{{Short description|Hungarian rabbi and scholar}} {{distinguish|text=Yaakov Chaim Sofer, the Iraqi rabbi and author of Kaf Hachayim}}{{Infobox Jewish leader | name = Chaim Sofer | image = Chaim Sofer.jpg | title = Rabbi | birth_place = Pressburg, Hungary | death_date = {{death date and age|1886|6|28|1821|9|29}} | birth_date = {{birth date|1821|9|29}} | death_place = Budapest, Hungary | denomination = Orthodox Judaism | buried = Pressburg, Hungary | nationality = Hungarian }} Rabbi '''Chaim Sofer''' (also known as the '''Machne Chaim''', the name of his responsa) (September 29, 1821 – June 28, 1886<ref name="JE">{{Cite book|last1= Singer |first1=Isidore|authorlink1=Isidore Singer |last2=Venetianer |first2= Ludwig|authorlink2= Ludwig Venetianer |title=SOFER, HAYYIM BEN MORDECAI EPHRAIM FISCHL|url=http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=884&letter=S#ixzz0sNYICrEK|publisher=Jewish Encyclopedia}}</ref>) was a renowned Hungarian rabbi<ref>{{Cite book|last=Amsel|first=Melody|title=Between Galicia and Hungary: the Jews of Stropkov|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j8JtAAAAMAAJ&q=%22chaim+sofer%22|year=2002|publisher=Avotaynu|isbn=978-1-886223-13-4|page=40}}</ref> and "scholarly spokesperson for Orthodox Judaism during his time."<ref name="Dicker">{{Cite book|last=Dicker|first=Herman|title=Piety and Perseverance: Jews from the Carpathian Mountains|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mju8AAAAIAAJ&q=%22chaim+sofer%22|year=1981|publisher=Sepher-Hermon Press|isbn= 978-0-87203-094-7|page=12}}</ref>
==Biography== Chaim Sofer was born in Pressburg, Hungary (now Bratislava, Slovakia), on September 29, 1821. His father was Mordechai Efraim Fischel. Sofer attended the famous ''yeshiva'' of Rabbi Moses Sofer (no relation<ref name="Dicker" />) in Pressburg, and was considered his "most distinguished student".<ref name="Nadler">{{Cite journal|last=Nadler|first=Allan L.|date=October 1994|title=The War on Modernity of R. Hayyim Elazar Shapira of Munkacz|journal=Modern Judaism|publisher=Oxford University Press|volume=14|issue=3|pages=234–35|url=http://depts.drew.edu/rel/Munkaczer%20Rabbe.pdf|doi=10.1093/mj/14.3.233|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100629115851/http://depts.drew.edu/rel/Munkaczer%20Rabbe.pdf|archive-date=2010-06-29}}</ref> He also attended the ''yeshiva'' of Rabbi Meir Eisenstaedter in Ungvar, Hungary (now Uzhhorod, Ukraine).<ref name="JE" />
In 1844, aged 23, he was hired to teach high-school students in a ''yeshiva'' in Mattersdorf, Hungary (now Mattersburg, Austria).<ref name="JE" /> He subsequently served as the rabbi of the Orthodox Jewish communities in Gyömöre, Hungary (1852) Sajószentpéter, Hungary (1859), and Munkacs, Hungary (now Mukachevo, Ukraine (1868).<ref name="JE" /> While he was Chief Rabbi in Munkacs, Sofer was against introducing any "innovations" in Judaism.<ref name="Nadler" /> Nevertheless, he was not considered "conservative" enough and in 1879 was replaced by one of the Munkacs Hassidic rabbis.<ref name="Nadler" />
In 1879, he was chosen rabbi of the Orthodox congregation in the newly merged city of Budapest, Hungary, where he officiated until his death.<ref name="JE" /><ref name="Kiel">{{Cite book|last=Kiel|first=Dvora|title=When the Time is Right: Manifestations of Divine Providence in Everyday life|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=peGw2sZVN5QC&q=%22chaim+sofer%22&pg=PA425|year=2007|publisher=Feldheim Publishers|isbn=978-965-7371-29-9|page=425}}</ref> His position was replaced by Rabbi Koppel Reich.<ref name="Kiel" /> Sofer died in Budapest on June 28, 1886, and was buried in Pressburg, the city of his birth.<ref name="JE" />
==Notable rulings== *According to ''Halakha'' (Jewish law), abortion is permitted when the life of the mother is in danger.<ref name="BBC">{{Cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/judaism/jewishethics/abortion_1.shtml|title=Abortion|work=BBC|access-date=July 1, 2010}}</ref> Sofer ruled that once the baby is "partially born", one cannot even injure the baby to save the mother, unless non-interference will mean both mother and child die.<ref name="bleich/abortion">J. David Bleich, "Abortion in Halakhic Literature", ''Tradition'', 1968, 10(2), p. 101.</ref>
According to J. David Bleich: :<blockquote>Interpreted in a similar manner the further provision of the Mishnah. . . "but once the major portion has emerged one may not touch it" [the fetus] implies that even the maiming of a partially born child or amputation of a limb is forbidden in order to save the mother. R. Chaim Sofer (''Machaneh Chaim, Choshen Mishpat'', no. 50) draws such an inference and indicates that the rationale motivating the decision is the fact that the physician "cannot guarantee with certainty" that the child will survive the surgical procedure. However, if non-interference will result in the loss of both mother and child, R. Sofer permits maiming of the child in an attempt to save the life of the mother.<ref name="bleich/abortion" /></blockquote>
==Modernism== Sofer held that it was important that the Yiddish language be preserved and be established as a part of Jewish life.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Katz|first=Dovid|title=Words on Fire: The Unfinished Story of Yiddish|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i2e4phvJTQUC&q=%22chaim+sofer%22&pg=PA255|year=2007|publisher=Basic Books|isbn=978-0-465-03730-8|page=255}}{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> He was also opposed in general to the introduction of modern innovations to religious activity and services in the same vein as his mentor, Moses Sofer.<ref name="Nadler" /><ref name="Hildesheimer">{{Cite journal|last=Hildesheimer|first=Meir|year=1994|title=The Attitude of the Ḥatam Sofer toward Moses Mendelssohn|journal=Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research|publisher=American Academy for Jewish Research|volume=60|pages=141–187|doi=10.2307/3622572|jstor=3622572}}</ref> His stance was in opposition to that of Azriel Hildesheimer who supported secular studies.<ref name="tradition">{{Cite book|title=Tradition, Volume 25|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=05HXAAAAMAAJ&q=%22chaim+sofer%22|year=1989|publisher=Human Sciences Press|page=98}}</ref>
==Works by Sofer==
*''Peles Chaim'' (Pressburg, 1854) *''Machne Chaim'' (4 vols., 2 editions), a collection of responsa *''Chillul Shabbat'' (Sajószentpéter) *''Kol Sofer,'' a commentary on the ''Mishnah'' *''Dibrei Sharei Chaim'' *''Sharei Chaim'' <ref name="JE" />
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sofer, Chaim}} Category:1821 births Category:1886 deaths Category:Hungarian Orthodox rabbis Category:19th-century Hungarian rabbis Category:Rabbis from Bratislava Category:Rabbis from Budapest