Rabbi Chaim Davidsohn (1760,

Pińczów Pińczów is a town in southern Poland, in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, about 40 km south of Kielce. It is the capital of Pińczów County. The population is 10,946 (2018). Pińczów belongs to the historical region of Lesser Poland (Polish: ...

1854,

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

) was the second

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. Since 1911, through a capitulation by Ben-Zion Meir ...

of Warsaw. Rabbi chaim davidson

Early years

He was born in 1760 to Rabbi David Tebele, from whom he orphaned at an early age. In his youth he became known as an

illui ''Illui'' ( or עלוי also ilui; pronounced plural: ''illuim'') is a young Talmudic prodigy. The Hebrew term is applied to exceptional Talmudic scholars among Jews. Etymology ''Illui'' literally means "upraising" and was used in the sense of ...

, and studied Torah under Rabbi David Tebele of Lissa and, according to some sources, Rabbi

Yaakov Lorberbaum Jacob Lorberbaum or Jacob ben Jacob Moses of Lissa (1760-1832) , Hebrew: יעקב בן יעקב משה מליסא) was a rabbi and posek. He is most commonly known as the Ba'al HaChavas Da'as or the Ba'al HaNesivos for his most well-known works, ...

of Lissa. At the age of 13 he married Rachel, the daughter of the wealthy Naftali Zvi Tsenzminer. After his marriage, he lived in his father-in-law's house in Warsaw, and continue to study

Torah The Torah ( , "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. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

as stipulated by his father-in-law. After the death of his father-in-law in 1811, he entered into his father-in-law's family business, alongside his wife's brother Israel Hirschensohn, while continuing to study Torah with Rabbi Shlomo Eiger (Israel's son-in-law).

Community leader

He became involved in community affairs, and eventually was considered the senior

shtadlan A ''shtadlan'' (, ; , ) was an intercessor for a local European Jewish community. They represented the interests of the community, especially those of a town's ghetto, and worked as a " lobbyist" negotiating with the authorities holding power for ...

of the Warsaw Jewish community, with his signature appearing on proclamations of the Jewish community council (). He served as supervisor ("mashgiach") of the Jewish community council (vaad) for two years, and the Chief Rabbi of Warsaw, Rabbi

Szlomo Zalman Lipszyc Szlomo Zalman Lipszyc (1765 Poznań – 1839 Warsaw), also known as Salomon Zalman Pozner as well as the Chemdas Shlomo from the title of the works he authored, was a prominent Orthodox rabbi, and first Chief Rabbi of Warsaw. He studied Torah i ...

would consult with him on public affairs. He supported the

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...

of 1830-1831 against the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

and raised funds for the rebels. He opposed Jews joining the rebel forces because that necessitated that they shave their beards and

payot Sidelocks in English, or ''pe'ot'' in Hebrew, English language, anglicized as payot (, "corners") or payes (), is the Hebrew term for sidelocks or sideburns. Payot are worn by some men and boys in the Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish community ...

, while at the same time he appealed to the rebel leadership to drop that requirement. In opposition to Chief Rabbi Lipszyc, and the leader of Warsaw's

Hassidim Ḥasīd (, "pious", "saintly", "godly man"; plural "Hasidim") is a Jewish honorific, frequently used as a term of exceptional respect in the Talmudic and early medieval periods. It denotes a person who is scrupulous in his observance of Jewish ...

, Rabbi

Yitzchak Meir Alter Yitzchak Meir Rotenberg-Alter (, , ) (1799 – 10 March 1866), was the first Rebbe of the Ger Hasidic dynasty, which he founded in the town of Góra Kalwaria (known as "Ger" in Yiddish), Poland. He headed the Kupath Rabbi Meir Baal Haness K ...

of Ger, he supported the establishment of the Szkoła Rabinów w Warszawie (

Warsaw Rabbinical School Warsaw Rabbinical School (Warszawska Szkoła Rabinów) was a Junior High School for Jewish male youth established in 1826 on the basis of the ukase of the emperor Nicholas of July 1, 1825 and existed until the school year 1860/1861. History Th ...

