View source for Meir Simcha of Dvinsk

{{Short description|Lithuanian rabbi}}
{{use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}
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| birth_date       = {{birth-date|1843}}
| birth_place      = [[Butrimonys]], [[Vilna Governorate]], [[Russian Empire]] (now [[Lithuania]])
| death_date       = {{death date and age|1926|8|14|1843|df=yes}}
| death_place      = [[Riga]], [[Latvia]]
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| father           = Samson Kalonymus
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| occupation       = [[Rabbi]] in [[Daugavpils|Dvinsk]]
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'''Meir Simcha of Dvinsk''' (also known as Meir Simcha Ha-[[Kohen]], 1843 – 14 August 1926) was an [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] rabbi in the [[Russian Empire]] and [[Latvia]]. A leader of the Jewish community in [[Daugavpils]], he is known for his writings on Maimonides' [[Mishneh Torah]], which he titled ''[[Ohr Somayach (book)|Ohr Somayach]]'', as well as his [[Chidush|novellae]] on the [[Torah]], titled ''Meshech Chochma''.

==Early life==
Meir Simcha was born in [[Butrimonys]] ({{langx|yi|Baltrimantz}}), [[Vilna Governorate]], in the [[Russian Empire]] (now [[Lithuania]]) to Samson Kalonymus, a local wealthy merchant. According to family tradition, his later success in [[Torah]] study was attributed to two blessings his parents had received from local rabbis before his birth. He received his education locally, and managed to evade the regular roundups of Jewish boys that were being held as a result of the [[Cantonist]] decrees that had been in effect since 1827. After marrying in 1860, at age 17, he settled in [[Białystok]], [[Grodno Governorate#Grodno Governorate (1840–1870)|Grodno Governorate]] (now [[Poland]]), where his wife opened a business in order to support him while he continued his [[Talmud]]ic studies. 

==Career==
After turning down many rabbinical positions that were offered him during his 27 years in Białystok, Meir Simcha finally relented and accepted the rabbinate of the ''[[mitnagdim]]'' (non-[[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidic]] Jews) in the town of Dvinsk, [[Vitebsk Governorate]] (now [[Daugavpils]], [[Latvia]]). He served in that position for 39 years until his death. His counterpart there was Yosef Rosen, a Hasidic rabbi known as the [[Rogatchover Gaon]]&mdash;or by his work, ''Tzofnath Paneach''. The two had great respect for one another&mdash;despite Rosen's fiery temper&mdash;and on occasion referred questions in [[Halakha|Jewish law]] to each other. They also shared a love for the works of [[Maimonides]].

In 1906, a certain Shlomo Friedlander claimed to have discovered and then published two tractates of the [[Jerusalem Talmud]] that had been considered to have been lost for hundreds of years. Meir Simcha was one of a group of prominent rabbis{{efn|Including the Rogatchover Gaon, the [[Avraham Mordechai Alter|Gerer Rebbe]], [[Moshe Shmuel Glasner]] of Klausenburg, the Dor Revi'i, and Yissachar Dov Ritter of [[Rotterdam]].}} who discovered that the work was a very clever forgery, and denounced it as such.<ref name="OU">{{cite web|url=http://www.ou.org/judaism-101/bios/leaders-in-the-diaspora/rabbi-meir-simcha-hakohen-of-dvinsk/ |title=Rabbi Meir Simcha HaKohen of Dvinsk |date=15 June 2006 |website=[[Orthodox Union]]|access-date=13 September 2024}}</ref>

In Dvinsk, he received supplicants from the entire region, and was frequently consulted on issues affecting the community at large, including [[Poland]] and [[Lithuania]]. He reportedly turned down offers for the rabbinate in various large cities, including [[Jerusalem]],<ref name="OU"/> [[New York City]] and [[Kaunas|Kovno]].

==Opinions==
Meir Simcha opposed the non-religious [[Zionism|Zionist]] groups,<ref name="Sacks1991">{{cite book|author=Jonathan Sacks|authorlink=Jonathan Sacks|title=Arguments for the Sake of Heaven: Emerging Trends in Traditional Judaism|year=1991|publisher=J. Aronson|isbn=978-0-87668-783-3|page=174|quote=Meir Simcha ha-Cohen of Dvinsk (the Ohr Sameach, 1843-1926) spoke of the 'conspiracy' of Herzl and Nordau and their 'abominable movement.'}}</ref><ref name="Sacks1992">{{cite book|author=Jonathan Sacks|authorlink=Jonathan Sacks|title=Crisis and Covenant: Jewish Thought After the Holocaust|year=1992|publisher=Manchester University Press|isbn=978-0-7190-4203-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/crisiscovenantje00sack/page/66 66]|quote=Rabbi Meir Simcha ha-Cohen of Dvinsk declared that 'the Zionist vision is driving Israel to destruction, Heaven forbid'.|url=https://archive.org/details/crisiscovenantje00sack/page/66}}</ref> but expressed his approval of [[Religious Zionism]].<ref>Sare HaMeah, Vo1.6, pp.233-234</ref> After the [[Balfour Declaration]], he was of the opinion that the [[Three Oaths]] were no longer in effect.<ref>HaTekufah HaGedolah, Pg.174</ref> He was present at the founding meetings of [[Agudath Yisrael]] in the German town of [[Bad Homburg]], but could not attend the first large conference in [[Katowice]] due to poor health. He had several clashes with some of his contemporaries, including [[Yisrael Meir Kagan]] (the Chafetz Chaim) on political issues and questions of Jewish law.

