Rabbi Yehuda Binyamin Middleman
יהודה בנימין ב"ר משה
Rav, 83 Bayard Street ShulDate of Death:
Thu. June 1, 1865 -
Sivan 5 5625
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Directions to Kever: Although buried in the Machpelah Cemetery, access is easier from Union Field Cemetery. Location: (direction are from Union Field) Main Road, right on Path: J past the trees into Machpelah Cemetery. About fifteen feet to the right is the Bais Hamedrash HaGadol section, just passed it (see map below). There is a candle box at the kever of Rabbi Avroham Yosef Ash.
Name Listed on Cemetery Database: Judah Benjamin
Biographical Notes:
The Rav also served at the South Baxter Street Bais Hamedrash.
Credit: Asher Lowy, Brooklyn, NY
Credit: Asher Lowy, Brooklyn, NY
Credit: Asher Lowy, Brooklyn, NY
Credit: Asher Lowy, Brooklyn, NY
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Rav Mittleman (Middleman) was one of the founders of Beis Midrash Hagadol, alongside Rav Yoseh Ash and others, later he split (due to the Shchiteh controversy + dispute regarding Aron Friedman, Baal Shem of America, listed on this site) and created a a minyan in his house which eventually became the Kalavarier congregation. From the link below, he was extremely machmur except being lenient regarding uncovering hair and about the schiteh issue.
http://www.hebrewbooks.org/pagefeed/hebrewbooks_org_6655_247.pdf
(Mentioned also in this link that Rav Ash was paid a weekly salary of $2 (for his three positions in the Shul, Rav, Shamash and collecting the shul duties)… 130 years later $2 doesn’t pay for a bagel… at one point Rav Ash left the Rabbinic position, went into business and was quite successful, later went back to become a Rabbi)
Rabbi Middleman (this is how we wrote his name in English and even in Hebrew/Yiddish מידלמאן/מידדעלמאן) was perhaps one of the earliest Rabbonim in the US from Ausria-Hungarian empire or Galicia.
He was born in Lwow-Lemberg and became close to the great Shoel U’maishiv (there are several Tchuvas adressed to Middleman in SM after he was already in NY, dating back to 1850-1860).
He moved to Warsaw and later came to NY approximately in the early 1840’s, he published a sefer named נתיבות אמת which was later translated into English under the name “Paths of Truth”, this was against a missionary attack written be Rev. Dr. McCaul under the name “Old Paths”.
Here is the notice of his passing in The Occident:
http://www.jpress.org.il/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin_TAU.asp?From=Search&Key=OCC/1865/07/01/48/Ar04800.xml&CollName=OCC_1860_1869&DOCID=2098&PageLabelPrint=48&Skin=TAUHe&enter=true&Publication=OCC&AppName=2&Hs=advanced&AW=1374162683171&sPublication=OCC&tauLanguage=&sScopeID=All&sSorting=Score%2cdesc&sQuery=middleman&rEntityType=&sSearchInAll=false&ViewMode=HTML
It was actually Rav Ash who split away from the Bayard Street “synagogue”, and created the Beth Medrash Hagodol.
In one of his Tchuvas to New York, the great Shoel Umeshiv writes on Middleman; He’s a light tower to the yidden of New York!
אודות ר’ יודא מידעלמאן מניויארק אודיעהו כי יש לי הרבה שאלות ממנו גם בגיטין והוא נר לרגלי היושבים שם כי הוא בעל תורה
(שואל ומשיב מהדורא תליתאה סי’ קפ”ה)
http://hebrewbooks.org/pagefeed/hebrewbooks_org_1424_66.pdf
BBZ, Didn’t Rav Ash split (much later) from the Bayard after Rav Middleman left to form his own minyan…?
you might be right
Thanks to Asher Lowy for all the photos, thanks Boruch for posting
נתיבות אמת was never published. A part of is was translated and published in London, 1847.
The nexus between this Middleman and the author of “Netibot Emeth” should be taken cautiously.
The only source for this is the Occident obituary Miller linked (thank you). The Occident itself discloses receiving “no particular account”.
The entry for the author of Netibot in JE makes no mention that he lived and died in America; rather uncharacteristic of JE.http://kevarim.vohost.us/rabbi-yehuda-middleman/#more-8223
None of the accounts of our Middlman’s life mention living or serving as a rabbi in London. Moreover, although this website lists R’ Middleman as the Rav of the Bayard St. Shul, there is no record of that. He was the founder of the original minyan as well as a cofounder of Beth HaMedrash Hagadol, but it is not known that he served in the rabbinic capacity. (Barring the unreliable Occident obituary.)
The Shoel U’maishiv doesn’t describe him as a rav. In a 1855 directory of New York (NYPL Collections) there is a Judah Middleman on 123 Walker whose occupation was “peddler.”
Sorry, this is the correct link
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/10799-middleman-judah
I have multiple documents to prove that he was indeed not just the founder of the Bayard Street Congregation and a great scholar but also served officially as its Dayan. Rabbi Middleman arrived at these shores in 1847 and already in early 1848 he wrote articles in the Occident to attack the Reform movement, (see, The Occident 01/06/1848)
“Path of Truth” By Rabbi Judah Middleman
https://goo.gl/uyRHGi
Ben,
Okay. “Path of Truth” doesn’t indicate that he was rav of the shul, or that he was even the author of that sefer. Articles in Occident don’t either tell us anything regarding this question.
You have documents… Would you care to share them with us?
All I can tell you is that the Rabbi Judah Middleman arrived to the US shores on September 2, 1847 and was previously a resident of Great Britain, it’s unknown so far of any rabbinic scholar with the exact same name.
It is also my assumption that the reason he came here is directly related to the publishing of his book “path of truth” in 1847. Rev. McCaul’s book “old path” was very famous at the time and was translated into many languages. It’s fair to say that Rabbi Middleman had what to fear and therefore fled the country. Again this is my personal assumption…
In the 1850 (under the name Joseph) & 1855 census his occupation is Peddler and I know that he made and sold liquor at the time, he obviously had to make a living.
His occupation in 1860 was ‘silver refiner’
Name: Judah Middelman
Birth Year: abt 1807
Age: 40
Gender: Male
Embarkation: Liverpool
Ship: Senator
Occupation: Liquor Maker
Passengers: 282
Compartment: Steerage
Native Country: Great Britain
Destination: USA
Arrival Place: New York, New York, USA
Arrival Date: 2 Sep 1847
Transit Type: Staying in the U.S.
His occupation in 1860 was ‘silver refiner’.
There were classified ads in the newspapers of both his occupations so this is not a secret and at the same time there were other articles about his involvement with the shul.
Name: Judah Middelman
Birth Year: abt 1807
Age: 40
Gender: Male
Embarkation: Liverpool
Ship: Senator
Occupation: Liquor Maker
Passengers: 282
Compartment: Steerage
Native Country: Great Britain
Destination: USA
Arrival Place: New York, New York, USA
Arrival Date: 2 Sep 1847
Transit Type: Staying in the U.S.
There were classified ads in the newspapers of both his occupations so this is not a secret and at the same time there were other articles about his involvement with the shul.