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A Panoramic View of Sokal

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Rabbi R' Mordechai Fogelman

One of the important communities in Little Poland (Red Russia)^[2] was the city of Sokal, where the luminaries of that generation occupied the rabbinical chair. The community was filled with outstanding Torah scholars, who published books of profound content, as well as Torah Sages who decided on legal matters in a manner that drew deeply from the Halakha. Luminaries, students of the Baal Shem Tovז”ל^[3], resided here during the time that Hasidism spread throughout the region, as did students of those students.

This is not the place to write the history of the Rabbis of Sokal, its Dayanim and Sages. Here we present only a short sketch about a few of the Rabbis, their colleagues and other personalities who had a connection to Sokal.

Our Teacher David HaLevi^[4], the author of 'Tur Zahav,' a book that deals with the four sections of the 'Shulkhan Arukh,' conveys the following in the section on 'Orakh Chaim,' pp. 143 and 162' ... the way I directed to Sokal, and on the Sabbath I found a fault in one letter that rendered the scroll unfit for ritual use, and there was no other Torah scroll available; I directed the minyan reading from this Torah scroll finish reading with this Torah scroll, since the fault was not visible to the eye, and it was getting late; appears that even though there were strict observers that cited that the RM”A

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offered his concurrence, and I saw this in the responsa of the MaHaRa”M of Lublin and others...;The T”Z (Tur Zahav) does not tell us when he spent this Sabbath in Sokal. It is possible that it occurred during the time he occupied the Rabbinical chair in Potelycz beside Rawa [Ruska] in the years 5378-5390 [1618-1630]. It appears that this was between régimes, otherwise, he would not have been the One who Rules by the Law in the city of another Rabbi. However, there is an obligation to explain this particular ruling by the T”Z, drawing the inference from the fact that he did not pray in the official Sokal synagogue, which was his regular place of worship, as that of the sitting Rabbi of the city, but rather at a different synagogue, apparently a small one, that was also found in Sokal. Support for this can be found in what he said: ...' There was no other Torah scroll there'... which makes no sense unless the official Sokal Synagogue only had one Torah scroll and this was the Torah scroll that was discovered to be unfit for ritual use during the reading of the Torah on the Sabbath. One's astonishment will grow even more if it is said that the Master T”Z prayed on this same Sabbath in the smaller synagogue in Sokal. There was only one Torah scroll there, and it had been found unfit for ritual use during the reading of the Torah on the Sabbath. Seeing as the hour was late, the Master T”Z instructed them to finish which the minyan of those who were there.^[5]

The Gaon-Teacher Aryeh Yehuda Leib, Rabbi and Bet-Din Senior of Sokal was the son of the wondrous Hasidic Rebbe as our Teacher and Rabbi Shmuel Gershon a man of Jerusalem, who was the son of the Rabbi Gaon Hasid or Teacher R' Leibć”ì, the Bet Din Senior of Khantshin, and the Rabbi and teacher of the holy congregation of Cracow, who was the son of the renowned Gaon Joel, Bet-Din Senior, Rabbi and teacher of the holy congregation of Cracow, author of the book 'Bayit Khadash al Arba'a HaTurim.'^[7] The Gaon and teacher Aryeh Yehuda Leib, the Bet-Din Senior of Sokal, was the author of the book 'Leviat Khen' Wolf (It was published in Żółkiew in the year 5492 [1732] and Vynnitsia in the year 5502 [1742], and about the Torah which his son Benjamin published in Żółkiew in the year 5509 [1749], which his son Benjamin Ze'ev Wolf composed the book in his elder years as Rabbi and Bet-Din Senior of Szynovo and afterward as the Rabbi and teacher in Żółkiew. His father the Gaon and teacher Aryeh Yehuda Leib, the Bet-Din Senior of Sokal passed away on 23 Adar 5489 in Żółkiew.

