Solomon Judah Loeb Rapoport

Solomon Judah Löb Rapoport (June 1, 1790 in Lemberg, Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, Austria – October 16, 1867 in Prague) (Hebrew: שלמה יהודה כהן רפאפורט), was a Galician rabbi and Jewish scholar.

After various experiences in business, Rapoport became successively 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 (Ereklz Millin, 1852). Equally notable were his biographies of Saadia Gaon, Nathan (author of the Arukh), Hai Gaon, Eleazar Kalir and others.

Thrown upon his own resources about 1817, Rapoport became cashier of the meat-tax 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 (Bernfeld, "Toledot Shir", p. 33).

After the fashion in rabbinic circles, Rapoport was known by an acronym "Shir", formed by the initial letters of his Hebrew name Shelomo Yehuda Rapoport.

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 Sefer Yetzirah, which discuss the manipulation of letters in the creation of the world, can be better understood if the Sefirot refer to vowel sounds. He posits that the word sefirah 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. [ cite book
last=Rapoport
first=Solomon Judah Leib
coauthors = Solomon Joachim Halberstam, Samuel David Luzzatto, Eisig Gräber
title=Igrot Shir: asher herits ha-Rav Shir zal el Rashdal zal mi-shenat 593 ʻad ...
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=z_ILAAAAIAAJ&dq=Igrot+Shir&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0
accessyear=2008
accessmonth = March
year=1885
publisher=S.A. Graber
language=Hebrew ]

References

:1911:JewishEncyclopedia
article=Solomon Judah Löb Rapoport
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