Rabbi Simcha Binem Lieberman (29 December 1926 – 28 June 2009) was an Israeli

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) 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 cen ...

ic scholar, lecturer at

Jews' College, London The London School of Jewish Studies (commonly known as LSJS, originally founded as Jews' College) is a London-based organisation providing adult educational courses and training to the wider Jewish community. Since 2012 LSJS also offers rabbinic ...

, and a prolific writer. He was one of the last survivors of the

Warsaw Ghetto The Warsaw Ghetto (german: Warschauer Ghetto, officially , "Jewish Residential District in Warsaw"; pl, getto warszawskie) was the largest of the Nazi ghettos during World War II and the Holocaust. It was established in November 1940 by the N ...

Poland

Simcha Binem was born in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is official ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

on 29 December 1926 (24 Teveth 5687 in the

Hebrew calendar The Hebrew calendar ( he, הַלּוּחַ הָעִבְרִי, translit=HaLuah HaIvri), also called the Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today for Jewish religious observance, and as an official calendar of the state of Israel. I ...

) to his father Rabbi Brachya Lieberman, a notable

Amshinov Amshinov ( Yiddish: אמשינאוו) is a Polish Hasidic dynasty originating from the town of Mszczonów, Poland, where it was founded by Yaakov Dovid Kalish, the son of Israel Yitzhak Kalish. Amshinov is a branch of Warka Hasidism, which in p ...

hasid. He received the traditional education in chasidic families, steeped in the study of the Talmud and its commentators. This ended abruptly in 1939 with the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...

invasion of Poland.Times obituary
/ref> With the enclosure of Warsaw Jewry in a confined

ghetto A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished ...

, his education continued along with the fight for survival entailed in ghetto life. When the bulk of the ghetto population was sent to the

Treblinka extermination camp Treblinka () was an extermination camp, built and operated by Nazi Germany in Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), occupied Poland during World War II. It was in a forest north-east of Warsaw, south of the Treblinka, Masovian Voivodeship, vi ...

, Simcha, as an able-bodied teenager, was transferred to

Majdanek Majdanek (or Lublin) was a Nazi concentration and extermination camp built and operated by the SS on the outskirts of the city of Lublin during the German occupation of Poland in World War II. It had seven gas chambers, two wooden gallows, a ...

, where he worked as a slave labourer. He was tortured brutally on account of his involvement in numerous acts of sabotage. Ultimately he was imprisoned in seven concentration camps including

Dachau , , commandant = List of commandants , known for = , location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany , built by = Germany , operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) , original use = Political prison , construction ...

''Hamodia'' (British edition), 29 July 2009, Community News and

Theresienstadt Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ( German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served as a waystation to the extermination camp ...

England

In 1945 he was rescued by Rabbi Dr.

Solomon Schonfeld Rabbi Solomon Schonfeld (21 February 1912 – 6 February 1984) was a British Rabbi who was honoured as a British Hero of the Holocaust for saving the lives of thousands of Jews. Early life and career Schonfeld was the second son of Rabbi Av ...

, Director of the Chief Rabbi's Emergency Council, and brought to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. He returned to his studies and eventually became a Fellow of

Gateshead Kollel Gateshead Talmudical College ( he, ישיבת בית יוסף גייטסהעד), popularly known as Gateshead Yeshiva, is located in the Bensham area of Gateshead in North East England. It is the largest yeshiva in Europe and considered to be one ...

. He married Chava Sosha, a survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp. In 1960 he was appointed head of the Hendon

Kolel A kollel ( he, כולל, , , a "gathering" or "collection" f scholars is an institute for full-time, advanced study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features shiurim (lectures) and learning ''sedarim'' (sessions); u ...

. In 1971 he was appointed to the faculty of

as a lecturer in Talmud and Codes, a post he held until 1984, when he was 'made redundant' by the then Principal of the college,

Jonathan Sacks Jonathan Henry Sacks, Baron Sacks ( he, יונתן הנרי זקס, translit=Yona'tan Henry Zaks; 8 March 19487 November 2020) was an English Orthodox rabbi, philosopher, theologian, and author. Sacks served as the Chief Rabbi of the United ...

(now Chief Rabbi of Great Britain). He then used his vast Talmudic knowledge to start writing a series of volumes titled ''Bishvilei Oraiso'' (in the paths of the Torah) and delivering public lectures on the fruits of his research.

Israel

In 1992 Rabbi Simcha emigrated from England and settled in the Har Canaan district of

Tzfat Safed (known in Hebrew as Tzfat; Sephardic Hebrew & Modern Hebrew: צְפַת ''Tsfat'', Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Tzfas'', Biblical Hebrew: ''Ṣǝp̄aṯ''; ar, صفد, ''Ṣafad''), is a city in the Northern District of Israel. Located at an elev ...

, a mountain-top city in the

Galilee Galilee (; he, הַגָּלִיל, hagGālīl; ar, الجليل, al-jalīl) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Galilee traditionally refers to the mountainous part, divided into Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and Lower Gali ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. He established an institute for the publication of his writings, eventually publishing 20 volumes in the ''Bishvilei Oraiso'' series. His wife Chava predeceased him. He died on 28 June 2009, aged 79, leaving 11 children.

Publications

* ''Bishvilei haShechito'' * ''Bishvilei haMoed'' * ''Bishvilei haShviso'' * ''Bishvilei haMikdosh'' * ''Bishvilei haShabbos'' * ''Bishvilei ha’Avodah''. Tzefas 1998

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lieberman, Simcha 1926 births 2009 deaths 20th-century English rabbis Academics of the London School of Jewish Studies Hebrew-language writers Ger (Hasidic dynasty) Polish emigrants to the United Kingdom English emigrants to Israel English Orthodox rabbis Hasidic rabbis in Europe Israeli Hasidic rabbis Rabbis in Safed Warsaw Ghetto inmates Dachau concentration camp survivors Majdanek concentration camp survivors Theresienstadt Ghetto survivors