Rabbi Dr. Yaakov (also Jacob) Avigdor (March 20, 1896–March 30, 1967) was a Polish-Mexican

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 of t ...

, author and

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

survivor. Prior to the Holocaust he served as

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 ...

Drohobych Drohobych ( ; ; ) is a city in the south of Lviv Oblast, Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Drohobych Raion and hosts the administration of Drohobych urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. In 1939–1941 and 1944–1959 it w ...

- Boryslav in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, and after the war, as rabbi of the

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

community in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Life

Jacob Avigdor was born into a rabbinic family in Tyrawa Wołoska, a

shtetl or ( ; , ; Grammatical number#Overview, pl. ''shtetelekh'') is a Yiddish term for small towns with predominantly Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi Jewish populations which Eastern European Jewry, existed in Eastern Europe before the Holocaust. The t ...

in the Austrian province of Galicia between the cities of Sanok and

Przemyśl Przemyśl () is a city in southeastern Poland with 56,466 inhabitants, as of December 2023. Data for territorial unit 1862000. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Subcarpathian Voivodeship. It was previously the capital of Prz ...

(now southeast Poland) in 1896. He excelled in religious studies, and being considered a prodigy, was ordained at the young age of 16 years. Later he studied at the universities in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

and

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

, obtaining a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

Philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

. Acquiring a high reputation as an orator and Talmudist, he was named Chief Rabbi of Drohobych and Boryslav, then in southeast Poland (now western

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

) in 1920 (age 24), where he officiated until the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

occupation. Being District Rabbi of about 80 surrounding villages, he also served as head ("Av") of the Beth din. He officiated at the wedding of future

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Menachem Begin Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'', ; (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of both Herut and Likud and the prime minister of Israel. Before the creation of the state of Isra ...

and Aliza Arnold in May of 1939 which took place at the Eden Hotel in Truskavets, Poland, which was a summer resort near Drohobych. During the

, he lost his wife, his two daughters and his brother David the Rabbi of Andrychów, among many family members. After his liberation from the

Buchenwald concentration camp Buchenwald (; 'beech forest') was a German Nazi concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimar, Nazi Germany, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within the Altreich (pre-1938 ...

, Avigdor became extremely active in the efforts of rescue and rehabilitation of Jewish refugees in postwar Europe. After immigrating to the U.S. in 1946, he accepted a pulpit in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York, and six years later he was offered the rabbinate of Mexico, holding that position until his death in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

in 1967. Rabbi Dr. Avigdor was much consulted on

religious Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural ...

and

ethical Ethics is the philosophical study of moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches include normative ethics, applied e ...

questions by worldwide peers. A prolific writer, his topics included religious philosophy, Jewish history and

tradition A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common e ...

s, and commentary on

Biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

text. Most of his prewar works were lost. In Mexico, he became a regular contributor to

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

periodicals, and published books in that language,

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 ...

and Spanish. The Holocaust Museum at

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...

holds a Hebrew calendar written by him from memory during his stay at Buchenwald (to view it, see below External Links).

Reuniting with son Isaac

Rabbi Avigdor's son, Rabbi , also survived the war (at

Mauthausen concentration camp Mauthausen was a German Nazi concentration camp on a hill above the market town of Mauthausen, Upper Austria, Mauthausen (roughly east of Linz), Upper Austria. It was the main camp of a group with List of subcamps of Mauthausen, nearly 100 f ...

). He had seen the death of a man, and not long after the war, at a DP camp in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, he wrote a document for his widow as witness. As she relocated to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and wanted to remarry, the senior Rabbi Jacob Avigdor, at the time head of the Jewish court in postwar Bergen-Belsen, needed proof that the woman's husband had died. She gave Rabbi Jacob the formal document written by Rabbi Isaac. This is how the father found out the son was still alive, allowing them to reunite, many months after the war. Rabbi Isaac included this story in a book about his father's life, ''Faith After the Flames: The Life of Rabbi Dr. Yaakov Avigdor'' and details are included in a published book review. The story of the father, the son, and the widow is also told by Holocaust writer Esther Farbstein in her ''Hidden in Thunder: Perspective on Faith, Halachah and Leadership, volume 1'' Rabbi Isaac C. Avigdor (1920-2010), son of Rabbi Jacob Avigdor, became a community rabbi in Connecticut "for a half century", and for decades a columnist in The Jewish Press.

