Editing Yechiel Michel Epstein

{{Short description|Lithuanian rabbi (1829–1908)}}
{{more citations needed|date=July 2018}}
{{Distinguish|Jehiel Michel Epstein (17th century)}}
{{Infobox Jewish leader
| honorific-prefix          = Rabbi
| name                      = Yechiel Michel Epstein
| image                     = Yechiel Michel Epstein (1829-1908).jpg
| caption                   = 
| image_size                = 
| title                     = Author of [[Aruch HaShulchan]]
| rabbi                     = [[Navahrudak]]
| occupation                = [[Posek]] 
| alma_mater                = [[Volozhin yeshiva]]
| birth_date                = 24 January 1829
| birth_place               = [[Babruysk]]
| death_date                = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1908|03|25|1829|2|24}}
| death_place               = [[Navahrudak]]
| buried                    = [[Navahrudak]] 
| nationality               = 
| denomination              = [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]]
}}

'''Yechiel Michel ha-Levi Epstein''' ({{langx|he|יחיאל מיכל הלוי אפשטיין}})
(24 January 1829 – 25 March 1908), often called "the ''Aruch haShulchan''" after his magnum opus, ''[[Aruch HaShulchan]]'', was a [[Rabbi]] and ''[[posek]]'' (authority in [[halakha|Jewish law]]) in [[Lithuanian Jews|Lithuania]].

==Biography==
Yechiel Michel Epstein was born on 24 January 1829 in [[Babruysk]], [[Russian Empire]] (presently in [[Belarus]]) to Aharon Yitzchak and Rashka Epstein.
His father Aharon Yitzchak Epstein was a builder and contractor who spend much of his time traveling for his work, which were often projects of the [[Czar]]ist government.
{{sfn|Henkin|2018|pp=37-38}}
 
He had one brother, Benjamin Beinush Epstein, who lived in [[Saint Petersburg]]. The two brothers stayed in touch over the years, and when Epstein needed to travel to Saint Petersburg—usually to submit his writings to the [[Censorship in the Russian Empire|Russian censor]] before publishing—he would stay at his brother's house.
{{sfn|Henkin|2018|p=38}}

As a child, Epstein studied in a traditional [[Cheder]]. His original intent was to follow in his father's footsteps: to work as a merchant, while dedicating time to daily [[Torah study]]. In his youth, he engaged in trade and was fluent in Russian, a skill not commonly found in rabbis at that time. However, Rabbi Eliyahu Goldberg, rabbi of the nearby town of [[Parichi]] (and a student of Rabbi [[Chaim of Volozhin]]), took an interest in the youth; the rabbi convinced Epstein to leave commerce and dedicate himself to Torah study. Soon after, Epstein left for the famed [[Volozhin yeshiva]], where he studied for two years.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Epstein |first1=Baruch|author-link=Baruch Epstein|title=Makor Baruch |date=1928|page=1195}}</ref>
 
In Volozhin, he met and started a lifelong friendship with Rabbi [[Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin]] (the ''Netziv''), who later became the ''[[rosh yeshiva]]'' (head) of the Volozhin Yeshiva. After finishing his studies there, Epstein married Berlin's sister Michlah. (Epstein later became Berlin's father-in-law, when Berlin remarried to Epstein's daughter Batya Miriam after the death of his first wife.)

After his marriage, Epstein returned to Babruysk, and he taught in the Altshul yeshiva there.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bar-Ilan |first1=Meir|author-link=Meir Bar-Ilan |title=From Volozhin to Jerusalem |date=1939|page=276}}</ref>
He received ''[[semicha]]'' ([[rabbi]]nic ordination) from Rabbi Eliyahu Goldberg, who had been appointed rabbi and [[Av Beit Din]] of the [[Mitnagged]] community of Babruysk in 1852.

