- Shlomo Ganzfried
Rabbi Shlomo Ganzfried (Solomon ben Joseph Ganzfried;
Hungary , 1804 to 1886) was an Orthodoxrabbi andposek best known as author of the work ofHalakha (Jewish law), the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch (Hebrew: קיצור שולחן ערוך, "The AbbreviatedShulchan Aruch "), by which title he is also known.Biography
Ganzfried was born in
Uzhhorod (Ungvar) in theCarpathia n region of theHabsburg Empire (nowUkraine ). His father Joseph died when he was eight. Ganzfried was considered to be a child prodigy and Ungvar's chief rabbi andRosh yeshiva , RabbiZvi Hirsh Heller assumed legal guardianship; Heller was known as "Hershele" the Sharp-witted" for his piercing insights into theTalmud . Heller later moved to the city of Bonyhád, and Ganzfried, then fifteen, followed him. He remained in Heller'syeshiva for almost a decade until his ordination and marriage. After his marriage he worked briefly as a wine-merchant.In 1843 he abandoned commerce and accepted the position of rabbi of
Brezevitz [http://data.jewishgen.org/wconnect/wc.dll?jg~jgsys~shtetlexp5] . In 1849, he returned to Ungvar as adayan , a judge in the religious court.At that time Ungvar's spiritual head, Rabbi Meir Ash, was active in the Orthodox camp, in opposition to the Neologs. Through serving with Ash, Ganzfried realised that in order to remain committed to Orthodoxy, "the average Jew required an underpinning of a knowledge of practical
halakha (Jewish law)". It was to this end that Ganzfried composed the "Kitzur Shulchan Aruch"; it is not polemical in nature and was clearly intended to inform, rather than to argue.Works
"Kitzur Shulchan Aruch"
The "Kitzur Shulchan Aruch" in effect summarises the
Shulchan Aruch ofJoseph Karo with reference to all subsequent commentaries and incorporating Jewish Hungarian customs up to the 19th century. The title page of the first edition is instructive, " [the book] is written for God-fearing Jews who are not in a position to study and comprehend the (original full) "Shulchan Aruch" and its commentaries, and is composed in a Hebrew that can be easily understood." The "Kitzur" states what is permitted and what forbidden without ambiguity.To determine a ruling, Ganzfried based his decisions on three halakhic authorities: Rabbi
Jacob of Lissa ; RabbiShneur Zalman of Liadi, the firstrebbe ofChabad Lubavitch , author of the "Shulchan Aruch HaRav "; and RabbiAbraham Danzig , author of "Chayei Adam " and "Chochmat Adam ". In cases of disagreement he adopted the majority view. This closely mirrors the method Karo used in composing his "Shulchan Aruch"; his three main decisors were RabbiIsaac Alfasi ,Maimonides and RabbiAsher ben Jehiel .This work was explicitly written as a popular text and as such does not include all the details of the "Shulchan Aruch" itself, while generally following its structure. It became immensely popular after its publication due to its simplicity. It is still popular within
Orthodox Judaism , as a framework for study, if not always for practice. Today, thousands participate in the "Kitzur Yomi" ("daily Kitzur") study program.Because of this popularity it is often printed with cross-references to other works of "halakha", especially the "
Shulchan Aruch HaRav " and the "Mishnah Berurah "; one popular edition also contains notes by former Chief RabbiMordechai Eliyahu cross-referring to leading Sephardi authorities. Many editions include as an appendix the laws pertaining to theLand of Israel by theChazon Ish (Rabbi Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz). A recent commentary is "Shearim Metzuyanim be-Halakhah", by Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Braun, which examines contemporary problems in the light of the work. Ganzfried himself, however, stated that there should be no commentaries on his work, since its point, as indicated by its title, was that it should remain "short" - and that such commentaries should be appended to theShulchan Aruch itself, rather than to the "Kitzur".The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch was later faithfully translated into English by
Hyman E. Goldin , published in 1961, with an attempt to eliminate errors and improve upon previous translations, making it "more comprehensible to scholar and layman alike." [Goldin, Hyman E. "Kitzur Shulchan Aruch - Code of Jewish Law", Forward to the New Edition. (New York: Hebrew Publishing Company, 1961)]Other works
*"Kesses HaSofer", a halachic primer for scribes published in 1835. Ganzfried composed this while he was still engaged in business.
*"Pnei Shlomo", an elucidation of portions of the Talmud.
*"Toras Zevach", a halakhic handbook for practitioners ofshechita , ritual slaughter.
*"Sefer Apiryon", a commentary on the Bible.
*"Lechem V'simlah" on the laws ofNiddah
*"Ohalei Sheim"
*"Sheim Yosef"See also
* Similar works:
**Chayei Adam andChochmat Adam by Avraham Danzig (Poland, 1748-1820) similarAshkenazi works.
**Ben Ish Chai byYosef Chaim (Baghdad, 1832 - 1909) a similarSephardi work.
** "Kitzur Shulchan Aruch", a similarSephardi work by RabbiRaphael Baruch Toledano .
** "Kitzur Shulchan Aruch Mekor Hayyim", a similarSephardi work by RabbiHayim David HaLevi .
** The volumes entitled "Kitzur Shulchan Aruch" fromYalkut Yosef , a similarSephardi work.Notes
External links and references
References
* [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0411/is_n4_v46/ai_20583581 Rabbi Ganzfried's two million Kitzurs] , Jack E. Friedman
* [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=66&letter=G Ganzfried, Solomon] , jewishencyclopedia.com
* [http://www.faqs.org/faqs/judaism/FAQ/03-Torah-Halacha/section-42.html What is the Kitzur Shulkhan Arukh?] , faqs.orgTranslations
* "Kitzur Shulchan Aruch". Metsudah Publications. Includes footnotes withMishnah Berurah ; most commonly used English-Hebrew edition; two volumes.
* "Code of Jewish Law". Hebrew Publishing Co. (Transl.Hyman Goldin c. 1927.) ISBN 0-88482-779-8
*"Kitzur Schulchan Oruch". Moznaim Publishing Corp, 1991. ISBN 0-940118-63-7Fulltext resources
* [http://www.shofar.net/Content/Kitzur_Shulchan.htm?id=5417 Hebrew Full-text] , shofar.net (note: single, very large webpage)
* [http://www.kitzur.net Kitzur.net] , follows the Kitzur Yomi schedule; fully searchable
*Translation
** [http://www.torah.org/learning/halacha/ Chapters grouped by theme] , torah.org
** [http://www.geocities.com/yona_n.geo/kizzur/kiz-index1.html Ch 1-97] [http://www.geocities.com/yona_n.geo/kizzur/kiz-index2.html Ch 98-221] , Yona Newman
** [http://chassidus.ru/library/halacha/kitzur_shamir Kicur Shulhan Aruh] (Russian), chassidus.ru
** [http://www.jewish.ru/library/aruh.asp Kicur Shulhan Aruh] (Russian), Jewish.ru
** [http://www.hoor-israel.org/Halacha/KSA/KSA-Index.htm Kitsoer Sjoelchan Aroech] (Dutch), hoor-Israel.org
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