Rabbi Chaim Hirschensohn
חיים ב"ר יעקב מרדכי
Chief Rabbi, Hoboken, New JerseyDate of Death:
Mon. September 16, 1935 -
Elul 18 5695
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Photo Caption: Rav Chaim Hirschensohn, Credit: Needed
Credit: Yechezkel Moskowitz
Credit: Yechezkel Moskowitz
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Rabbi Hirschenson was a very prolific writer and orator, he wrote many seforim including; מלכי בקודש, אלה דברי הברית, ברורי המדות and many more.
He was somewhat controversial in his philosophy and beliefs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaim_Hirschensohn
The only rav who isn’t controversial is the one without an opinion on anything. Since such a rav doesn’t exist, this must mean that every rav is controversial.
Moshe, that being true, YDM is referring to a level of controversy beyond the standard.
Actually his father in law, Rabbi Shaul Binyomin HaKohen or Radishkovitz, was also a contoversial figure.
If I recall correctly, he had another daughter (besides for the two daughters mentioned in the Wikipedia article) named Taubenhaus, whose husband was a professor in Texas (of the Tzfas Taubenhaus family).
Rabbi Hirschensohn had the odd habit of calling the introductions to his sefarim “לא הקדמה ולא מבוא”:
http://hebrewbooks.org//pdfpager.aspx?req=2976&st=&pgnum=3
http://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=2277&st=&pgnum=4
Avi, Tehilla Rachel’s father, was my mother. This is the remembrance that I learned from my mother.
A significant period of Rabbi Hirschensohn’s career was in the early days of Zionism. He, Ben Yahuda, Imrie and another, whose name escapes me for the moment, were very close. (Hatikvah was written by Imrie on Avi’s table.) The other three saw Zionism largely from the Socialist point of view. Hirschensohn did not deny this goal, but he strongly insisted on the importance of religious Judaism as part of the goals of Zionism. Furthermore, although his own observance was strictly Orthodox, he saw the importance of the need for recognizing the new modern world. He delighted in the establishment of Hebrew as the secular language of Eretz. He applauded the establishment of Hebrew University. For all this he was attacked, even stoned. To be sure, his attackers were the forebearers of the current extremists. Gentle man that he was, he felt he had to leave and emigrate with his family, coming finally to America.
Does anyone know where his descendants are today?
Tzvi Herz Imber (who lived in Alphabet City in the Lower East Side) wrote Hatikva. Don’t know where but According to Wikipedia, it was in Odessa (Ukraine).
Wikipedia also lists some descendants, probably current. Probably updated from original entries here.