Rabbi Moshe Sofer was born on September 14, 1762 in Frankfort, Germany. He was
a child prodigy and was already an advanced Talmudic scholar at the age of
seven. At the age of twelve, Rabbi Sofer was already a student of Rabbi
Noson Adler, one of the greatest sages of that period.
On May 6, 1787, Rabbi Sofer married Sara Jerwitz and settled in her hometown of
Prossnitz. In 1794, Rabbi Sofer took his first rabbinical position in Dresnitz.
Five years later he became the rabbi of Matesdorf, Hungary. In 1801, the chief
rabbi of Pressburg, Rabbi Meshulam Igra, a giant in a time of great men, passed
away. For five years, the community of Pressburg searched for someone capable
of succeeding this great man. Ultimately, Rabbi Moshe Sofer was invited to take
this prestigious position and, in 1806, Rabbi Sofer became the Chief Rabbi of
Pressburg. He held this position for the rest of his life. While his first few
years in Pressburg were very productive, trouble soon fell upon Rabbi Sofer
and the city of Pressburg. In 1807 there was a great fire which left many Jews
homeless. Then, in 1809, Pressburg was bombarded and invaded by the army of
Napoleon. Life within Pressburg became extremely difficult and the community
suffered terribly. As the leader of the community, it fell upon Rabbi Sofer to
lead relief efforts and, after the invasion ended, the rebuilding of the Jewish
community. Two more fires in the years 1810 and 1811 followed the invasion.
Finally, in 1812, Rabbi Sofer suffered the loss of his wife, Sara. At the age
of 50, Rabbi Sofer was left a childless widower.
Fortunately this situation did not last long. By the end of that year, Rabbi
Sofer had remarried to Saril, the daughter of Rabbi Akiva Eiger. (Rabbi
Eiger was one of the leading rabbis of that time and his name is a household
word amongst knowledgeable Jews to this day.) With Saril, Rabbi Sofer was
ultimately blessed with eleven children. Rabbi Sofer spent the rest of his life
leading his community and teaching Torah to his students. He was accepted as
the leading halachic authority of his time. The only pall on Rabbi Sofer's life
at this time was the constant efforts of those opposed to true Judaism to
lessen the level of religious observance in Pressburg. These efforts resulted,
among other things, in an attempt, thankfully unsuccessful, to have the
government forcibly close down Rabbi Sofer's yeshivah (school). Rabbi Sofer
became one of the leading opponents of these secularists.
Rabbi Sofer passed away in 1839 and was succeeded in Pressburg by his son,
Rabbi Avraham Sofer. After his death, his family published several books of his
collected writings and speeches. These books are standard references in Jewish
studies to this day. Perhaps the most important book was his collected halachik
decisions. This book, titled Chasam Sofer (Seal of the Scribe), was, and is,
very popular. Thus Rabbi Sofer is known today as the Chasam Sofer.
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