13 Av · Yahrzeit
Rabbi Mordechai Benet
From the age of five he was raised in the home of his maternal grandmother in Nikolsburg, and so he kept her family name — Benet. There, Gabriel Markbreiter provided for the gifted child's education for six years, and then sent him to Ettingen, Alsace. There, from the age of 11, he began studying at the yeshiva of Rabbi Yaakov Katzenellenbogen in Ettingen. The latter became Benet's teacher and took great delight in his student's remarkable development. At Benet's bar mitzvah celebration, his teacher showed the guests three manuscripts written by the boy — a commentary on the Chumash, a commentary on the Passover Haggadah, and novellae on the Talmud. From the age of thirteen to fifteen, Benet devoted himself exclusively to the study of Scripture with the help of Jewish commentaries and the Aggadah found in the Talmud and Midrash; he completed his strictly halachic studies later at the yeshiva of Rabbi Yosef Steinhardt in Fürth, where he remained for three years. He then went as a "chaver" to Prague, where Meir Karpeles established a private "klaus" for him; although Yechezkel Landau (the Noda BiYehuda) headed the large yeshiva in the same city, several capable Talmudists came daily to hear Benet's discourses.
After living in Prague for two years, he married Sarah Finkel, the daughter of a prominent and wealthy citizen of Nikolsburg.
He settled there in 1773, and within a year was appointed Av Beit Din. Thirteen years later he accepted the rabbinate of Lundenburg in Moravia, which he held for six months before resigning to become rabbi in Sassberg, Hungary. His stay in his native country was brief, and in 1789 he was appointed rabbi of Nikolsburg and Chief Rabbi of Moravia.
Later he also received offers from Pressburg and Krakow, but yielding to the insistence of his community, he remained in Nikolsburg.
Excessive devotion to study brought on a nervous illness in his youth that plagued him his whole life and ultimately caused his death, which occurred in Karlsbad on 12 August 1829, where he had gone for treatment. His body was temporarily buried in Lichtenstadt, near Karlsbad, but seven months later was permanently interred in Nikolsburg in accordance with his will.
The communities of Lichtenstadt and Nikolsburg contended for the honor of burying his remains, and the dispute that later arose over the exhumation of the body was fought with the weapons of scholarship and appears in the responsa literature of the time. Although Benet was independent in his views, his scholarship and noble character earned him many devoted friends among young and old.
Even Chassidim respected him, and Dovber Schneuri, the "Mitteler Rebbe" of Chabad, speaks highly of him in a letter.
He gave away all his money to the poor, raised orphans, and obtained from the monarchy a license to print holy books. He opposed the study of secular wisdom, but by virtue of his position he soon became well versed in astronomy, mathematics, and philosophy. The royal family and the government respected him, crowned him state rabbi, and decreed that all matters of religion and every rabbinic appointment would require his consent.
He composed a prayer in honor of King Francis I, Emperor of Austria, after the suppression of the uprising in Italy in 1773. He fought fiercely against the Reformers and, together with the "Chatam Sofer," forbade the reconstruction of the Reform Temple in Hamburg. Despite his illness and the doctors' prohibitions, he continued to lead the yeshiva and study with his students. When his illness worsened, he promised that if they ever needed anything, they should bow at his grave, and while in the resort town of Karlsbad (Czech Republic) in 1829, he returned his soul to its Maker.
Before his burial in the nearby town of Lichtenstadt, pouches were found on his body, which he had worn under his clothes during fasts. A delegation from the Nikolsburg community arrived to collect the coffin, but the Lichtenstadt community refused their request. Since the sages of the generation did not issue a ruling on the matter, the Nikolsburg community turned to a court, which referred the decision to Rabbi Moshe Sofer (author of the "Chatam Sofer").
Rabbi Mordechai Benet appeared in a dream to Rabbi Moshe Sofer, who asked to have him transferred to Nikolsburg, and revealed to him that he was destined to be buried temporarily in Lichtenstadt because he had once dissolved the marriage bond of the daughter of the rabbi of Lichtenstadt, and the proof of this was that that rabbi was buried beside him! Seven months after his death he was transferred and buried on the 12th of Adar in the city of his service, beside the graves of his ancestors.
