CHATAM SOFER

Rabbi Moshe Schreiber, known as the Chatam Sofer (or Chasam Sofer), was a renowned rabbi and scholar who was born in Frankfurt am Main on 26 September 1762 (7 Tishrei 5523). The Chatam Sofer studied at the yeshiva - rabbinical school - in Mainz and later became a student of Rabbi Nathan Adler in Frankfurt. In 1782, he left Frankfurt for Straznice, today in the Czech Republic, where he married Sarah Yerwitz, his first wife, and became head of the local yeshiva. From 1794, Sofer served as rabbi in Prostejov (today in Czech Republic) and from 1796 in Mattersdorf (now Mattersburg, Austria). In 1806, he accepted an invitation of the Jewish community of Pressburg - Bratislava - and became its Chief Rabbi. Sofer remained in this post for 33 years; he served as av beth din (chief judge of the rabbinical court) and became one of the most respected authorities in Halakhah (Jewish law). About 1200 responsa, or rabbinical rulings, were published posthumously and many of them even today are basic..

Primary location: Bratislava Slovensko