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The Gaon-teacher R' Aryeh Leib, son of the Gaon 'Pnei Yehoshua,'Rabbi and ABD”K^[8] of Sokal

The Gaon-teacher Aryeh Leib, second son of the 'Pnei Yehoshua' was born in 5475 [1715] and raised in the home of his father. In his later years, he was the ABD”K (Av Beit Din Kehillah) of Svyriv^[9] which is close to Lvov. In the year 5499[1739], he already occupied the rabbinical seat there. In the year 5505 [1745] he was appointed as the Rabbi and teacher in the city of Frankfurt-am-Main and remained there until the year 5509. Afterwards, he returned to Poland, and was received as the ABD”K, Rabbi and teacher in Sokal. He was known to be among the greatest of that generation, and the Sages of Brody included him in their deliberations and discussions of difficult questions in the Halakha.

On the 26^th day of Adar 5515 [1755], on market day in the city of Brody, he joined with the prominent Torah scholars and Gaonim, who had gathered to excommunicate Jacob Frank^[10] and his coterie.

In the year 5516 he prepared divorce papers with the consent of the prominent scholars of that generation, on behalf of the Rabbi Gaon Yehoshua Hesh'HaLevi, a man of Horowitz,^[11] and with it, he divorced his wife via a messenger against her will. This divorced precipitated a great storm among the champions of the Halakha.^[12]

In the year 5521 [1761] the Rabbi Aryeh Leib was accepted as the ABD”K of Hannover and served as the Rabbi for twenty-eight years. He died there on the 8^th of Adar 5550 [1790]. In the year 5540[1790], his book 'Pnei Aryeh,' regarding the [Talmud Tractate] Baba Kama was published. The end of the book 'Pnei Yehoshua' was published separately. Apart from this, he left behind his many folios in Halakha, Agadah, Responsa, disputes and lectures that he gave on a daily basis, and a book on the Shulkhan Arukh, Orakh Chaim and others.

A small part of his writings could be found in the hands of the Rabbi Gaon 'The Chain of Pedigree,' which related the genealogy and descent of the Rabbis of Poland and Ashkenaz, R' Zvi Ha Levi of 'Of the Man from Horowice', ć”ì, the author of the book 'Kitvei HaGeonim.'

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The Bet-Din of Sokal in the Years of The Gaon-Teacher Aryeh Leib's Rabbinate

On the Wednesday, 19^th of Tammuz 5514 [1753], the author of 'Pnei Yehoshua,' at the time residing in Worms, signed over the authority of leadership to his sons, R' Aryeh Leib, the ABD”K of the holy congregation of Sokal, and after him, R' Nathan the ABD”K of Dobromyl, both glowing embers of the rabbinate of the Lvov region. It appears that this control was seconded and accepted by the Bet-Din of the holy congregation of Sokal. And here are the words of the Bet-Din of the holy congregation of Sokal: 'The matters in the writings of the esteemed Rabbi mentioned above are seconded, and the body of the writings from the holy congregation of Worms are to be fulfilled word for word. For the reader, we, the Bet-Din have signed here in the holy congregation of Sokal.'

Signed by הק' Yaakov בלא”א Our Teacher Rabbi Yokhanan Baruch of Lvov.

And also signed by The הק' Yitzhak בלמא”ו the Teacher and Rabbi Uri זצ”ל Leha^[13] Heilperin of Kamarny (or of Zamość).

And other signatures...

I copied this ordination from the book, 'Writings of the Gaonim' mentioned above, on page 36. We have no way to assess this copy of the writing of the Bet-Din of the holy congregation of Sokal today. We do not possess any form of verification today to establish the veracity of those Dayanim who signed this copy, alleged to have been created by their hand in the Bet-Din of the holy congregation of Sokal. We may be permitted to assume that this copy of the ordination was produced in the year 5514, immediately after the authority had reached Sokal from Worms.

Translator's note: This first paragraph is a reproduction of the summary on the frontispiece of the book, in which the various contributing authorities are listed in order to certify the correctness and completeness of the 'List of the 613 Mitzvot' of the Torah. This paragraph cites such luminaries as the RAMBA”M, RAMBA”N, all the way through some minimal emendations of ancient rabbis, and provides references to the Shas^[14] and Poskim.^[15] It also certifies the replication of writings by a coterie of eminent sages without any additions or deletions.
For details, the reader is referred to the original text.

