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Solomon Judah Löb HaKohen Rapoport (Template:Lang-he; June 1, 1786 – October 15, 1867) was a Galician rabbi and Jewish scholar. He was born in Lemberg, Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria. He married in 1810 Franziska Freide Heller, the daughter of the well-known Aryeh Leib Heller, and was instrumental in publishing the work Avnei Miluim of his father in law. He wrote both the index, sources and numerous comments.
After various experiences in business, Rapoport became rabbi of Tarnopol (1837) and of Prague (1840). He was one of the founders of the new Wissenschaft des Judentums movement. His chief work was the first part of an (unfinished) encyclopaedia ("Erekh Millin", 1852). Equally notable were his biographies of Saadia Gaon, Nathan ben Jehiel (author of the Arukh), Hai Gaon, Eleazar Kalir, and others.
Thrown upon his own resources about 1817, Rapoport became the collector of the meat-tax on farmers. He had already given evidence of marked critical ability, though his writings previously published were of a light character—poems and translations. His critical talent, however, soon revealed itself. In 1824 he wrote an article for Bikkure ha-'Ittim on the independent Jewish tribes of Arabia and Abyssinia. Though this article gained him some recognition, a more permanent impression was made by his work on Saadia Gaon and his times (published in the same journal in 1829), the first of a series of biographical works on the medieval Jewish sages. Because of this work he received recognition in the scholarly world and gained many enthusiastic friends, especially S. D. Luzzatto.
After the fashion in rabbinic circles, Rapoport was known by an acronym "Shir", formed by the initial letters of his Hebrew name "Sh"elomo "Y"ehuda "R"apoport. Shir literally means "song" in Hebrew.
Leopold Greenwald quotes a letter from Mendel Mahr to Moses Sofer, regarding Sofer's attitude towards Rapoport. Mahr criticized what he felt was an overly moderate stance by Sofer, and mentioned that it was well known in Lemberg that Rapoport had had an affair with a married woman which lasted around two and a half years. However it should be noted that some opponents of Rapoport were known to have started false rumours about him and therefore the fact that one person reports in a letter that 'it was well known' is no evidence at all. Indeed an extensive biography of Rapoport published in 1898 discusses the various criticisms of Rapoport but does not even mention this rumour. Rapoport died in Prague.
Ten Sephirot as vowel sounds
Solomon Judah Löb Rapoport notes that according to the Masoretes there are ten vowel sounds. He suggests that the passage in the Sefer Yetzirah, which discusses the manipulation of letters in the creation of the world, can be better understood if the Sephirot refer to vowel sounds. He posits that the word sephirah in this case is related to the Hebrew word sippur ("to retell"). His position is based on his belief that most Kabbalistic works written after Sefer Yetzirah (including the Zohar) are forgeries.
Footnotes
- Bernfeld, Toledot Shir, p. 33.
- Greenwald, L. (1939). Horeq=2587&st=&pgnum=87 אוצר נחמד - תקופות סערות בחיי הגאון חתם סופר [Otzar Nechmad-Tekufos Saaros Bechayei HaChasam Sofer] (in Hebrew). p. 87.
{{cite book}}: Check|url=value (help) - Bernfeld, Shimon (1898). Toldos Shir.
- Rapoport, S. J. L.; Halberstam, S. J.; Luzzatto, D. L.; Gräber, E. (1985). Igrot Shir: asher herits ha-Rav Shir zal el Rashdal zal mi-shenat 593 ʻad (in Hebrew). Przemishl: S. A. Graber. OCLC 970888218.
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External links
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Rapoport, Samuel Judah Löb". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 22 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 909.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Solomon Judah Löb Rapoport". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.