Rabbi Shimon Sofer zy"a, the Michtav Sofer, Rav of Krakow, son of the Chasam Sofer zy"a
Rabbi Shimon Sofer zy"a
רבי שמעון סופר זי״ע
Upcoming yahrzeit: 26 March 2027 (17 Adar II) (5787)
The gold-lettered matzeivah says "on the 17th day of Adar" (י״ז אדר), without writing Adar II. 5643 was a leap year; biographical sources give 17 Adar II / 26 March 1883. The calendar follows the sources.
Send a kvittel to this keverBiography
Rabbi Shimon Sofer zy"a, the Michtav Sofer, was a son of the Chasam Sofer zy"a of Pressburg. He was born in Pressburg on 13 Teves 5581 (18 December 1820). His mother, Sarel, was a daughter of Reb Akiva Eiger zy"a. He first served as rav in Mattersdorf, in the same kehillah where his father had once been rav, and around 1859 he became rav of Krakow. Some write that the Divrei Chaim of Sanz zy"a was among those who encouraged him to take the Krakow rabbonus.
In Krakow he stood at the head of a large kehillah, and he worked to strengthen a traditional, Shulchan-Aruch’dige Yiddishkeit. Together with the Belzer Rav, Reb Yehoshua Rokeach zy"a, he helped found the Machzikei HaDas. His Torah was later printed as Michtav Sofer. The inscription on his matzeivah says that he was av beis din here, and that he judged Yisrael for forty years, in Mattersdorf and then in Krakow.
He was niftar in Krakow on 17 Adar II 5643 (26 March 1883) — 5643 was a leap year, and the sources give 17 Adar II; the matzeivah says 17 Adar. He rests in the nayer Beis Hachaim on ul. Miodowa, next to his son-in-law, Rabbi Akiva Kornitzer zt"l, who succeeded him in the rabbonus. Your kvittel will be placed on his kever there.
Historical background
In the middle of the nineteenth century, Krakow was a large kehillah with many shuls, and also with new movements that wanted to change minhag and chinuch. Rabbi Shimon Sofer zy"a, a son of the Chasam Sofer, came from Mattersdorf to be rav of the city, and he worked with other rabbonim and Rebbes — among them the Belzer Rav — to strengthen the old path. He was laid to rest in the nayer Beis Hachaim on Miodowa, which by then was the kehillah’s cemetery, not the older Remah Beis Hachaim.
Before & after
Who came before
- The Chasam Sofer, Reb Moshe Sofer of Pressburg zy"a — His father
Who came after
- Rabbi Akiva Kornitzer zt"l — His son-in-law (and also his sister’s son); he succeeded him in the Krakow rabbonus and rests beside him
- Rabbi Yosef Nechemia Kornitzer zt"l — His grandson, later rav of Krakow, buried in the same Beis Hachaim
In his dor
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Sources
The facts on this page come from the earlier site and from the sources listed here. Where the sources are not one shittah, it is written in the text.
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Send a kvittel to Rabbi Shimon Sofer zy"a
Write the names and your bakashah. The kvittel will be brought to this kever. A pidyon of eighteen dollars or more goes with it; you choose the amount, and you will be taken to a secure payment page. The shliach receives the kvittel only once the pidyon is received.