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20-623: Joseph Rosen was born in Rogachov , now Belarus , into a Hasidic family of Chabad - Kapust Hasidim, and was educated in the local cheder (elementary school). His unusual capabilities were noticed at the age of 13, when he was sent to study in Slutsk along with Chaim Soloveitchik (5 years his senior), under Yosef Dov Soloveitchik (Beis Halevi) . He subsequently studied under Yehoshua Leib Diskin (Maharil Diskin) in Shklov . In 1889, he assumed

40-477: A number of works on Jewish law, some of which were published in his lifetime. Rahachow Rahachow or Rogachev ( Belarusian : Рагачоў , romanized :  Ragachow , IPA: [raɣaˈtʂou̯] ; Russian : Рогачёв , romanized :  Rogachjov ; Polish : Rohaczów ; Yiddish : ראגאטשאוו , IPA: [ragat͡ʃov] ) is a town in Gomel Region , Belarus . It serves as

60-424: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Responsa Responsa (plural of Latin responsum , 'answer') comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them. In the modern era, the term is used to describe decisions and rulings made by scholars in historic religious law . Roman law recognised responsa prudentium , i.e.,

80-721: Is now publishing the remaining manuscripts. Rosen's approach to Torah study is discussed in Shlomo Yosef Zevin 's Ishim v'Shitot (Personalities and Approaches). Rosen's works include responsa and novellae on Torah and Talmud . They are regarded as difficult and inaccessible, as he employs the philosophical terminology of Maimonides' The Guide for the Perplexed even in non-philosophical analyses. Kasher, therefore, included Mefa'aneach Tzefunoth (Decipherer of Secrets), an explanatory commentary to facilitate understanding of Rosen's influential work. Rosen authored

100-634: The commentaries ( meforshim )—devoted to the exegesis of the Hebrew Bible , the Mishnah , the Talmud —and from the codes of law which delineate the rules for ordinary incidents of life. The responsa literature covers a period of 1,700 years—the mode, style, and subject matter have changed as a function of the travels of the Jewish people and of the development of other halakhic literature, particularly

120-485: The history of Judaism have been introduced into the responsa. Responsa thus contain valuable information about the culture of the Jews and the people among whom they lived. Information may also be gleaned about the moral and social relations of the times, occupations, the household, customs , expressions of joy and of sorrow, and recreations, and even games. Older responsa are also important for readings and emendations of

140-485: The Holy See. In rabbinic literature , the responsa are known as She'elot u-Teshuvot ( Hebrew : שאלות ותשובות "questions and answers"), and comprise the body of written decisions and rulings given by poskim ("deciders of Jewish law"). A modern term, used mainly for questions on the internet , is " Ask the rabbi ". Judaism's responsa constitute a special class of rabbinic literature , to be distinguished from

160-696: The Nazis), who remained in Latvia to complete this task, and his daughter Rachel Citron, who had come to Dvinsk from the Land of Israel to help preserve her father's manuscripts. Both were murdered in the Holocaust . A portion of these manuscripts was edited and published by Menachem Mendel Kasher . Seven manuscripts were published by Machon Tzofnas Paneah, headed by Mordechai Pinchas Teitz . Machon Hamaor in Jerusalem

180-650: The United States and Israel many years after his death; all are titled Tzofnath Paneach (Decipherer of Secrets—a title given to the Biblical Joseph by Pharaoh ). His manuscripts were smuggled out of Latvia in the form of micro photographs sent via mail to the Safern family in the Bronx at the outbreak of World War II by his successor, Yisrael Alter Safern-Fuchs (1911– 20th Sivan, 1942 murdered by

200-713: The Vienna Sanitorium and his body was sent to Dvinsk for burial. Throughout his life he maintained very close connections to Lubavitcher Hasidim Lubavitcher and their rebbes Sholom Dovber Schneersohn and Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn . After Sholom Dovber's death, he supported the decision to appoint the young Yosef Yitzchak as the new Rebbe. Rosen is a famous figure in Chabad-Lubavitch folklore. His name often comes up in stories told in yeshivas and during farbrengens (Hasidic gatherings). Stories range from self-sacrifice and dedication to Torah values despite