From the age of thirteen to fifteen, Benet devoted himself exclusively to the study of Scripture with the help of Jewish commentaries and the Aggadah found in the Talmud and Midrash; he completed his strictly halachic studies later at the yeshiva of Rabbi Yosef Steinhardt in Fürth, where he remained for three years. He then went as a "chaver" to Prague, where Meir Karpeles established a private "klaus" for him; although Yechezkel Landau (the Noda BiYehuda) headed the large yeshiva in the same city, several capable Talmudists came daily to hear Benet's discourses. After living in Prague for two years, he married Sarah Finkel, the daughter of a prominent and wealthy citizen of Nikolsburg. He settled there in 1773, and within a year was appointed Av Beit Din. Thirteen years later he accepted the rabbinate of Lundenburg in Moravia, which he held for six months before resigning to become rabbi in Sassberg, Hungary. His stay in his native country was brief, and in 1789 he was appointed rabbi of Nikolsburg and Chief Rabbi of Moravia. Later he also received offers from Pressburg and Krakow, but yielding to the insistence of his community, he remained in Nikolsburg. Excessive devotion to study brought on a nervous illness in his youth that plagued him his whole life and ultimately caused his death, which occurred in Karlsbad on 12 August 1829, where he had gone for treatment. His body was temporarily buried in Lichtenstadt, near Karlsbad, but seven months later was permanently interred in Nikolsburg in accordance with his will. The communities of Lichtenstadt and Nikolsburg contended for the honor of burying his remains, and the dispute that later arose over the exhumation of the body was fought with the weapons of scholarship and appears in the responsa literature of the time. Although Benet was independent in his views, his scholarship and noble character earned him many devoted friends among young and old. Even Chassidim respected him, and Dovber Schneuri, the "Mitteler Rebbe" of Chabad, speaks highly of him in a letter. He was born in 1813 in the village of Sourg (Hungary). A descendant of Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Ashkenazi ["the Chacham Tzvi"] and Rabbi Naftali Katz of Frankfurt. From the age of five he was raised in the home of his maternal grandmother in Nikolsburg, and so was named Benet, after his mother's family name. From childhood he was regarded as a scholar, and at the age of 11 began studying at the yeshiva of Rabbi Yaakov Katzenellenbogen in Ettingen. At the age of 13 he began delivering discourses with intensity and expertise, and wrote three books by the age of 15: a commentary on the Torah, one on the Passover Haggadah, and commentaries on Gefat [Gemara, Poskim, Tosafot]. Rabbi Meir Karpeles gave him a private room in his home and took care of his finances. He never studied less than 3 hours and never stopped studying. At the age of 23 he was appointed judge in the city of Nikolsburg, then moved to Lenzberg and Laszlósburg (Hungary). In 1775 he replaced Rabbi Gershon Chayut in Nikolsburg and cared for the members of his community like a devoted father. He gave away all his money to the poor, raised orphans, and obtained from the monarchy a license to print holy books. He opposed the study of secular wisdom, but by virtue of his position he soon became well versed in astronomy, mathematics, and philosophy. The royal family and the government respected him, crowned him state rabbi, and decreed that all matters of religion and every rabbinic appointment would require his consent. He composed a prayer in honor of King Francis I, Emperor of Austria, after the suppression of the uprising in Italy in 1773. He opposed children studying secular subjects, fought fiercely against the Reformers, and together with the "Chatam Sofer" forbade the reconstruction of the Reform Temple in Hamburg. Despite his illness and the doctors' prohibitions, he continued to lead the yeshiva and study with his students. When his illness worsened, he promised that if they ever needed anything, they should bow at his grave, and while in the resort town of Karlsbad (Czech Republic) in 1829, he returned his soul to its Maker. Before his burial in the nearby town of Lichtenstadt, pouches were found on his body, which he had worn under his clothes as an act of devotion. A delegation from the Nikolsburg community arrived to collect the coffin, but the Lichtenstadt community refused their request. Since the sages of the generation did not issue a ruling on the matter, the Nikolsburg community turned to a court, which referred the decision to Rabbi Moshe Sofer (author of the "Chatam Sofer"). Rabbi Mordechai Benet appeared in a dream to Rabbi Moshe Sofer, who asked to have him transferred to Nikolsburg, and revealed to him that he was destined to be buried temporarily in Lichtenstadt because he had once dissolved the marriage bond of the daughter of the rabbi of Lichtenstadt, and the proof of this was that that rabbi was buried beside him! Seven months after his death he was transferred and buried on the 12th of Adar in the city of his service, beside the graves of his ancestors. Among his books: Sipurei Tzadikim Rav Mordechai Benet was once vacationing at a resort in Karlsbad, and there he met a man who introduced himself as a "Reform rabbi" from a small town in Germany. The man proudly told Rav Mordechai that he alone decided all religious matters in his community. A more in-depth conversation revealed that this man's knowledge of Torah law was in a very sorry state. Rav Mordechai asked: "And what do you do when members of your community come to you with questions about what is permitted and forbidden — for example, about the kosher status of a chicken — when a clear and definite answer is required?" The rabbi replied: "Just to be safe, I declare everything 'treif.'" Rav Mordechai smiled: "Allow me to tell you a story. In a certain village, quite far from the nearest city — Frankfurt — there lived a Jew. He had a substantial farm, and mainly raised poultry for sale. He would bring chickens and geese to the local shochet, who would slaughter them, after which this Jew would process them and sell their meat and fat. If any doubt arose about the kashrut of a slaughtered bird, he would hitch his horse to his cart and drive it to Frankfurt to show the rabbi and receive his ruling: 'kosher' or 'treif.'" One day he happened to meet a frivolous fellow who decided to play a joke on the unlettered peasant. He said: "Why travel so far because of one chicken? Listen to my advice. It is written in the Torah: 'Flesh torn in the field is treif; do not eat it, throw it to the dogs.' So treif meat is meant for the dog. Put the bird in question in a place where your dog can reach it. If he eats it — the meat is treif; if not — it's kosher!" Our Jew liked this idea — after all, it wasn't easy to jolt along in a cart all day, especially in the cold. So he began placing the doubtful birds in front of his dog. And remarkably, the dog always ate them, innards and all! A month later, our peasant decided to go into town to see the rabbi again. Seeing him, the rabbi asked: "You haven't been to see me in a while. Did something happen?" The peasant answered: "I really did have many questions about kashrut, but recently I started letting my dog decide them." The astonished rabbi asked: "So what made you come back to see me now?" The naive Jew sighed: "My dog is too strict in his rulings. He declares everything treif." Finishing his story, Rav Mordechai turned to his companion: "Is that the same method you use to be stringent in halacha...?" May the merit of this great tzadik protect Am Yisrael! (https://dailyzohar.com/tzadikim/1079-Rabbi-Mordecai-ben-Abraham-Benet)