 | Meir Simcha of Dvinsk: Encyclopedia II - Meir Simcha of Dvinsk - Biography
Meir Simcha of Dvinsk - Biography
Meir Simcha was born in Butrimonys (Yiddish: Baltrimantz), Lithuania, to Samson Kalonymus, a local wealthy merchant. According to family tradition, his later success in Torah study was attributed to two blessings his parents had received from local rabbis before his birth.
He received his education locally, and managed to hide from the regular roundups of Jewish boys that were being held as a result of the Cantonist decrees that had been in effect since 1827.
After marrying in 1860, at age 17, he settled in Białystok, Poland, where he was supported by his father-in-law while continuing his Talmudic studies. After 23 years there he finally, after turning down many offers, accepted the rabbinate of the mitnagdim (non-Hasidic Jews) in the Latvian town of Dvinsk, now known as Daugavpils. He would remain in the position until his death.
In Dvinsk, his counterpart was the Hasidic Rabbi Yosef Rosen, known as the Rogatchover Gaon or by his work Tzofnath Paneach. The two had a great respect for each other, despite Rosen's legendary fiery temper, and on occasions referred questions in Jewish law to each other. They also shared a love for the works of Maimonides.
In 1906, a certain Shlomo Friedlander published two tractates of the Jerusalem Talmud that had been considered lost for hundreds of years. Rabbi Meir Simcha (as well as the Gerer Rebbe and Rabbi Dr Yissachar Dov Ritter of Rotterdam) was one of the few who discovered that the work was a very clever forgery.
In Dvinsk, he received visitors from the whole region, and was frequently consulted on issues affecting the community at large, including Poland and Lithuania. He reputedly turned down offers for the rabbinate in various large cities, including Jerusalem, New York and Kovno.
He died in a hotel in Riga while seeking medical treatment. He had one daughter, who predeceased him before her marriage.
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