Gershon Ulif Ashkenazi

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Gerschon Ulif Aschkenasi (born in the second decade of the 17th century; died on March 20, 1693 ) is one of the most famous and most recognized Talmudic legal experts and was the last chief rabbi of the Jewish community on the Unteren Werd in Vienna .

Life

Gershon was probably born in the German-speaking area in the 1620s and moved to Krakow with his family (hence the surname Aschkenasi, since Aschkenas was used to denote Germany). His real last name was Ulif, from Olive. In Krakow he was trained and educated by the famous Talmudist Joel Serkes . He first worked in Moravia, in Prossnitz , probably around 1650, until he received offers for rabbi positions in more prestigious communities.

From 1659 to 1660 he worked in Hanau , from 1661 to 1664 in Nikolsburg , where he took the place of his teacher and father-in-law, Menachem Mendel Krohaben . Ultimately, he worked for five years in Vienna, until he and all Jews in 1670 below the Enns, thus Vienna, were expelled . So he was the last rabbi in the community at Untere Werd in Vienna . Gershon Ashkenazi described the reaction to the eviction order as follows:

“Until now we had no rest; we were surrounded by many sufferings, among which the last surpasses the earlier, for a fate from above met us and we are very shaken; I therefore cannot contain myself; from the annoyance of communicating in writing with prudence. "

After the expulsion he went to Metz , where he stayed until his death on March 20, 1693.

Gershon had four sons, Moische (Moses), Nussn (Nathan), Nuchem (Nahum) and Joel. All four followed in their father's footsteps and became scholars.

Works

Gershon Ashkenazi was an expert on the Talmud, but also dealt with Kabbalistic matters such as Tifferet ha-Gershuni (Tifferet is the sixth Sefira of the Kabbalistic tree of life). He wrote the Sefer Avodas HaGersuhni (Gerschon's service). He had a yeshiva in Vienna. In 1716, after his death, one of his works was published in Frankfurt am Main , Explanations and Commentaries on the Schulchan Aruch .

His students attributed a special personality to him, and he was generally considered charismatic. One of his most famous students was David Oppenheim .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ashkenazi, GERSHON - JewishEncyclopedia.com. Retrieved May 5, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Christoph Lind: History of the Jews in Austria . Studies Verlag, 2015, ISBN 3-8000-7159-2 .
  3. ↑ Awodat HaGerschuni, §1, quoted from Gastfreund, Wiener Rabbinen 63.
personal data
SURNAME Ashkenazi, Gershon Ulif
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ulif Gerschon (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian rabbi
DATE OF BIRTH between 1620 and 1629
PLACE OF BIRTH German-speaking area
DATE OF DEATH March 20, 1693
Place of death Metz