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The book, 'Mitzvot HaShem' is one of the classic books devoted to the enumeration of the mitzvot, the explanation and interpretation of them. It is divided up for study over a period of thirty days, one part per day. It also provides an opportunity for learners, and also Torah sages, to review all of the 613 mitzvot in the course of thirty days, in the order and method of counting by the original ordering.

The book, 'Mitzvot HaShem' was first published in Lvov in the year 5552 [1792]. It was again printed there in the years 5557[1797] and 5566[1806]. After this, it was also printed in Vilna and also several other locations with the added commentary and explanations by Torah luminaries.

Details of the personality of the author, Rebbe Baruch Heilperin of Sokal are not known to us. We know nothing of his life or his tenure there. In his instructional foreword to the book, the author signs off as follows: 'The saint Baruch just as our Teacher and Rabbi Zvi Hirsch, may his candle burn brightly, Heilperin of Sokal...' On the frontispiece of the book 'Mitzvot HaShem' in one of its last printings, we read: All of this has been collected and assembled by the Rabbi who was a great Torah scholar, a Tzaddik, modest and self-effacing full of the scholarship of our Teacher Baruch the son of our Teacher Zvi Hirsch of the holy congregation of Sokal, called R' Boruch Bencher..^[16]

We do not have in hand the material by which we can clarify the source and meaning of the nickname 'Bencher', by which Rebbe Boruch is referred to here. It appears that this was only a nickname for the name of the author, because the family name was Heilperin, it is a family name know among the Jews of Europe whose origin is from the name Heilbronn, the name of a city in Wittenberg in Germany. Several outstanding Torah scholars in Eastern Europe had the name 'Heilperin,' such as Rebbe Yekhiel son of Shlomo Heilperin, the Rabbi of Minsk, and author of the well-know book, 'The Book of the Generations', and 'Evaluation of Nicknames'.... and others.

The Gaon-Teacher Issachar Ber, the ABD”K, and the Gaon-Teacher R' Shlomo, the Maggid of that Location

During the days of the flowering of Hasidism, after the passing of the Maggid the eminent R' Dov Ber of Mezritch, that great disciple and the one who continued in the direction of Our Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov, Sokal was one of the cities in Little Poland and Wolhyn in which Hasidism found many enthusiasts, and those who spread its lore and way of life. One of these was R' Shlomo Lutzker, one of the great students and loyal to the house of the Maggid R' Dov Ber of Mezritch.

Previously, R' Shlomo was the Maggid of integrity in Lutzk, Kuric, and in the end he was appointed the Maggid of the Sokal community and he passed away there in 5573 [1813].

He has previously published the book, 'Collected Sayings' from R' Dov Ber of Mezritch, and in his memory the frontispiece states the following: A book that relates his sayings to Jacob (a play on using first and last letters as an acronym for Dov) and this is a collection of his sayings, etc

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Translator's note: Once again, various credit is assigned, to R' Shlomo son of R' Abraham of Lutzk. It indicates publication in Karic 5541, and contains a supplement of new items collected at the end: Karic 5544; Żółkiew 5552... and others.

While still alive, the Maggid of integrity of Sokal, R' Shlomo, prepared his book 'The Sayings of Shlomo,' for publication regarding the Torah, and he received the endorsement of the renowned Rabbi Tzaddik The Rabbi Gaon R' Yaakov Yitzhak the Hozehof Lublin. But the book was not printed until the year 5608, in Żółkiew as a result of the effort of his son, the Rabbi Gaon R' Dov ABD”K of the holy congregation of Olesk. He called the book by the name: 'The Sayings of Shlomo,' because of the acronym of the: Talmid Rabenu Dov Ber.^[17] The book was published a second time in Jerusalem in the year 5717 [1957]. During the tenure of R' Shlomo, the Maggid of integrity who sat in Sokal. The Rabbinate of Sokal was occupied by the Rabbi Gaon R' Issachar Dov. According to the concurrence given by the Rabbi Tzaddik R' Yaakov Yitzhak, the Hozeh of Lublin, the book, 'Collected Sayings of Shlomo,' the Rabbi of Sokal had much affection for Hasidism, and the Maggid Dov Ber of Mezritch, and also to his student R' Shlomo, the righteous Maggid of Sokal.

