Born in Troyes, Rashi stud ...

Tosafot The Tosafot, Tosafos or Tosfot () are Middle Ages, medieval commentaries on the Talmud. They take the form of critical and explanatory glosses, printed, in almost all Talmud editions, on the outer margin and opposite Rashi's notes. The authors o ...

, and codes, day and night, my soul longed to lift up the crown of Israel, and to translate books into the

Hebrew language Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language unti ...

on every discipline and science. But the vicissitudes of time overtook me, and these thoughts of mine came to an end...due to my dislocation from one home to another, and from one city to another." He was a defender of the importance of scientific knowledge and gives the biblical example of

Joshua Joshua ( ), also known as Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' Literal translation, lit. 'Yahweh is salvation'), Jehoshua, or Josue, functioned as Moses' assistant in the books of Book of Exodus, Exodus and ...

using geometry to divide up the tribes. After Schick moved to

, he began to write Hebrew books on science.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shick, Baruck 1808 deaths 1744 births People from Vilnius Voivodeship 18th-century Lithuanian rabbis People from Shklow Rabbis from Minsk