20 Tevet · Yahrzeit
Rabbi Akiva Sofer - the "Daat Sofer"
Rabbi Akiva Sofer-Schreiber (1878 - 1959) - the Daat Sofer. He was the last rabbi of Bratislava (Pressburg) before the Holocaust and the fourth in the rabbinic dynasty descended from the Chatam Sofer.
Yahrzeit - 20 Tevet
Resting place - Har HaMenuchot, Jerusalem
After immigrating to Israel following World War II, he reestablished the "Pressburg Yeshiva" in Jerusalem.
His authority was so great that he was received by Emperor Franz Josef of Austria.
In this photo, Rabbi Akiva Sofer (with his back to the camera) greets Emperor Franz Josef (seated in the carriage) during his official visit to Pressburg in 1913.
Rabbi Akiva was born to Rabbi Simcha Bunim Sofer, rabbi of Pressburg and author of the "Shevet Sofer." He married his relative Hinda Shaprintza, daughter of Rabbi Yitzchak Leib Sofer. In late 1972 he was ordained by Rabbi Eliezer Zussman Sofer of Pakš. In 1907, at the age of 29, he was appointed alongside his father as chief rabbi of Pressburg, then part of the Kingdom of Hungary. In this position, as successor to his great-grandfather, the Chatam Sofer, who had laid the ideological foundation of Orthodox Jewry in Hungary, he was elected president of the Council of Rabbis, an organization uniting more than three hundred communities throughout Hungary.
After World War I, Pressburg came under the territory of the new state of Czechoslovakia, and the city was later renamed Bratislava. Communal organizations were reorganized, and he was re-elected president of the Council of Haredi Rabbis of Czechoslovakia. In addition to his official positions in Hungary and Czechoslovakia, Rabbi Akiva also served as president of the "Guardians of the Walls" and the "Hungarian Houses" in Jerusalem.
During his thirty-three years as rabbi of Pressburg-Bratislava, he also headed the Pressburg Yeshiva. In 1939, with the establishment of the Slovak Republic and the rise of the fascist Hlinka Guard, the yeshiva and its rabbis were shut down and forced into semi-underground operation.
Rabbi Akiva fled to Switzerland, and from there immigrated to the Land of Israel. When he landed at the port of Haifa, he declared to his hosts: "At this moment I am casting into the sea all the customs of honor and importance that I had abroad, and from this day on I wish to be a simple Jerusalemite." His place in Bratislava was taken by his son, Rabbi Avraham Shmuel Binyamin Sofer.
In Jerusalem after the Holocaust, he reestablished the "Pressburg Yeshiva," gathering local students and Holocaust survivors and giving them lectures in a small room in Meah Shearim. The yeshiva expanded and became firmly established only shortly before his death. As a member of the Council of Torah Sages, he continued to take part in addressing communal matters in Israel, signing proclamations and recommending books.
After the passing of the "Daat Sofer," his eldest son, Rabbi Avraham Shmuel Binyamin Sofer, author of the "Hashav Sofer," was appointed as his successor until 2002, and after him the yeshiva was headed by his grandson, Rabbi Simcha Bunim Sofer, until 2007. Today it is headed by his grandson, Rabbi Avraham Shmuel Binyamin Sofer.
May the merit of the Tzadik protect Am Yisrael!
(https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A2%D7%A7%D7%99%D7%91%D7%90_%D7%A1%D7%95%D7%A4%D7%A8)
In this photo, Rabbi Akiva Sofer (with his back to the camera) greets Emperor Franz Josef (seated in the carriage) during his official visit to Pressburg in 1913.
Rabbi Akiva was born to Rabbi Simcha Bunim Sofer, rabbi of Pressburg and author of the "Shevet Sofer." He married his relative Hinda Shaprintza, daughter of Rabbi Yitzchak Leib Sofer. In late 1972 he was ordained by Rabbi Eliezer Zussman Sofer of Pakš. In 1907, at the age of 29, he was appointed alongside his father as chief rabbi of Pressburg, then part of the Kingdom of Hungary. In this position, as successor to his great-grandfather, the Chatam Sofer, who had laid the ideological foundation of Orthodox Jewry in Hungary, he was elected president of the Council of Rabbis, an organization uniting more than three hundred communities throughout Hungary.
After World War I, Pressburg came under the territory of the new state of Czechoslovakia, and the city was later renamed Bratislava. Communal organizations were reorganized, and he was re-elected president of the Council of Haredi Rabbis of Czechoslovakia. In addition to his official positions in Hungary and Czechoslovakia, Rabbi Akiva also served as president of the "Guardians of the Walls" and the "Hungarian Houses" in Jerusalem.
During his thirty-three years as rabbi of Pressburg-Bratislava, he also headed the Pressburg Yeshiva. In 1939, with the establishment of the Slovak Republic and the rise of the fascist Hlinka Guard, the yeshiva and its rabbis were shut down and forced into semi-underground operation.
Rabbi Akiva fled to Switzerland, and from there immigrated to the Land of Israel. When he landed at the port of Haifa, he declared to his hosts: "At this moment I am casting into the sea all the customs of honor and importance that I had abroad, and from this day on I wish to be a simple Jerusalemite." His place in Bratislava was taken by his son, Rabbi Avraham Shmuel Binyamin Sofer.
In Jerusalem after the Holocaust, he reestablished the "Pressburg Yeshiva," gathering local students and Holocaust survivors and giving them lectures in a small room in Meah Shearim. The yeshiva expanded and became firmly established only shortly before his death. As a member of the Council of Torah Sages, he continued to take part in addressing communal matters in Israel, signing proclamations and recommending books.
After the passing of the "Daat Sofer," his eldest son, Rabbi Avraham Shmuel Binyamin Sofer, author of the "Hashav Sofer," was appointed as his successor until 2002, and after him the yeshiva was headed by his grandson, Rabbi Simcha Bunim Sofer, until 2007. Today it is headed by his grandson, Rabbi Avraham Shmuel Binyamin Sofer.
May the merit of the Tzadik protect Am Yisrael!
(https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A2%D7%A7%D7%99%D7%91%D7%90_%D7%A1%D7%95%D7%A4%D7%A8)
Pilgrimage site:
Grave: Chatam Sofer