Shmuel Salant
Encyclopedia
Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...
Chief Rabbi
Chief Rabbi
Chief Rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities...
of Jerusalem for almost 70years. He was a renowned Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
ist and Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
scholar.
Biography
He was born in Białystok, then part of RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. After marrying Toiva (Yonah), the eldest daughter of Rabbi Yosef Zundel of Salant, he adopted his father-in-law's surname. At an early age his lungs became damaged, and he was advised to seek a warm climate. This induced him in 1840 to go with his wife and son Binyomin Beinish to Jerusalem.
En route, in Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, he met and gained the friendship of Sir Moses Montefiore
Moses Montefiore
Sir Moses Haim Montefiore, 1st Baronet, Kt was one of the most famous British Jews of the 19th century. Montefiore was a financier, banker, philanthropist and Sheriff of London...
, then on his way to defend the Jews falsely accused in the Damascus Blood Libel
Damascus affair
The Damascus affair was an 1840 incident in which the accusation of ritual murder was brought against members of the Jewish community of Damascus. Eight notable Jews of Damascus were falsely accused of murdering a Christian monk, imprisoned and tortured. Several of the imprisoned died of torture,...
. Salant arrived in Jerusalem in 1841, rejoining his father-in-law and about 500 other Ashkenazim who had preceded him. From 1848 to 1851 he served as a meshulach (fund-raiser), visiting the principal cities of Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
and Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
to collect money for the impoverished Jews of the Old Yishuv
Old Yishuv
The Old Yishuv refers to the Jewish community that lived in the Land of Israel from the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE to the First Aliyah in 1881-82, prior to the onset of Zionist immigration....
. This age-old practice was termed the Chaluka.
In 1860, Salant travelled to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to collect funds. Upon his return to Jerusalem, he succeeded in ensuring that his contributions were equally divided between the Sephardim
Sephardi Jews
Sephardi Jews is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and...
and Ashkenazim. He also collected donations for the building of the Beis Yaakov Synagogue
Hurva Synagogue
The Hurva Synagogue, , also known as Hurvat Rabbi Yehudah he-Hasid , is a historic synagogue located in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem....
in Jerusalem. In 1871 he succeeded Rabbi Meir Auerbach as chief rabbi of the Ashkenazim.
In 1860, a time of universal poverty and hardship, Salant founded the Rabbi Meir Baal Haneis Salant charity to provide for all of Israel's poor and impoverished, Sefardi and Ashkenazi alike. In 1888 Salant's eyesight began to fail, and a few years later he became blind. This did not stop his extensive activity in communal affairs. In 1900, however, Salant requested an assistant. Rabbi Eliyahu David Rabinowitz-Teomim
Eliyahu David Rabinowitz-Teomim
Elijah David Rabinowitz-Teomim , also known by his acronym ADeReT, was a Lithuanian rabbi in the 19th century who served as the leader of the Jewish community of Panevėžys, as the Rosh Yeshiva of Mir, led the Ashkenazi community in Jerusalem, and published many brilliant original arguments in Torah...
, a world renowned rabbi and author, had just arrived in Israel from Russia. He was immediately selected for the position. However, Rabinowitz-Teomim predeceased Salant in 1905.
Rabbis Salant and Auerbach highly supported the Balady citron
Balady citron
Balady Citron , is a variety of citron, or etrog, grown in Israel for Jewish ritual purposes. Balady is Arabic for "native." Local Arab farmers began using this name in the mid-19th century to distinguish this variety from the Greek citron, which was cultivated along the Jaffa seashore.The Balady...
which was cultivated at the Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
ic village of Um el-Faum, since it was considered by them as the most kosher.
Salant did not author any major works, but was regarded as a distinguished Talmudist and an excellent and learned leader. Many of halachic
Halakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...
(legal) positions are known through the prodigious writing of his student and grandson by marriage, Rabbi Yechiel Michel Tukichinsky.
He was also known for his moderation and tolerance of all classes of Jews. As Ashkenazic chief rabbi, he was on friendly terms with his Sephardic counterpart, Chief Rabbi Yaakov Shaul Elyashar, and they generally acted in harmony concerning the welfare matters of the community.
Salant was instrumental in the establishment of the Etz Chaim Yeshiva
Etz Chaim Yeshiva
Etz Chaim Yeshiva is an orthodox yeshiva located on Jaffa Road close to the Mahane Yehuda Market in downtown Jerusalem.-History:Etz Chaim Yeshiva was originally a Talmud Torah which was established in 1841 by the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, Shmuel Salant. For the first two years classes were held in...
in Jerusalem. He also helped found Bikur Cholim Hospital and encouraged people to move into new neighborhoods outside of the Old City walls. During his tenure as chief rabbi, the population of Jerusalem grew from 5,000 to 30,000 Jews.
Salant died on Monday, 16 August 1909 (29 Av
Av
Av is the eleventh month of the civil year and the fifth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. The name is Babylonian in origin and appeared in the Talmud around the 3rd century. This is the only month which is not named in the Bible. It is a summer month of 30 days...
5669), and was buried on the Mount of Olives
Mount of Olives
The Mount of Olives is a mountain ridge in East Jerusalem with three peaks running from north to south. The highest, at-Tur, rises to 818 meters . It is named for the olive groves that once covered its slopes...
. His student, Rabbi Yechiel Michel Tukichinsky writes that though funerals in Jerusalem are generally performed within the same day or night as the passing, Salant's was an exception. He died at night and the funeral was not held until daybreak because the Rabbis were concerned that the massive attendance to a nighttime funeral procession would lead to injuries or worse. In 2006, Salant was memorialized in an Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i postage stamp
Postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
, pictured.
Salant's memory was invoked during the 2011 political lobbying of his direct relative, New York State Senator Stephen Saland
Stephen Saland
Stephen M. Saland is an American attorney and politician. He is currently a Republican member of the New York State Senate, representing the 41st District since 1990...
, by local chareidi Agudah
Agudath Israel of America
Agudath Israel of America , is a Haredi Jewish communal organization in the United States loosely affiliated with the international World Agudath Israel.-Functions:...
leadership in opposition to legalization of same sex marriage and the Marriage Equality Act
Marriage Equality Act
The Marriage Equality Act is a 2011 New York State law that allows gender-neutral marriages for both same- and opposite-sex couples, while prohibiting state and local courts and governments from penalizing religious and religious-supervised institutions, their employees, or clergy for refusing to...
.