220-641: The actual semikha is included in that work). Rosen is remembered for his breadth of Torah knowledge and caustic wit. He did not suffer inadequacy lightly. He was similarly reputed to rarely quote any rabbinic authority post- Maimonides , and avoided recent rabbinic works of the Acharonim in favour of the Rishonim (those preceding the late 15th century). His responses to queries of Jewish law are generally enigmatic and cryptic. Rosen died in Vienna in 1936 at

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240-708: The administrative center of Rahachow District . Rahachow is located between the Drut and Dnieper rivers. As of 2024, it has a population of 31,821. The town is first mentioned in 1142 in Rus' chronicles. From the late thirteenth century it was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania , and then the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . In 1772, the area was annexed by the Russian Empire . On 16 July 1863

260-599: The codes. Responsa play a particularly important role in Jewish law . The questions forwarded are usually practical, and often concerned with new contingencies for which no provision has been made in the codes of law , and the responsa thus supplement the codes. They, therefore, function as a source of law, in a manner similar to legal precedent , in that they are consulted by later decisors ( poskim ) in their rulings; they are also, in turn, incorporated into subsequent codes . In addition to requests for halakhic rulings, many of

280-814: The force of law as per canon 16 §2 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law . Other responsa cannot have this binding force, but nevertheless possess a high authority. Some responsa are given in Notitiae , the official journal of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments (CDW). The responsa given in Notitiae are, according to the CDW, to be considered only as private responses unless they are published in official legal records of

300-565: The local landowner Tomasz Hryniewicz was executed here by a Russian firing squad for leading the Rahachow detachment of Polish insurgents. During World War II , Rahachow was occupied by the German Army from 2 July 1941 to 13 July 1941, and again from 14 August 1941 to 24 February 1944. Rahachow also has a popular dairy product factory, whose products are supplied across Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. This Belarus location article

320-667: The pressures of the Russian government, to special sensitivity to the Chassidus , to his genius in the revealed Torah. Rosen was a noted Talmudic scholar and published a number of his works on the Talmud and Maimonides. His main work, a commentary on Maimonides, was published during his lifetime, as were three volumes of halakhic (Jewish law) responsa. Two additional volumes of responsa were published soon after his death by his daughter. The remainder of his surviving writings appeared in

340-529: The questions addressed were theoretical in character, particularly among the earlier responsa. The responsa thus contain rulings on ethics , business ethics , the philosophy of religion , astronomy , mathematics , history , geography , as well as interpretations of passages in the Bible , the Mishnah , the Talmud , and the Midrash . Thus, while early Jewish literature has few historical works, many notes on

360-671: The rabbinate of the Hasidic community in Dvinsk for almost 50 years, where his non-Hasidic counterpart was Meir Simcha of Dvinsk . They served in parallel until the late 1920s, and enjoyed excellent relations. Among those who received semikha (rabbinic ordination) from him were Menachem Mendel Schneerson (the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, 1902-1994), Mordecai Savitsky (1911-1991) of Boston , Zvi Olshwang (1873–1961) of Chicago (brother-in-law of Shimon Shkop ) and Avraham Eliyahu Plotkin (1888-1948; author of Birurei Halachot —a copy of

380-505: The responses and thoughts of jurists , as one of the sources of ius scriptum (written law), along with laws originating from magistrates , from the Senate , or from the emperor . A particularly well-known and highly influential example of such responsa was the Digesta (or Digests ), in 90 books, the principal work of the prominent second century jurist Salvius Julianus . This

400-714: Was a systematic treatise on civil and praetorian law, consisting of responsa on real and hypothetical cases, cited by many later Roman legal writers. In the Catholic Church , responsa are answers of the competent executive authority to specific questions (in Latin, dubia , literally "doubts") sent by Catholic bishops to the Holy See . Responsa given by the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts which are promulgated as authentic interpretation have

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