It is harder to determine his exact stance in philosophical matters, although much can be gleaned from his ''Meshech Chochma''.{{efn|{{literal translation|The Price of Wisdom}}; ''MeSheKh'' is an acronym for Meir Simcha Kohen&mdash;the phrase is derived from [[Book of Job|Job]] 28:18.}} His main contribution to [[Jewish philosophy]] was to be posthumous. His student [[Mendel Zaks|Menachem Mendel Zaks]] published ''Meshech Chochma'', which contains novellae on the [[Torah]], but very often branches off into questions of Jewish philosophy. Meir Simcha is often quoted as having predicted [[the Holocaust]] in a statement in this work: "They think that Berlin is Jerusalem ... from there will come the storm winds that will uproot them".<ref>Comments on Leviticus 26:44</ref>

==Personal life and death==
Meir Simcha had one daughter with mental issues who predeceased him. He mentions a son-in-law, Avraham (Luftvir), in his book ''Meshech Chochma''.<ref>{{cite wikisource|משך חכמה/ספר שמות/פרשת בא|Meir Simcha of Dvinsk|he}} ''Meshech Chochma'', [[Bo (parashah)|Bo]] 12:44: "... as my son-in-law Avraham, he should live and be well, explained ..."</ref> The couple died young and are buried in [[Warsaw]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://jsoundbites.podbean.com/e/scholar-statesman-rav-meir-simcha-and-the-1910-conference-in-st-petersburg/|title = Scholar & Statesman: Rav Meir Simcha and the 1910 Conference in St. Petersburg}}</ref> Meir Simcha died in a hotel in [[Riga]] while seeking medical treatment. He left no living descendants. As a result of this, one of his most prominent students and close friend Yisrael Avraham Abba Krieger committed himself to carrying on his legacy.

==Works==
Meir Simcha authored ''Ohr Somayach'' (or ''Ohr Sameiach''; {{literal translation|joyful light}}),{{efn|A play on his name, possibly derived from [[Book of Proverbs|Proverbs]] 13:9.}} a collection of novellae on Maimonides' [[Mishneh Torah]]. His approach is highly original, gathering material from the breadth of Jewish religious literature to approach difficult contradictions in Maimonides' main work of Jewish law. It was published during his lifetime and immediately became popular. Other works, novellae on the [[Talmud]] and [[responsa]], did not have the same impact but are still used for reference.

*''[[Ohr Somayach (book)|Ohr Somayach]]'' on [[Maimonides]]' Mishneh Torah.
*''Ohr Somayach'' on Talmudic tractates ''[[Bava Kamma]]'' and ''[[Bava Metzia]]''.
*''Ohr Somayach'' novellae on the Talmud.
*''Ohr Somayach'' responsa addressing many practical issues of [[halacha]].
*''Meshech Chochma'' on [[Chumash (Judaism)|Chumash]].
*Various treatises on parts of the [[Jerusalem Talmud]].
*Comments and insights on the ''[[Sefer ha-Chinuch]]''.

==Ohr Somayach yeshivas==
In the late 1970s, several [[baal teshuva]] [[yeshiva]]s under [[Haredi Judaism|Haredi]] auspices were founded and chose to honor the memory of Meir Simcha of Dvinsk by naming their institutions after his [[pen name]] "Ohr Somayach". The first of these was the yeshiva [[Ohr Somayach, Jerusalem]] in Israel, and another was [[Ohr Somayach, Monsey]] in the United States. Other branches were established in [[Toronto]] and [[Montreal]] in Canada, and in [[Detroit]], [[Los Angeles]], and [[Philadelphia]]. Other branches worldwide bearing the name ''Ohr Somayach'' are [[Ohr Somayach, South Africa]], and those in [[London]] in the United Kingdom, [[Kiev]] in Ukraine, and [[Sydney]] in Australia.

==Notes==
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==References==
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==Further reading==
* {{cite book|last1=Rapoport|first1=Yaakov M.|title=The light from Dvinsk : Rav Meir Simcha, the Ohr Somayach|date=1990|publisher=Targum Press|location=Southfield, Mich.|isbn=0944070566}}

{{Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah}}{{Acharonim}}{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simcha, Meir}}
[[Category:1843 births]]
[[Category:1926 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century rabbis from the Russian Empire]]
[[Category:20th-century Lithuanian rabbis]]
[[Category:20th-century Russian rabbis]]
[[Category:Bible commentators]]
[[Category:Haredi rabbis in Europe]]
[[Category:Kohanim writers of Rabbinic literature]]
[[Category:Lithuanian Haredi rabbis]]
[[Category:Writers from Daugavpils]]