The London Chabad Dayan Who Wrote Books in English and French

Who is the only Chabad chasid to have served on the London Beis Din? Who was the first Lubavitcher to write a book in English? Who was the first Lubavitcher to write a book in French? The answer to all of these questions is the same: Harav Moshe Avigdor Chaikin. Ahead of his 97th yahrtzeit, ‘From the Margins of Chabad History’ tells his story.

By Shmuel Super

Youth

R. Moshe Avigdor Chaikin was born in Shklov in 5612, to his father R. Yisrael Shraga. The Chaikin family was descended from R. Chaim Chaikel of Amdura, a leading talmid of the Mezritcher Magid, and were Chabad chasidim from the generation of the Alter Rebbe. The best-known member of the family is R. Yisrael’s older brother R. Shimon Menasheh Chaikin (5558–5653), who served as the rov of Anash in Chevron for many decades.

During R. Moshe Avigdor’s childhood, the family moved to Peterburg, where R. Yisrael served as a shochet for almost 50 years, until his passing in 5657. Peterburg was beyond the Pale of Settlement where Jews were allowed to live in Russia during this period, but Jews who had business there were able to obtain special residency permits.

In the non-Jewish Russian capital, fluency in Russian was standard, unlike in the shtetlach of the Pale of Settlement. When the Tzemach Tzedek and the Rebbe Maharash visited Peterburg for communal affairs, R. Yisrael served as a translator and assistant in their dealings with the Russian government officials. Many other rabbonim also stayed in the Chaikin home when they visited Peterburg.

R. Moshe Avigdor received a traditional chasidishe chinuch, and became an outstanding talmid chacham, receiving semichah from R. Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor of Kovno, R. Yekusiel Zalman Landa of Peterburg, and other prominent rabbonim. Growing up in Peterburg, he also had a more advanced secular education than was common in the shtetl, and he was fluent in a number of languages.

R. Moshe Avigdor married Tona Rivkah, the daughter of R. Shlomo Zalman Pinsker, a chasid of the Tzemach Tzedek who served as the rov of Lubavitch, and later as the rov of Cherson. The couple lived in Peterburg, and Rebbetzin Tona Rivkah bore the burden of their parnasah.

Rabbonus in Paris and Relationship with the Rebbe Rashab

In 5644 R. Moshe Avigdor moved to Paris, France, where he took a position as a rov in the “Russia-Poland” community. Paris had an established community of more assimilated French Jews, but during this period large numbers of immigrants from Eastern Europe settled in Paris and opened their own kehilah.

Despite serving as the rov of an immigrant community, R. Moshe Avigdor became very involved in the contemporary issues of French Jewry. In 5647 he published a book in French titled Apologie des Juifs: etude historique et littéraire sur l’état politique et social des juifs depuis la chute de Jérusalem jusqu’a 1306, or “Apology for the Jews: A Historical and Literary Study of the Political and Social State of the Jews from the Fall of Jerusalem to 1306.”

This book surveys the history of the Jewish people and their scholarship from the period of the churban until the year 5066, and focuses on defending the Jewish people from antisemitic accusations and libels.

R. Moshe Avigdor served as a rov in Paris for four years. Over the course of these four years, the Rebbe Rashab visited France a number of times for health reasons, and in 5644, he spent a few months in Paris. During this time, R. Moshe Avigdor developed a close relationship with the Rebbe Rashab. The Frierdiker Rebbe described this period years later in a letter (Igros Kodesh, vol. 1, p. 564):

Years ago, [R. Moshe Avigdor Chaikin] had a close and loyal friendship with my esteemed father, the Rebbe, and assisted him greatly on his travels at the time. Due to health reasons, my father was required to stay in France and spent several months in Paris. During that time, he showed great kiruv to R. Chaikin and learned Chasidus with him.

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The Frierdiker Rebbe relates a story of a joint trip R. Moshe Avigdor and the Rebbe Rashab took in Paris, in Sefer Hasichos 5704, p. 173.

In 5648 R. Moshe Avigdor returned to Russia and was appointed as the rov of Rostov-on-Don, the city that would later become famous as the center of Lubavitch for several years. However, his rabbonus in Rostov was short-lived, as the Russian authorities denied his request for a residency permit in Rostov, which was outside of the Pale of Settlement.

Sheffield, England, and Celebrities of the Jews

In 5652, R. Moshe Avigdor Chaikin was appointed to serve as a rov in Sheffield, England. Here too, R. Moshe Avigdor wrote a book about Jewish history, this time in English. Titled The Celebrities of the Jews: A Glance at the Historical Circumstances of the Jewish People From the Destruction of Jerusalem to the Present Day, this work was intended to have two parts, but only the first was published, covering Jewish history until the year 5050.