By 1862, Epstein was serving as a [[Beth din#Officers of a beth din|dayan (religious judge)]] on Goldberg's [[beit din]].{{sfn|Henkin|2018|pp=47-49}} Most of the family's income, however, came from his wife's fabric store. When eulogizing his wife, Epstein remarked—perhaps in exaggeration—that for 30 years Michlah ran the family store, and he did not even know where the store was located.{{sfn|Henkin|2018|p=46}}
 
In 1864, at the age of 35, Epstein was appointed rabbi of [[Novozybkov]] (east of [[Gomel]], now [[Bryansk Oblast|Bryansk region]]), a town with a large number of [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidic Jews]], mainly adherents of [[Chabad Lubavitch]] and [[Chernobyl (Hasidic dynasty)|Chernobyl]]. Several months after arriving in Novozybkov, Epstein traveled to [[Lyubavichi|Lubavitch]] where he visited Rabbi [[Menachem Mendel Schneersohn]], also known as the Tzemach Tzedek, the third [[rebbe]] (spiritual leader) of the [[Chabad Lubavitch]] [[Hasidic]] Jews.{{sfn|Henkin|2018|pp=55-58,321-348}} His major endeavor during this period was writing his first work, ''Ohr LaYesharim'', a commentary to ''Sefer HaYashar'' of [[Rabbeinu Tam]]. He printed the first volume of this work in 1869, but lacked the funds to publish more.{{sfn|Henkin|2018|p=61}}

In 1874, after ten years as rabbi in Novozybkov, Epstein was appointed as the rabbi of [[Navahrudak]], where he would serve for 34 years, until his death. Here, he was recognized as a ''[[posek]]'' (decisor of [[halakha|Jewish law]]), and he was to compose most of his writings in Navahrudak.

Epstein was involved in many charitable endeavors. He was particularly close to Rabbi [[Shmuel Salant]], the chief rabbi of Jerusalem, and wrote extensively on the obligation of all Jews to support the [[Rabbi Meir|Rabbi Meir Baal Haneis]] charity that Rabbi Salant founded in Israel in 1860.

Epstein died on 22 [[Adar II]] 5668 (25 March 1908) and is buried in Navahrudak.{{sfn|Henkin|2018|p=224}}

==Children==
The Epsteins had 5 children:
* '''Eidel Kahanov''', his first born, married a wealthy merchant from [[Odessa]].
* '''Rabbi {{Ill|Dov Ber Epstein|he|דובער אפשטיין}}''', the eldest son, moved to [[Jerusalem]] in 1902, where he served in a number of public positions.
* '''Brina Walbrinska''' took over publishing her father's works after his death. She was also on the executive board of the Navahrudak orphanage.
* '''Batya Miriam Berlin''' divorced her first husband, a young man from a wealthy family, several months after the wedding, as he was unwilling to fulfill his promise to dedicate himself to Torah study. When Rabbi [[Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin]]'s first wife died several years later, she happily agreed to marry him, even though the [[rosh yeshiva]] was 30 years her senior.{{sfn|Henkin|2018|pp=213-216}} Among their children was Rabbi [[Meir Bar-Ilan]].
* '''Rabbi [[Baruch Epstein]]''' was a bookkeeper by profession but produced a number of scholarly and popular works, most notably the ''[[Torah Temimah]]''.

==Works==
[[File:AHS-OH-A-HB7705.pdf|thumb|Arukh haShulchan, ''Orach Hayyim'' vol. 1]]

* ''[[Aruch HaShulchan]]'' - his magnum opus, a code of [[Halakha]] tracing the origins of each law and custom, clarifying the opinions of the [[Rishonim]] and arriving at a ''[[posek|psak]]'' (decision) - often supported by (and sometimes in disagreement with) the [[Acharonim]]. Regarded by some as the most comprehensive, seminal, and original modern restatement of Jewish law since [[Maimonides|Rambam]]. {{sfn|Broyde|Pill|2021}}{{pn|date=April 2022}}
* ''[[Aruch HaShulchan he'Atid]]'' (''Laying the Table of the Future'') - a parallel work to Arukh HaShulkhan, summarising and analysing the laws that will apply in Messianic times. This work became more relevant when Jewish farming communities were re-established in [[Israel]], since many agricultural laws which apply only in Israel are covered in this work.
* ''Ohr la-Yesharim'' - his first work, a commentary on the classic work ''Sefer ha-Yashar'' by the [[Tosafists|Tosafist]] [[Rabbeinu Tam]].
* ''Meichal ha-Mayim'' - a commentary on the [[Jerusalem Talmud]].
* ''Leil Shimurim'' - a commentary on the [[Haggadah]] for [[Passover]].
* ''Derashot Kol Ben Levi'' - a collection of sermons he delivered in the main synagogue of Navahrudak, often including long Halakhic sections.