Among his students was The Rabbi Tzaddik R' Sholom Rokeach זצ”ל, the ABD”K of Belz. He became orphaned while a boy, following the death of his father, and his uncle, his mother's brother, the Rabbi Gaon Issachar Ber, ABD”K of Sokal, took him into his home, raised him and educated him, and gave him his daughter, the Ms. Malka as a wife, and drew close to the ways of Hasidism by R' Shlomo, the righteous Maggid of the holy congregation of Sokal.

R' Menachem Nahum Fogelman ז”ל

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Apart from the local synagogue, the following were in Sokal.

The Great Bet HaMedrash, in which the followers of the ADMo”R^[18] of Belz prayed, and in which Torah sages and young men sat, whose Torah study reflected their faith.

The synagogue of the merchants and craftsmen.

The kloyz of the Hasidim of Husiatyn and Czortkow.

There were many men of action among the Hasidim of Husiatyn and Czortkow, who possessed action-oriented qualities as well as actual deeds done, who walked with modesty, were profound in their thinking, and also Torah sages that studied the Shas and Poskim, books of tradition and Hasidism. My father, of the Husiatyn community of Sokal was a student of Our Teacher, the Rabbi and Sage R' Menachem Nahum Fogelman. He was born in Kylinic, son of the Rabbi and Sage R' Abraham David Fogelman ז”ל, a great Torah and Hasidic scholar, a true diamond from Kylinic. After marrying my mother and teacher Ziss'l Juta, ז”ל, who was the seventh generation descended from the Gaon Rabbi Leib, ABD”K of Sokal and author of the book 'LivyatKheyn,' himself a great-grandson of Our Rabbi R' Joel Sirkis, ABD”K and the Rabbi and teacher in Cracow, and the author of 'Bayit Khadash,' consisting of four volumes, he studied Torah and served our uncle the Gaon, a pillar of setting direction in our generation, the Rabbi Sholom Mordechai Ha Kohen Schwadron זצ”ל, ABD”K in Rozen^[19], author of the responsa from the MaharSha”M in six parts, [he] possessed a knowledge of Torah the rendering of peaceful juridical decisions, and other books. He was expertly knowledgeable also in secular studies, and lived in Sokal from the year 5682 [1921] on. He was one of the heads of the community, held in high regard by Jewish people from all walks of life in the city, and he inculcated Torah for many. All the years that I occupied the Rabbinical seat in Kotwic, starting in the year 5688 [1928], I visited him every year at the end of the summer. Even in the summer of 5699 [1939] I visited with him for about two weeks before the outbreak of The Second World War, that brought with it the Nazi Holocaust, and the murder of one-third of the Jewish population. I stayed there for about two days in Sokal and returned by bus by way of Żółkiew, and from there on home by train.

My father ז”ל, remained in Sokal. During the time of the Soviet conquest he was one of the leaders of the congregation, and the community in the city. Up until the Nazi conquest, I received copious advice from him frequently. The ADMo”R R' Aharon Rokeach, זצ”ל, the ABD”K of Belz whospent a limited amount of time in Sokal during the Soviet occupation, after he made a miraculous aliyah to The Land, in the year 5704 [1944], conveyed to me a number of details regarding the many faceted activities of my father ז”לwhich he undertook for the benefit of the Sokal community during the Soviet occupation. He passed away there in 5702 [1942] during the Nazi occupation. Before the exact date of his passing was conveyed to me, but until that time, I had set his Yahrzeit to be 15 Av. Dr. David Kindler, a physician in Ramat-Gan who was a good friend, conveyed to me many facts about my father ז”ל, and who himself passed through all the gates of Hell and Nazi slaughter until he was able to make aliyah to The Land.

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How to Write and Pronounce the Name of the City of Sokal

Heder Pupils in Sokal

In writing the name of the city in a Get, we follow the Jewish pronunciation, because like today, we have to conform principally to the spelling: 'SAKAL,' 'SOKAL' in accordance with the new Hebrew spelling, just as they pronounce the name in Polish and Russian, because many Jews pronounce the name of the city today in this way. However, in the end, this change in pronunciation

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of the name of the city does not hold rule in the writing of a Get. The name is always written in keeping with the pronunciation of past generations, even though that is not common practice now.

