JUDAICA - Wisdom In Torah

I am a Russian writer,” implying that Soviet Jews were allowed
entry into Russian culture, but not into the Russian people.
Toward the end of his life Ehrenburg frequently clashed
with Soviet official spokesmen, stubbornly championing the
cause of a greater degree of artistic and personal freedom and,
whenever the opportunity presented itself, heaping scorn on
Soviet antisemites. Thousands took part in his funeral, many of
them young Jews who saw him as a liberal and a fellow Jew.
A major biographical study of this Soviet Jewish writer in
English appeared in 1984: Ilya Ehrenburg: Writing, Politics and
the Art of Survival by Anatol Goldberg, with an introduction,
postscript, and additional material by Erik de Mauny.
Bibliography: M. Friedberg, in: G.W. Simmonds (ed.),
Soviet Leaders (1967), 272–81; M. Slonim, Soviet Russian Literature
(1964), 208–17; T. Trifonova, Ilya Ehrenburg (Russ., 1952); V. Alexandrova,
A History of Soviet Literature (1964), 127–42.
[Maurice Friedberg / Shmuel Spector (2nd ed.)]
EHRENFELD, family of Hungarian rabbis. The founder was
DAVID ẓEVI EHRENFELD (d. 1861), a son-in-law of Moses
*Sofer. He wrote no books of his own, but some of his writings
are included in the books of his son Samuel. Ehrenfeld
had five sons, four of whom served in the rabbinate of Hungary.
Samuel *Ehrenfeld served as rabbi of several communities.
SIMEON (b. 1860) was rabbi of Szinna (Snina) and Nagymihaly
(Michalovce), both of which places became part
of Czechoslovakia after World War I. He laid the foundation
of the central bureau of Orthodox rabbis in Czechoslovakia.
SAUL (1835–1905), who was born in Pressburg, succeeded
Samuel at Szikszo and served there until his death. ISAIAH
(1850–1902) was rabbi in Berzavicze, Sarospatak, and Nagysurany
and wrote Shevet Sofer (1903, 19382) on the Pentateuch.
He fought vigorously against every form of religious innovation.
Abraham Glazner was his son-in-law.
Bibliography: A. Stern, Meliẓei Esh: Tishri and Marḥeshvan
(1933), 153a no. 435 (on David Ẓevi), Av and Elul (1932), 7a no. 6 (on
Samuel), 111a no. 284 (on Saul), Sivan (1931), 149a no. 197 (on Isaiah);
P.Z. Schwartz, Shem ha-Gedolim me-Ereẓ Hagar, 1 (1914), 266
no. 54 (on David Ẓevi), 52b no. 260 (on Isaiah); 2 (1914), 40a no. 71
(on Samuel), 366 no. 1 (on Saul); (A.S.) B. Sofer-Schreiber, Ketov Zot
Zikkaron (1957), 262–7.
[Naphtali Ben-Menahem]
EHRENFELD, NATHAN (1843–1912), chief rabbi of Prague.
He was a pupil of Azriel *Hildesheimer both at the yeshivah
in Eisenstadt and at his seminary in Berlin. In 1890 he was appointed
chief rabbi of Prague. While strictly Orthodox himself,
he managed to keep the peace between the divergent factions
in the Prague community. He gave particular attention
to religious instruction and founded a college for teachers of
religion. He acted as trustee for the charitable foundations in
Austro-Hungary of the Orthodox Karl Wilhelm Rothschild.
His son-in-law, Heinrich (Ḥayyim) *Brody, succeeded him
in office.
Bibliography: Der Israelit (Feb. 29, 1912), 7–8; AZDJ, 76
(March 1, 1912), 3.
ehrenfest, paul
EHRENFELD, SAMUEL BEN DAVID ẒEVI (1835–1883),
Hungarian rabbi known from his works as the “Hatan Sofer,”
(“son-in-law of Sofer” to indicate his connection by marriage
with the famous Moses *Sofer, and in assonance with the title
of Sofer’s responsa Ḥatam Sofer. Actually it was his father
who was the son-in-law of Moses Sofer). Ehrenfeld was born
in Pressburg. He studied under his father and in the yeshivah
of Pressburg under Abraham *Sofer, his maternal uncle. At
first he engaged in business, but when this failed he accepted
the rabbinate of Betlen (now Beclean, Romania) in 1866. In
1868 he became rabbi in Szikszo, because of the opportunities
which a larger yeshivah there afforded him. In 1877 he moved
to Mattersdorf where his grandfather and other members of
his family had served before him. He was able to devote himself
completely to the interests of the community and the
large yeshivah there. He died at Kierling, where he had gone
to recuperate after a long illness. As a teacher he was able to
impart his own approach to Talmud and halakhah, based on
the clear understanding of the talmudic text and its relevance
to the ultimate halakhah.
His clarity and complete mastery of all branches of halakhah
is evident in his published works: Ateret Baḥurim, Ḥatan
Sofer (only one part, 1874), on various topics from Ḥoshen
Mishpat, and Ḥatan Sofer on the Shulḥan Arukh, Oraḥ Ḥayyim
(one part, 1878; 2 vols., 19632), both having long aggadic introductions.
He printed the biography of his grandfather as
well as other historical matter. Ḥatan Sofer was edited with an
introduction by his son, Simḥah Bunim Ehrenfeld (1912), and
contains a biography of his father. Misped Mar (1874) was his
next work. A Passover Haggadah (1884) with his own commentary
and that of his grandfather was edited by Rabbi Joseph
Baumgarten (later rosh bet din of Vienna).
Ehrenfeld was succeeded in Mattersdorf in 1884 by his
son SIMḥAH BUNIM (1856–1926) who had from 1876 been
rabbi in Sarvar. He is the author of Ma’aneh Simḥah, part of
which is printed in the introduction to his father’s Ḥatan Sofer.
He was succeeded by his son SAMUEL, who served that community
until 1938/39, when he immigrated to New York and
there reestablished the Mattersdorf yeshivah (1939). In 1958 he
founded Kiryat Mattersdorf, a religious suburb in Jerusalem.
He re-edited all the above-mentioned works with copious
notes and added much new material.
Bibliography: Samuel b. David Ẓevi Ehrenfeld, She’elot u-
Teshuvot Ḥatan Sofer (1912), introd.; P.Z. Schwartz, Shem ha-Gedolim
me-Ereẓ Hagar, 2 (1914), 40a no. 71 (on Samuel I); 47 no. 179/1 (on
Simḥah Bunim); J.J. (L.) Greenwald (Grunwald), Maẓẓevat Kodesh
(1952), 127, 149–50; S.N. Gottlieb, Oholei Shem (1912), 251 (on Simḥah
Bunim); A. Stern, Meliẓei Esh al Ḥodshei Av-Marḥeshvan, 2 (19622)
7 no. 6; (A.S.) B. Sofer-Schreiber, Ketov Zot Zikkaron (1957), 262–5,
269f. (Samuel I), 273–80 (Samuel II); S. Sofer (Schreiber; ed.), Iggerot
Soferim (1968), introd. and pt. 4, 99–103, 106–8 (Samuel I).
[Abraham Schischa]
EHRENFEST, PAUL (1880–1933), Austrian physicist. Born
in Vienna, Ehrenfest studied under Ludwig Boltzmann, the
ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 6 239