In the introduction to this book, R. Moshe Avigdor explains its purpose and target audience:

I hope that this book may be especially useful to my younger brethren, in presenting a brief and comprehensive survey of the conditions and relations of our ancestors in the Dispersion, and in serving as an introduction to a more complete and exhaustive investigation of the subject.

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In 5657, the Chabad community in Petersburg, headed by the gvir R. Shmuel Michel Treinin, attempted to bring R. Moshe Avigdor back to his old hometown to serve as a rov. However, for various reasons, this appointment did not materialize.

Communal Activism on Behalf of the Rebbe Rashab

During this time, R. Moshe Avigdor put his linguistic skills to use in the service of the Rebbe Rashab. In 5660, the Paris-based Jewish Colonization Association (ICA) was planning on joining forces with the Jewish maskilim of Peterburg to fund the establishment of modern haskalah schools for Jewish children throughout Russia. The Rebbe Rashab identified this plan as a grave threat to Yiddishkeit in Russia, and led the campaign to thwart it.

A central part of the Rebbe Rashab’s strategy was to convince the heads of the ICA in Paris that schools offering Jewish children a secular education were not the solution to the financial troubles of Russian Jewry. Instead, the Rebbe Rashab argued, the organization should focus its philanthropy on supporting Jewish factories that provided jobs.

The Rebbe Rashab wrote a lengthy letter to the directors of the ICA to explain his position. In addition to the Rebbe Rashab, the letter was signed by the leading rabbonim in Russia at the time: R. Chaim Brisker, R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinski, and R. Eliyahu Chaim Meisel of Lodz (Igros Kodesh Rashab, vol. 1, pp. 237–247).

The Rebbe Rashab then turned to R. Moshe Avigdor Chaikin and asked him to translate his letter into French and English, for the benefit of the ICA officials in Paris and London. In his letter to
R. Moshe Avigdor, the Rebbe Rashab explains the background behind his request, and asks R. Moshe Avigdor for his assistance in his campaign and advice on how to execute it (Igros Kodesh Rashab, vol. 3, pp. 140–144).  

R. Moshe Avigdor produced the translations, and the Rebbe Rashab sent them to the appropriate people (see Igros Kodesh Rashab, vol. 3, p. 166; and Igros Kodesh Rayatz, vol. 16, p. 15).

Over the stormy decades following this episode, R. Moshe Avigdor fell out of touch with the Rebbe Rashab and Frierdiker Rebbe. In the letter of the Frierdiker Rebbe cited above, written in 5687—shortly before R. Moshe Avigdor’s passing—the Frierdiker Rebbe expresses his disappointment with the lack of contact and his hope that the close connection will be reestablished.

London and the Beis Din

After a decade in Sheffield, R. Moshe Avigdor was invited to serve as the Chief Minister of the Federation of Synagogues in 5662. The Federation was formed by the Eastern European immigrant Jews who were concentrated on London’s East End, and felt that the Anglicized United Synagogue and its official Chief Rabbinate and Beis Din did not adequately represent them. 

However, R. Moshe Avigdor always worked very closely with the English Jewish community establishment, and his appointment to head the Federation was made at the recommendation of the Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Herman Adler.

Shortly after R. Moshe Avigdor’s move to London, Chief Rabbi Adler appointed him to serve as a dayan on the London Beth Din, which was in need of a serious Halachic authority.

Until today, R. Moshe Avigdor remains the only Chabad chasid to have served on the prestigious London Beth Din. Another Chabad-associated dayan who later served on the Beis Din was R. Avraham Rapoport, a dayan from 5713 until his passing in 5733. A nephew of R. Mordechai Zev Gutnick, R. Avraham came from a Chabad background and davened nusach Ari, but he learned in Litvishe yeshivos, and this was his primary affiliation (see the introduction to his sefer, Beer Avraham).

Before photography became widespread, illustrated newspapers used detailed drawings to tell stories visually. Two London-based illustrated newspapers preserve fascinating illustrations that give us a glimpse into the operations of the London Beth Din during the period when R. Moshe Avigdor Chaikin was a dayan.  

The first illustrated feature is from the August 11th, 1906 edition of The Graphic, titled “‘Beth Hamedrash & Beth Din’, (House of Learning & Judgement)—A Jewish Court.” Dscovered by the Jewish Miscellanies blog, this illustration shows us the Beis Din in session, the janitor, and petitioners. Seated on the left of Chief Rabbi Herman Adler is R. Moshe Avigdor Chaikin.  

An even more intricate and fascinating illustrative feature appeared 20 years later in The Illustrated London News, on August 14, 1926, titled “The World’s Oldest Tribunal, Dating from Moses: The Beth Din, or Court of the Chief Rabbi.” Beautifully sketched by artist Bryan De Grineau, this illustration shows the Beis Din in session, now presided over by Chief Rabbi Joseph Hertz, with R. Moshe Avigdor Chaikin in the same position to the Chief Rabbi’s left.

