Rabbi Shimshon Dovid Pincus (; August 1944 – April 12, 2001) was an Israeli

Haredi Haredi Judaism (, ) is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that is characterized by its strict interpretation of religious sources and its accepted (Jewish law) and traditions, in opposition to more accommodating values and practices. Its members are ...

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 ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

origin, who served in

Ofakim Ofakim () is a city in the Southern District (Israel), Southern District of Israel, 20 kilometers (12.4 mi) west of Beersheba. It achieved municipal status in 1955. It has an area of 10,000 dunams (~3.9 sq mi; 10 km2). In , it had a populatio ...

Biography

In his early years, Rabbi Pincus learned in Beth Hatalmud Rabbinical College

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 ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

under Rabbi

Aryeh Leib Malin Aryeh Leib Malin (1906–1962) was a Polish-born American Haredi Haredi Judaism (, ) is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that is characterized by its strict interpretation of religious sources and its accepted (Jewish law) and traditions, ...

. Afterwards, he made ''

aliyah ''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine (region), Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the Israel ...

'' to

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 ...

to learn in

Brisk yeshiva The Soloveitchik dynasty of rabbinic scholars and their students originated the Brisker method of Talmudic study, which is embraced by their followers in the Brisk yeshivas. It is so called because of the Soloveitchiks' origin in the town of Br ...

under Rabbi

Berel Soloveitchik Berel (Yosef Dov) Soloveichik (; 1915–1981) was a rabbi and the son of Rabbi Yitzchak Zev Soloveichik and one of the leading Rosh Yeshivas ("heads of the yeshiva") of the Brisk yeshivas in Jerusalem. He was a first cousin to Rabbi Joseph B. ...

, the son of the

Brisker Rav The Soloveitchik dynasty of rabbinic scholars and their students originated the Brisker method of Talmudic study, which is embraced by their followers in the Brisk yeshivas. It is so called because of the Soloveitchiks' origin in the town of Bri ...

. After his marriage, he lived in

Bnei Brak Bnei Brak ( ) or Bene Beraq, is a city located on the central Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean Israeli coastal plain, coastal plain in Israel, just east of Tel Aviv. A center of Haredi Judaism, Bnei Brak covers an area of 709 hectares (1,752 acre ...

and then in the

Negev The Negev ( ; ) or Naqab (), is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southern end is the Gulf of Aqaba and the resort town, resort city ...

. At this time, he was the

Mashgiach A mashgiach (, "supervisor"; , ''mashgichim'') or mashgicha (pl. ''mashgichot'') is a Jew who supervises the kashrut status of a kosher establishment. Mashgichim may supervise any type of food service establishment, including slaughterhouses ...

of the yeshiva in Ofakim. Afterwards, he became the

Rosh Yeshiva Rosh yeshiva or Rosh Hayeshiva (, plural, pl. , '; Anglicized pl. ''rosh yeshivas'') is the title given to the dean of a yeshiva, a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and th ...

Yeruham Yeruham () is a local council (Israel), town in the Southern District (Israel), Southern District of Israel, in the Negev desert. It covers , and had a population of in . It is named after the Hebrew Bible, Biblical Jeroham. Until early 2011 th ...

. At the request of Rabbi

Elazar Shach Elazar Menachem Man Shach (, Elazar Shach; January 1, 1899 O.S. – November 2, 2001) was a Haredi rabbi who headed Lithuanian Orthodox Jews in Israel and around the world from the early 1970s until his death. He served as chair of the Counc ...

and Rabbi

Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky (), known as The Steipler or The Steipler Gaon (1899 – 10 August 1985), was a Haredi rabbi, Talmudic scholar, and ''posek'' (decider of Jewish law in new situations), and the author of ''Kehilos Yaakov'', a 19-volume c ...

, Rabbi Pincus accepted the position of

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 Ofakim, where he served for over twenty years. Rabbi Pincus also delivered sermons throughout Israel, America, and South Africa. He used to visit Chile with his parents to strengthen the Kehilah in Torah and Mussar. Rabbi Pincus and his wife, Chaya had 12 children. His wife administered the religious high school "Neve Yocheved" for girls in Ofakim. In 2001, at the age of 56, Rabbi Pincus was killed in a

car accident A traffic collision, also known as a motor vehicle collision, or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. T ...

, along with his wife and 18-year-old daughter, Miriam. They are buried in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

Audio Lectures

Click here to download MP3 shiurim by Rabbi Shimshon Dovid Pincus

Works

Pincus was renowned as an expert in

exegetical Exegesis ( ; from the Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretations ...

understandings of

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 () ...

passages. Many people attended his lectures which were recorded on

cassette tape The Compact Cassette, also commonly called a cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog audio, analog magnetic tape recording format for Sound recording and reproduction, audio recording and playback. Invented by L ...

, many of which were later transcribed and published after Rabbi Pincus' death. Among his books* are: '*'These are translations of books that he wrote in Hebrew.

References

External links

Avraham Eliezer Sofer, Our Rabbis in the South, Biography, Toldot Shimshon - Facts and Leadership of Rabbi Shimshon David Pincus, Part I, Toldot Chaim - Part II Facts and Leadership about Rabbi Chaim HaCohen Kamil, Adar 2 5688, published by the Jerusalem Book Fair 56 "H
1944 births 2001 deaths American Haredi rabbis Haredi rabbis in Israel Road incident deaths in Israel 20th-century American rabbis Burials at Har HaMenuchot {{Israel-rabbi-stub