Rabbi Raphael ben Jekuthiel Susskind Cohen, in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Rafael ben Jekutiel Süsskind Kohen (

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, 4 November 1722 –

Altona Altona may refer to: Places Australia * Altona Beach, in Altona, Victoria, Australia * Altona Meadows, Victoria, Australia * Altona North, Victoria, Australia * Altona, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia ** Altona railway station ** Al ...

, 11 November 1803), a

kohen Kohen (, ; , ، Arabic كاهن , Kahen) is the Hebrew word for "priest", used in reference to the Aaronic Priest#Judaism, priesthood, also called Aaronites or Aaronides. They are traditionally believed, and halakha, halakhically required, to ...

, was

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 ...

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Wandsbek Wandsbek () is the second-largest of seven Boroughs and quarters of Hamburg#Boroughs, boroughs that make up the city and state of Hamburg, Germany. The name of the district is derived from the river Wandse which passes through here. Hamburg-Wandsb ...

from 1775. He was educated at

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 ...

under Aryeh Löb ben Asher, whose successor as head of the

yeshibah A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish education, 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 par ...

of that town he became in 1742. In 1744 he was called to the rabbinate of Rakov, and in 1747 to that of Vilkomir (a town not far from

Wilna Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

), where he remained till 1757, when he was called as chief rabbi to Minsk. Six years later he became rabbi and head of the yeshibah at

Pinsk Pinsk (; , ; ; ; ) is a city in Brest Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Pinsk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. It is located in the historical region of Polesia, at the confluence of t ...

. In 1771 he went to

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 ...

for the purpose of publishing there his work "''Torat Yekutiel''." The scholars of that city received him with enthusiasm and respect, and offered him the rabbinate, which was then vacant, but for some unknown reason he declined the offer. In 1772 he became rabbi of

Posen Posen may refer to: Places Europe * Poznań (German: ''Posen''), city in Poland * Grand Duchy of Posen, autonomous province of Prussia, 1815–1848 * Province of Posen, Prussian province, 1848–1918 * Posen (region), the south-western part of t ...

, and four years afterwards he was called to take charge of the "Three Communities" (Altona, Hamburg, and Wandsbeck). Jewish Encyclopedia Bibliography: Grätz, Gesch. xi. 540; Lewin, Talpiyyot, p. 8, Berdychev, 1895; Lazarus Riesser, Zeker Ẓaddiḳ, Altona, 1805; Eisenstadt, Rabbane Minsk wa-Ḥakameha, p. 18, Wilna, 1899. For twenty-three years he ministered to these congregations, and then retired from active service, spending the remainder of his life among his former parishioners. How highly his work was esteemed may be inferred from the fact that the King of

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, to whose territory these congregations belonged, upon hearing of Raphael's resignation, sent him a letter in which he expressed his appreciation of the service he had rendered to the Jewish community. Raphael was

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include symphonie ...

's bitterest opponent, and attempted to ban Jewish readers from reading Mendelssohn's ''Biur'' (

Pentateuch 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 () o ...

translation) while it was still in manuscript, but ultimately was unable to oppose translation of the Pentateuch when Mendelssohn arranged for the ruler of Altona,

Christian VII of Denmark Christian VII (29 January 1749 – 13 March 1808) was King of Denmark–Norway, Denmark and Norway and Duke of Duchy of Schleswig, Schleswig and Duchy of Holstein, Holstein from 1766 until his death in 1808. He was affected by mental illness and ...

, to subscribe to a copy. Raphael fought against all modern culture, and on one occasion fined a man for wearing his hair in a cue. Raphael is said to have refused to participate in the

excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in Koinonia, communion with other members o ...

initiated against the

Shneur Zalman of Liadi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, (; September 4, 1745 – December 15, 1812 O.S. / 18 Elul 5505 – 24 Tevet 5573) commonly known as the Alter Rebbe or Baal Hatanya, was a rabbi and the founder and first Rebbe of Chabad, a branch of Hasidic Judaism. He ...

based on his claim that greater challenges face one wishing to initiate punishment than one wishing to initiate blessing. Both Ḥayyim of Volozhin (1749–1821) and his elder brother Simḥah (d. 1812) studied under R. Raphael.

Rabbinic literary works

Raphael, was the author of the following works: # ''Torat Yekutiel'' (Berlin, 1772), novellæ and comments on the Shulḥan 'Aruk,

Yoreh De'ah ''Yoreh De'ah'' () is a section of Rabbi Jacob ben Asher's compilation of halakha (Jewish law), the ''Arba'ah Turim'', written around 1300. This section treats all aspects of Jewish law not pertinent to the Hebrew calendar, finance, torts, marr ...

(to the end of paragraph 106), appended to which are some

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 i ...

. It was against this work that

Saul Berlin Saul Berlin (also Saul Hirschel after his father; 1740 at Glogau – November 16, 1794 in London) was a German people, German Jewish scholar who published a number of works in opposition to rabbinic Judaism. Early life He received his general ...

wrote his "Miẓpeh Yekutiel" (ib. 1789). #
Marpe Lashon
' (ib. 1790), lectures on

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

. #The title is based on . # ''Sha'alat ha-Kohanim Torah'' (Altona, 1792), novellæ and comments on the

Talmudic 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 modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the centerpiece of Jewi ...

treatises Zebaḥim, Menaḥot, 'Arakin, Temurah,

Keritot Keritot is a tractate of the Mishnah and Babylonian Talmud. It is the seventh tractate in the Order of Kodashim. Its name is the plural of the punishment kareth which the Torah specifies for intentional violation of certain sins; unintentional viol ...

Yoma Yoma (Aramaic: יומא, lit. "The Day") is the fifth tractate of '' Seder Moed'' ('Order of Festivals') of the ''Mishnah'' and of the ''Talmud''. It is concerned mainly with the laws of the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur, on which Jews atone for t ...

, and

Me'ilah Me'ilah (; "misuse of property") is a tractate of Seder Kodashim in the Mishnah, Tosefta, and Babylonian Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewi ...

. # ''Zeker Ẓaddiḳ'' (ib. 1805), his last two public lectures.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Raphael 1722 births 1803 deaths 18th-century German rabbis Kohanim writers of Rabbinic literature