The description at the bottom of the page reads:

Dispensing Justice Among Jews Without Lawyers or Police: the Beth Din, the Chief Rabbi’s Court in London—a “Bill of Divorcement”; And Other Proceedings.

The Beth Din, or Court of the Chief Rabbi, in Mulberry Street, Commercial Road, is a form of Jewish tribunal, for religious and civil disputes, dating from the days of Moses and ancient Biblical times. The Court, which consists of the Chief Rabbi himself and five Dayans, or Judges, gives free judgment on cases brought by applicants from all over the world.

In a note on his sketches our artist writes: “Beth Din decisions are never disputed by the Jews, and are upheld in all Government courts of justice. The Court never touches criminal cases or offences against the laws of the realm. The Dayans not only give judgment according to the written Mosaic Laws, but have handed down from time immemorial by word of mouth the oral laws that originated from Moses. The Court operates without lawyers or police.”

The large drawing shows a divorce case being tried by this Court. The petitioner, a young wife, is standing in the middle before the Chief Rabbi, accompanied by her father and mother. The husband is seated on the left with two relatives. Standing on the left is a scribe reading a bill of divorcement. The Chief Rabbi and the five Dayans, or Judges, make a last endeavour to reconcile the parties before giving their decision.

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The central illustration is flanked by another eight sketches depicting scenes from the Beis Din’s work. One of them includes another depiction of R. Moshe Avigdor Chaikin.

A charming image in the top right corner shows a little child standing on tiptoes, handing the Chief Rabbi a basket. The caption reads: “However serious the business of the court—all proceedings stop whilst a small child appeals for judgement on a question of kosher food.”

A less charming image on the bottom right shows some shady-looking characters being waved away outside a closed door. The caption explains: “No cases of a criminal nature are dealt with but referred to the police court by the usher.”

An interview with R. Moshe Avigdor in the Jewish Chronicle newspaper (August 11, 1916—12 Av 5676) gives us a snapshot of his unique personality. The interviewer describes the scene at the dayan’s home on a motzei Shabbos:

The venerable Dayan had hardly finished the home service, making his “distinction between things holy and things profane,” when a stream of humble visitors poured in soliciting his advice and help on matters in connection with the war; such as sending money to starving relatives in Russia, the means of ascertaining the whereabouts of lost relatives, naturalisation, and how to enlist their sons for military service in the Army.

In this interview, conducted in the middle of World War I, R. Moshe Avigdor offers his political analysis of the situation in war-torn Europe and the effects this may have on the Jews after the war ends. He expresses his firm belief that the scattered yeshivos will be reconstituted, and that there will be a great revival of Torah study, citing a series of examples from Jewish history when periods of upheaval and destruction were followed by eras of great Torah growth.

The interview concludes with R. Moshe Avigdor’s message to the readers:

My message to Jewry is that they be witnesses of the living G-d, such indeed is their mission for their language, literature, customs, traditions, traits of character—these, too, have all survived. It is one of the many miracles of their history. Then, indeed, in the blissful time, “will the Torah go forth from Zion and the word of the lord from Jerusalem.”

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Seforim

R. Moshe Avigdor Chaikin didn’t only write books in French and English, and not only in the field of Jewish history. The first Hebrew sefer he published is Tziyun Rashi (5681), which goes through pirush Rashi on the Shas and references the other places in Shas where Rashi comments on the same topic. These references enable the reader to get a full picture of Rashi’s explanation of a certain word or topic, as Rashi sometimes comments more briefly at times, and more expansively at others.

The hakdamah to Tziyun Rashi contains an ode to Rashi’s greatness, and a sharp critique of modern methods of teaching Tanach that neglect Rashi in favor of a more “rationalistic” approach. R. Moshe Avigdor decries this as stripping the feeling of kedushah from Torah study and warns that it will destroy the foundation of Jewish education.

R. Moshe Avigdor’s second sefer is Klalei Haposkim (5683), a brief encyclopedia of Talmudic principles, which also includes an index of where these principles are discussed in Shulchan Aruch. R. Leibel Groner’s diary from 3 Shvat 5719 records positive words from the Rebbe about this sefer, mentioning specifically that it was written by a Lubavitcher chasid in London (Beis Moshiach 916, p. 26). The Rebbe instructed that it be republished as an appendix to the 5719 Kehos edition of the Sdei Chemed halachic encyclopedia (vol. 10, p. 184).

The Shulchan Aruch index was considered so helpful that it was republished on its own decades later (Mafteiach Hainyanim, Yerushalayim 5720).

Additional volumes of teshuvos and chidushim of R. Moshe Avigdor remain in manuscript at the University of California Library in Los Angeles. The National Library of Israel has digitized these manuscripts, but they are only accessible in the library itself.