==Prominent rabbis he ordained==
As a well-known authority of [[Halakha]], many young scholars asked to receive his ''[[semicha]]'' ([[rabbi]]nic ordination).
Below is a partial list of prominent rabbis whom Epstein ordained:{{sfn|Henkin|2018|pp=365-370}}
* [[Abraham Isaac Kook|Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook]], the first [[Ashkenazi]] [[Chief Rabbi]] of British [[Mandatory Palestine]]. 
* [[Isser Zalman Meltzer|Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer]], the rabbi of [[Slutsk]] and [[rosh yeshiva]] of the [[Etz Chaim Yeshiva]] in [[Jerusalem]].
* [[Yosef Eliyahu Henkin|Rabbi Yosef Eliyahu Henkin]], prominent Orthodox rabbi and [[posek]].
* [[Yehezkel Abramsky|Rabbi Yehezkel Abramsky]], head of the [[London Beth Din]] rabbinical court and later [[rosh yeshiva]] of [[Slabodka yeshiva (Bnei Brak)|Slabodka yeshiva]] in [[Bnei Brak]].
* [[Shlomo Yosef Zevin|Rabbi Shlomo Yosef Zevin]], the founder and chief editor of the [[Encyclopedia Talmudit]].
* [[Rabbi Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman]], Orthodox rabbi and [[rosh yeshiva]] of the [[Ponevezh Yeshiva]].
* [[Yehuda Leib Maimon|Rabbi Yehuda Leib Maimon]],  Israeli rabbi, author, and leader of the [[Religious Zionist]] movement. He was Israel's first [[Ministry of Religious Services|Minister of Religions]].

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* {{Cite book|last=Henkin|first=Eitam|title=Set a Table Before Me|publisher=Maggid Books|year=2018|isbn=978-965-526-260-5|location=Jerusalem}} 
* {{Cite book|last=Shapiro|first=Chaim|title=The Torah Profile: A Treasury of Biographical Sketches|editor=Rabbi Nisson Wolpin |publisher=Mesorah Publications|year=1988|isbn=0-89906-860-X|location=Brooklyn, New York}}
* {{Cite book|last1=Broyde|first1=Michael|last2=Pill|first2=Shlomo|title=Setting the Table: An Introduction to the Jurisprudence of Rabbi Yechiel Mikhel Epstein's Arukh HaShulhan|publisher=Academic Studies Press|year=2021|isbn=978-164-469-070-3}}

== External links==
*[http://rabbimeirbaalhaneis.com/Rabbi%20Yechiel%20Michel%20Halevi%20Epstein.asp Biography of Rabbi Yechiel Mechel Epstein]
*[[:s:he:ערוך השולחן|Aruch HaShulchan at Hebrew Wikitext]] (Hebrew text)
*[[:s:Aruch ha-Shulchan/Orach Chaim|Aruch HaShulchan Orach Chaim]] (incomplete English translation)
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080918094724/http://seforim.traditiononline.org/index.cfm/Arukh%20HaShulhan A Collection of Studies on the Aruch HaShulchan, its author, and the history of its publication]
*[http://www.aishdas.org/luach/ Aruch HaShulchan Yomi] - Daily study cycle at [http://www.aishdas.org/ AishDas]
*[http://halachaonline.com/ Classes on Aruch HaShulchan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050904074030/http://www.halachaonline.com/ |date=2005-09-04 }}
*[https://www.hebrewbooks.org/home.aspx HebrewBooks] has most of the Aruch HaShulchan scanned in pdf format (search for ערוך השלחן)

{{Commentators on the Jerusalem Talmud}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Epstein, Yechiel Michel}}
[[Category:1829 births]]
[[Category:1908 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Babruysk]]
[[Category:Belarusian Jews]]
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[[Category:Exponents of Jewish law]]
[[Category:Authors of books on Jewish law]]
[[Category:Haredi poskim]]
[[Category:Volozhin Yeshiva alumni]]