As to the ruling: 'On the Bug River, called Buha...' it is necessary to illuminate that in the city of Brisk a Get is written as follows: 'On the Rasti in this area, on the Buha River, which is called the Bug...' to this the MAHARSA”L says in the 'Sea of Shlomo' pertaining to Gittin, sign 32... I am amazed that the name of the river is written as Buha, even though it is called the Bug, for no reason at all. As is known, in Russian every 'Gimel' is pronounced 'h', and everything in Russia called by 'h' is called Gimel in Poland, and because of this the same river in Poland is called the Bug, but the Buha in Russia. And these are not two different names, that is to say that even though they are recognized as two names, this being an appropriate place to indicate how it is written as explained above, regarding the names of the man. In the end, there are two names, but practically, they are treated as one and the same.

In accordance with this, we can understand the words of the 'Sea of Shlomo' there, in the issue of writing a Get in Prague:... 'Prague is read in Mzigardi' and therefore is not written as if it is read 'Praha.' the Czech name of Prague, because the names Prague and Praha are considered to be one name only, like Bug and Buha. And the question is asked why does 'not one write Praha, the way Buha is written in Russia, despite the fact that it is called Bug in Poland...'

To date we have no credible resolution to this law in practice. Today, it is almost never the case of documents written according to the Laws of Moses and Israel in Europe, and especially in Poland, where Polish Jewry has broadened its foundation for a thousand years. As to these words, there is only of historical interest. They are a memorial to the Destruction.

1. In all the writings in this book, the spelling and pronunciation of the name of the city, we will write 'Sokal' or in Yiddish 'Sikol,' in accordance with the accepted usage of the local residents of the city. Return
2. The writer is referring to a swath of Poland after its dismemberment by Russia, Prussia and Austria in three partitions (1772, 1793, 1795). Little Poland is shown to the south of West Galicia, and so-called 'Red Russia' is shown as Red Ruthenia. Return
3. This is the first appearance of a Hebrew acronym, which in this case stands for 'zakhur laTov' which means 'remembered for the good that was done.' There are many more of these, and I will attempt to footnote the first appearance of such an acronym for those not familiar with their use. Return
4. David Ha-Levi Segal ©. 1586 – 20 February 1667), also known as the Turei Zahav (abbreviated T”Z (ט”óז)) after the title of his significant halakhic commentary on the Shulkhan Arukh, was one of the greatest Polish rabbinical authorities. Return
5. A rather esoteric set of literature references is given to provide support for this. Return
6. The Presiding Rabbinical Court Judge. Return
7. A New House on the Four Pedestals. Return
8. The acronym for the Hebrew 'Av Bet-Din Kodesh,' which is the title for the individual acting as the leader and chair of the 'Holy Court.' Return
9. Possibly Svirzh. Return
10. Jacob Joseph Frank was born Jakob Lejbowicz; 1726 – December 10, 1791) was an 18th-century Polish-Jewish] religious leader who claimed to be the reincarnation of the self-proclaimed messiah Sabbatai Zvi (1626–1676) and also of the biblical patriarch Jacob. The Jewish authorities in Poland excommunicated Frank and his followers due to his heretical doctrines. Return
11. Possibly 'Gorowiec' Return
12. Once again, the writer gives a series of esoteric references to rabbinic writings to support the decision. Return
13. Inserting the letter 'Tzaddik' to stand for a Righteous Observant (usually a) Man. Return
14. This is an acronym for “The Six Orders” into which the Talmud is divided. Return
15. The plural of Posek in Hebrew, signifying an individual qualified to formally rule on matters of Jewish law. Return
16. This appears to be the use of 'bench' – to bless – in Yiddish, to characterize the individual. A connection may exist to the Hebrew name 'Boruch' which means 'Blessed.' Return
17. The acronym signifies the year 5606, and implied the words, 'The pupil of our Rabbi Dov Ber. Return
18. An honorific accorded a Rabbi by designating him as 'Our Lord, Our Teacher and Our Rabbi.' Return
19. Possibly Rozvazh Return

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