Passing and Hesped

In 5686, just a week or two after the above illustration of the Beis Din was published, R. Moshe Avigdor Chaikin retired from his position and moved to Eretz Yisrael. He passed away less than two years later, on 29 Sivan 5688, and was buried in Tel Aviv.

His passing was mourned in the Anglo-Jewish community he had faithfully served for over three decades. Chief Rabbi Hertz delivered a hesped for him at London’s Great Synagogue, and the eulogy was published in a small booklet. Of particular interest to us is R. Hertz’s description of R. Moshe Avigdor’s chasidishe character:

Of Moses Avigdor Chaikin the Saint, it is only necessary to say that he was the born Chossid, a Chossid by nature, even more than by upbringing. His character was marked by that selflessness, transparency, simplicity, which are the very flowering of culture, intellectual, aesthetic and spiritual. His soul was as absolutely devoid of violence as it was of self-assertiveness; and even when he opposed certain measures and tendencies, yet was his opposition softened and subdued, without noise of axe or hammer.

His was the joyfulness of the true Chossid, the optimism, the charity in judgment, the obstinate refusal to despair of his fellow-mortals and their destiny, which made him the friend to all, beloved of all, loving G-d and loving all of G-d’s children. And his was the self-effacement which the Founder of Chassidism declared to be of fundamental importance in the spiritual life—“modest, long-suffering and forgiving of insults.”צנוע וארך רוח ומוחל על עלבונו. Like the Lawgiver, his face and his name shone, but he wist not that they shone: the Torah clothed him in humility and meekness.

He belonged to the Chabad section of the Chassidim, the followers of Rabbi Shneor Zalman Ladier, who placed Chassidism on an intellectual basis. In this system of rational Chassidism, the Tzaddik is no longer a miracle-worker, but a teacher of wide views and deep spirituality. The present leader of the Chassidim is the Rebbe of Lubavitch, Rabbi Shneorsohn, one of the outstanding personalities of modern Israel. He threw down the gauntlet to the Soviet rulers in their infamous suppression of religious liberty, and defied the venomous threats of the Jewish Hamans, the Yevsektzia. He was sentenced to death for maintaining Jewish religious schools, both elementary and advanced. Because of the wave of indignation against this savage decree both in Russia and Central Europe, the sentence was commuted to exile to distant Turkestan. Eventually, he was expelled from Soviet territory and is now in Riga, whence he continues single-handed his glorious fight for the Torah in Darkest Russia. It is in such a religious atmosphere and with such models before him that Moses Avigdor Chaikin learned to be “just, and pious, upright and faithful” צדיק חסיד ישר ונאמן.

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Bibliography and additional sources:

R. Yisrael Shraga Chaikin: Doros shel Chasidim, p. 18–19

R. Shlomo Zalman Pinsker: Latvia Verabaneha p. 282–283; Reshimos R. Avraham Weingarten, Rosh Chodesh Kislev 5708; Lmaan Yeideu, 119. 

Jewish Colonisation Association: (ICA): Ilia Lurie, Milchamot Lubavitch, pp. 232–254

R. Moshe Avigdor Chaikin: Oholei Shem, p. 455; Dr. Dov Hyman, Sinai, vol. 91, pp. 168–177; ibid., vol. 92, p. 266–277; ibid., vol. 95, pp. 179–188; Shanah Beshanah 5747, pp. 149–157; Tziyunim Vetamrurim, pp. 82–83; Yekusiel Yehudah Greenwald, Zichronos MiLondon, Apiryon 5685, pp. 188–189 (some of the information in this source is inaccurate).

To view all installments of From the Margins of Chabad History, click here.

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Addendum

In a previous article devoted to Harav Yitzchak Dov Ber Schneersohn (Maharid) of Liadi, we added information about his travels to the health resort of Dubbeln, near Riga, Latvia.

Chabad researcher Yisrael Barda called our attention to manuscript no. 2163 in the Library of Agudas Chassidei Chabad. 

This manuscript contains maamarim of Maharid’s father, Harav Chaim Shneur Zalman of Liadi, from the years 5630–5631, arranged in order. Edits in the ksav yad kodesh of Harav Chaim Shneur Zalman appear in the margins. This bichel comes from the collection of Harav Yehudah Leib Schneersohn of Vitebsk, Maharid’s son.

Next to some of the diburei hamaschil of these maamarim there are notes added, stating a place and year. These notes appear to be in the ksav yad kodesh of Maharid, indicating when and where he chazered these maamarim of his father.

A number of these maamorim are marked “Dubbeln,” with a year number added. An examination of this bichel shows that Maharid visited Dubbeln very often, including the following years: 5655, 5658, 5659, 5663, 5666.

Library of Agudas Chassidei Chabad, ms. 2163, p. 267.