) in 1826, despite its association with the

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

, relying on its nominal leader, the traditionalist Rabbi Avraham Yaakov Stern, to keep the seminary within the bounds of traditional

Orthodoxy Orthodoxy () is adherence to a purported "correct" or otherwise mainstream- or classically-accepted creed, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical co ...

. However, a few years later withdrew his support, claiming that it did not practice Orthodoxy. He founded a

cheder A ''cheder'' (, lit. 'room'; Yiddish pronunciation: ''khéyder'') is a traditional primary school teaching the basics of Judaism and the Hebrew language. History ''Cheders'' were widely found in Europe before the end of the 18th century. L ...

for the children of the poor and raised funds for the Jewish community In Erez Israel, in particular for Kollel Polin. After the

Galilee earthquake of 1837 The Galilee earthquake of 1837, often called the Safed earthquake, shook the Galilee on January 1 and is one of a number of moderate to large events that have occurred along the Dead Sea Transform fault system that marks the boundary of two tecto ...

, he raised large sums which were clandestinely transferred to hard hit

Safed Safed (), also known as Tzfat (), is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of up to , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel. Safed has been identified with (), a fortif ...

Moses Montefiore Sir Moses Haim Montefiore, 1st Baronet, (24 October 1784 – 28 July 1885) was a British financier and banker, activist, Philanthropy, philanthropist and Sheriffs of the City of London, Sheriff of London. Born to an History ...

Chief Rabbi of Warsaw

Grob Chaima Dawidsohna-Grave of Chaim Dawidsohn

When Chief Rabbi Lipszyc died in 1839, Rabbi Davidsohn proposed Rabbi

David Luria David Luria (1798–1855) was a rabbi, commentator, and linguist, one of the greatest Torah scholars in his generation. He authored commentaries on the Babylonian Talmud and Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer. Biography He was born to a wealthy family in By ...

as his replacement, while the Hassidim advocated for Rabbi Alter. However, the majority of the community council wanted Rabbi Davidsohn, despite his age (about 80 years) and despite not serving previously in a rabbinical position. He initially refused, but eventually accepted the appointment. He moved to the Chief Rabbi's official residence and founded a

Yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; 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 are studied in parallel. The stu ...

. During his tenure,

halachic ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is based on biblical commandments ('' mitz ...

questions from throughout Poland were addressed to him, but, out of modesty, before his passing he burned his rabbinical responsa and

novellae In Roman law, a novel (, "new decree"; ) is a new decree or edict, in other words a new law. The term was used from the fourth century AD onwards and was specifically used for laws issued after the publishing of the ''Codex Theodosianus'' in 438 and ...

to prevent them from being published. He died on the 14th day of

Adar Adar (Hebrew: , ; from Akkadian ''adaru'') is the sixth month of the civil year and the twelfth month of the religious year on the Hebrew calendar, roughly corresponding to the month of March in the Gregorian calendar. It is a month of 29 days. ...

at the age of 94 and was buried in the Jewish cemetery in Warsaw, near the grave of his predecessor, Rabbi Lipszyc. He was succeeded as Chief Rabbi of Warsaw by Rabbi

Dow Ber Meisels Dow (Dov, Dob) Ber (Beer, Berisz, Berush) Meisels (1798 – 17 March 1870) was a Chief Rabbi of Kraków (Cracow) from 1832 and later, Chief Rabbi of Warsaw (from 1856). He was active in the Polish nationalist movement, and was a politician in the ...

Family

His eldest son, Rabbi Avraham Abeli Davidsohn, served as rabbi of Biala and died at an early age. The rest of his sons were merchants and activists in the Jewish community. as well as being scholars. His son Naftali was very wealthy, and served as a

mohel A ( , Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazi pronunciation , plural: , , "circumciser") is a Jewish man trained in the practice of , the "covenant of male circumcision". A woman who is trained in the practice is referred to as a ''mohelet'' (plural: ''mo ...

shofar A shofar ( ; from , ) is an ancient musical horn, typically a ram's horn, used for Jewish ritual purposes. Like the modern bugle, the shofar lacks pitch-altering devices, with all pitch control done by varying the player's embouchure. The ...

blower, and Torah reader in Warsaw. {{DEFAULTSORT:Davidsohn, Chaim 1854 deaths 1760 births 19th-century Polish rabbis Clergy from Warsaw