Works

*Nauka Talmudu -1928 (Polish, with subsequent Hebrew and German editions, three volumes) *Chelek Yacov - 1929 (Hebrew) *Metafizyka Judaismu -1931 (Polish, Doctorate Thesis, Lviv University) *Haemunah V'haphilosophia‡ -1933 (Polish) *Sheelot Utshuvot Abir Yacov -1934 (Hebrew, two volumes) *Harambam V'shitato B'philosophia‡ -1935 (Polish) *Ayeh Sofer -1937 (Hebrew) *Torat Halashon -1938 (Hebrew) *Sheelot Utshuvot Heshiv Yacov -1939 (Hebrew) *Al Hashchitah‡ - 1939 (Polish) *Techiyat Yacov -1950 (Hebrew) *La Cronología Judaica -1954 (Spanish) *Maimónides, su Vida y Obra -1955 (Spanish) *Kuntres Kol Yacov -1956 (Hebrew) *Shevichtav V'sheval Peh (In Shrift Un Vort) - 1957 (Yiddish, volumes I and II) and 1958 (Yiddish, volume III) *La Vision del Judaismo -1959 (Spanish, two volumes) *Machshoveh V'loshn (Gedank Un Shprach) -1959 (Yiddish) *Reflexiones Sobre la Torá -1960 (Spanish) *Dee Yiddishe Froy/La Mujer Judía - 1960 (Yiddish and Spanish) * helek Yacov Aleph - 1961 reprint of Chelek Yacov * helek Yacov Bet - 1961 reprint of Ayeh Sofer and Techiyat Yacov *Hegyon Yacov -1962 (Yiddish, two volumes) *Torah Sh’veal Peh -1962 (Yiddish, volume I) and 1963 (Yiddish, volume II) *Haskel V'yadoa -1962 (Hebrew, volumes I and II) and 1963 (Hebrew, volume III) *Der Yiddisher Shabos/El Sabado Judío -1963 (Yiddish and Spanish) *Haemuna Hanotzrit L'or Hahalacha Hayehudit -1964 (Hebrew) *Oifzatzn Un Esayen -1965 (Yiddish) *Mikdash Me'at -1965 (Hebrew) *Mul Baayot Hador -1965 (Hebrew, volume I) and 1966 (Hebrew, volume II) *Síntesis del Talmud: Exposición de su Desarrollo Histórico -1966 (Spanish, two volumes) (‡ Hebrew translation of the Polish title per biographical sources in the Hebrew language; original Polish title unknown)

References

5. Avigdor, Jacob. Sheelot Utshuvot Abir Yacov. (Autobiographical essay as preface). Reprint of 1934 edition. New York, 1949. ''.'' 6. Farbstein, Esther. The Forgotten Memoirs. Shaar Press, New York, 2011. 7. Gelber, N.M. Sefer Zikaron L'Drohobych, Boryslaw V'ha-seviva. Tel-Aviv, 1959. ''.'' 8. Wunder, Meir. Meore Galitsyah: Entsiklopedyah L'chachme Galitsyah, Machon L'hantsachat Yehadut Galitsyah, Jerusalem, 1978. ''.''

External links

Hebrew Calendar written by Rabbi Avigdor in Buchenwald
Yad Vashem website.

(Avigdor is mentioned in the fifth paragraph).

(Avigdor is mentioned in last two paragraphs).

(Avigdor's picture is shown on Plate VIII, third photograph).
"Faith After the Flames: The Story of Rabbi Dr. Yaakov Avigdor,"
(Book Review). {{DEFAULTSORT:Avigdor, Jacob Chief rabbis of Mexico 20th-century Polish rabbis 1896 births 1967 deaths Buchenwald concentration camp survivors Jagiellonian University alumni Mexican Ashkenazi Jews Polish emigrants to the United States University of Lviv alumni People from Sanok County 20th-century American rabbis 20th-century Mexican rabbis