Shem Mishmuel

"Shem Mishmuel" (שם משמואל) is the name of a nine-volume collection of inspirational essays on the Torah and Jewish holidays delivered by Rabbi Shmuel Bornsztain, the second Sochatchover Rebbe, between the years 1910-1926. [Landau.] A major work in Hasidic thought, it synthesizes the Hasidism of Pshischa and Kotzk in the style of Sochatchov. [Landau.]

Bornsztain became known as the "Shem Mishmuel" after the title of this work, which was published posthumously.

Title and structure

The title comes from Tractate Shabbat 12:3, which describes the prohibition against writing on Shabbat. According to the Gemara, one may not write two letters such as Shin and Mem, these being the first letters of the names Shimon and Shmuel — Shmuel, of course, being the Rebbe's first name. The first eight volumes of "Shem Mishmuel" cover lessons on each of the "parshiot" of the Torah. They are not printed in the order of the "parshiot", but in the order in which the Rebbe delivered these lessons to his followers. The ninth volume deals entirely with the Passover Haggadah.

In addition to displaying a thorough knowledge of Talmud, Midrash and other classic sources, Bornsztain also presents many of the ideas of his father, Rabbi Avrohom Bornsztain, the first Sochatchover Rebbe, who was known as the "Avnei Nezer" after the title of his major work.

Printing history

The volume on the Pesach Haggadah was published first by Bornsztain's son and successor, Rabbi Dovid Bornsztain, in 1927. Rabbi Dovid then published the remaining volumes between 1927 and 1932. In 1950, Rabbi Shmuel's other son, Rabbi Henoch Bornsztein, who had escaped Nazi Europe to Israel, published a second edition of "Shem Mishmuel". [Belovski, introduction.]

References

ources

* [http://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/sochaczew/so628.html Landau, Jerrold (trans.) "The Admor Rabbi Shmuel of Holy Blessed Memory"]
*Belovski, Rabbi Zvi (trans.) (1998). "Shem Mishmuel: Selections on the Weekly Parsha and Festivals". Southfield, MI: Targum Press. ISBN 978-1568711416

External links

* [http://www.torah.org/advanced/shem-meshmuel/ Shem Meshmuel] A synopsis of the teachings of Bornsztain's school of thought