Moses Löb Bloch (15 February 1815 – 6 August 1909) was a Hungarian rabbi and rector at the
Rabbinical Seminary of Budapest
The Budapest University of Jewish Studies ( hu, Országos Rabbiképző – Zsidó Egyetem, or Országos Rabbiképző Intézet / ''Jewish Theological Seminary – University of Jewish Studies'' / german: Landesrabbinerschule in Budapest) is a univ ...
.
Life
After studying under
Philipp Kohner, a pupil of
Ezekiel Landau
Yechezkel ben Yehuda HaLevi Landau (8 October 1713 – 29 April 1793) was an influential authority in halakha (Jewish law). He is best known for the work ''Noda Biyhudah'' (נודע ביהודה), by which title he is also known.
Biography
Lan ...
, district rabbi of
Pilsen
Pilsen may refer to:
Places
* Plzeň, Czech Republic, known in German and English as Pilsen
**Pilsen Plaza, shopping mall and entertainment center in Plzeň
*Pilsen, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
**Pilsen Historic District in the Chicago community area ...
, Bloch was entrusted to the care of his uncle,
Wolf Löw, author of the ''Sha'are Torah''. Löw, who guided the boy's studies for seven years (1827–34) in his house at
Gross-Tapolcsány (Hungary), is often quoted in his nephew's lectures.
On graduating from the gymnasium at Pilsen, he went in 1840 to the
University of Prague, and was appointed a rabbi at Wotitz in 1841, when he married Anna Weishut (died 1886). He was called as rabbi to
Hermanmiestec, Bohemia, in 1852, and to
Leipnik,
Moravia
Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.
Th ...
, in 1856, where he remained until October 1877. In that year he was called as professor and rector to the Rabbinical Seminary at Budapest.
Works
Bloch published the following works: (1) "Sha'are Torat ha-Tekanot" ("Die Institutionen des Judenthums nach der in den Quellen Angegebenen Geschichtlichen Reihenfolge Geordnet und Entwickelt"), 4 vols., Vienna and Cracow, 1879–1902, 3 vols., Budapest, 1902; (2) 11 Das Mosaisch-Talmudische Polizeirecht" (special print from the "Annual Report" of the Rabbinical Seminary), Budapest, 1879; (3) "Die Ethik in der Halacha" (also in Hungarian; appeared in the "Annual Report" of the Seminary for 1885), Leipsic, 1886; (4) "Das Mosaisch-Talmudische Erbrecht" (in the "Annual Report" for 1889); (5) "Sefer Sha'are Teshubot Maharam" ("Die Bisher Unedirten Responsa des R. Meïr von Rothenburg"), Berlin, 1891 ("
Mekiẓe Nirdamim
Mekitze Nirdamim ( he, מְקִיצֵי נִרְדָּמִים, ''Meḳitse nirdamim'', "Rousers of Those Who Slumber") is a literary society dedicated to the retrieval, preservation, and publication of medieval Hebrew texts. It was first esta ...
" publications); (6) "Der Vertrag nach Mosaisch-Talmudischem Rechte" (from the "Annual Report" for 1893), Budapest, 1893; (7) "Das Mosaisch-Talmudische Besitzrecht" (from the "Annual Report" for 1897).
The works published in the reports of the Landes-Rabbinerschule (National Rabbinical School) have all appeared also in the Hungarian language.
Family
He was born a Czech-Jewish family. Among his ancestors were Isaac, rabbi at Cracow; the grandson of the latter,
Phinehas Selig
According to the Hebrew Bible, Phinehas or Phineas (; , ''Phinees'', ) was a Kohen, priest during the Israelites’ The Exodus, Exodus journey. The grandson of Aaron and son of Eleazar, the High Priests (), he distinguished himself as a youth ...
, author of the "'Aṭeret Paz"; and the latter's son,
Aryeh Löw
Aryeh ( fa, اريه) is a village in Firuzeh Rural District, in the Central District of Firuzeh County, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located ...
, a well-known Talmudist, who was the father of
Eleazar Löw
Eleazar (; ) or Elʽazar was a priest in the Hebrew Bible, the second High Priest, succeeding his father Aaron after he died. He was a nephew of Moses.
Biblical narrative
Eleazar played a number of roles during the course of the Exodus, from cr ...
, the author of "Shemen Roḳeaḥ." He later immigrated to
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, Croa ...
.
References
Further reading
* Block Mózes, Rabbi (Festschrift zu Ehren SR. Ehrwürden des Herrn Rabbiners Moses Bloch Anlässlich Seines 80. Geburtstages), edited by the professors of the Rabbinical Seminary, 1895.
Source
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bloch, Moses
1815 births
1909 deaths
People from Poběžovice
People from the Kingdom of Bohemia
Czech Orthodox rabbis
19th-century Hungarian rabbis
Hungarian people of Czech-Jewish descent