Meir Lob ben Jehiel Michel Weiser (1809 - September 18, 1879), better known as the Malbim, was a Russian rabbi, preacher, and Bible commentator. The name "Malbim" is derived from the Hebrew initials of his name, and became his family name by frequent usage. 1809 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... September 18 is the 261st day of the year (262nd in leap years). ... 1879 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Rabbi (Classical Hebrew רִבִּי ribbī;; modern Ashkenazi and Israeli רַבִּי rabbī) in Judaism, means teacher, or more literally great one. The word Rabbi is derived from the Hebrew root-word RaV, which in biblical Hebrew means great or distinguished, (in knowledge). In the ancient Judean schools the sages were addressed as רִבִּי (Ribbi... Meforshim is a Hebrew word meaning commentators (or roughly meaning exegetes), and is used as a substitute for the correct word perushim which means commentaries. In Judaism this term refers to commentaries by the commentators on the Torah (five books of Moses), Hebrew Bible, the Mishnah, the Talmud, responsa, even... This article is mainly about Hebrew letters. ...

Biography

Malbim was born at Volochisk, Volhynia and educated in Hebrew and the Talmud by his father and by his stepfather, Rabbi Löb of Volochisk. He showed talent from his early childhood, and his works indicate that he had a considerable knowledge of secular sciences. From 1838 to 1845 he was rabbi of Wreschen, in the district of Posen, and in the latter year was called to the rabbinate of Kempen, where he remained until 1860; he was thereafter also known as "der Kempener". This article contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken by more than 7 million people, mainly in Israel, the West Bank, the United States and by Jewish communities around the world. ... The Talmud (תלמוד) is a record of rabbinic discussions on Jewish law, Jewish ethics, customs, legends and stories, which Jewish tradition considers authoritative. ... WrzeÅ›nia is a town in central Poland with 28,600 inhabitants (1995). ... Kepno is a town in Poland. ...

In 1860 Malbim became chief rabbi of Bucharest, Romania. He did not get along with the upper class German Jews there; they wished to introduce the rites and practices of Reform Judaism, which were at great variance with the beliefs and practices of the traditional rabbinic Judaism. The Malbim defended Orthodox Judaism, which demanded adherence to Jewish law and tradition, and rejected almost all editing of the Siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book, and changes to other observances. Bucharest (Romanian: Bucureşti ) is the capital city and industrial and commercial centre of Romania. ... Reform Judaism can refer to (1) the largest denomination of Judaism in America and its sibling movements in other countries, (2) a branch of Judaism in the United Kingdom, and (3) the historical predecessor of the American movement that originated in 19th Century Germany. ... Orthodox Judaism is the stream of Judaism which adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmud (The Oral Law) and later codified in the Shulkhan Arukh (Code of Jewish Law). It is governed by these works and the Rabbinical commentary... Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה; also transliterated as Halakhah, Halacha, Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish rabbinic law, custom and tradition. ... The siddur is the prayerbook used by Jews the world over, containing a set order of daily prayers. ...

By intrigues his opponents succeeded having him thrown into prison. Though he was soon liberated through the intervention of Sir Moses Montefiore, it was upon the condition that he leave Romania. Sir Moses Montefiore (October 24, 1784-July 28, 1885) was one of the most famous British Jews in the 19th century. ...

Malbim went to Constantinople and complained to the Turkish government, but obtained no satisfaction. After staying six months in Paris, he went to Lenczyk, government of Kalisz, Russian Poland, as successor to his deceased father-in-law, Hayyim Auerbach (1866). Shortly after he was rabbi at Kherson, and thence was called to the rabbinate of Mahilyow (Moghilef), on the Dnieper (1870). There, too, his lack of subservience provoked the resentment of the richer Jews; these denounced him as a political criminal, and the governor of Moghilef ordered him to leave the town. Map of Constantinople. ... The Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... Mahilyow, or Mahiloŭ (Belarusian Магілёў (Mahiloŭ), Russian Могилёв (Mogilyov), Polish Mohylew or Mogilew) is a city in eastern Belarus, close to the border to Russia with about 300,000 inhabitants. ... The Dnieper River (also: Dnepr, Dniapro, or Dnipro) is a river (2,290 km length) which flows from Russia through Belarus and then Ukraine. ...

Malbim then went to Königsberg as chief rabbi of the Polish community, but there he fared no better than in Bucharest and Moghilef; he was continually harassed by the German Jews. When Malbim passed through Wilna in 1879 the community there would have appointed him rabbi in place of Isaac Elijah Landau, but the governor of Wilna opposed the election on the ground that he could not sanction the appointment of a rabbi who had been expelled from Moghilef as a political criminal. In September of the same year Malbim was on his way to Krementchug, to the rabbinate of which town he had been appointed, when he fell sick and died at Kiev. Former German name of the city of Kaliningrad. ... A monument to St. ...

Works

Malbim was the author of:

• "Artzot ha-Chayim", commentary and novellae on the Shulkhan Arukh (section Orach Chayim, Breslau, 1837);
• "Artzot ha-Shalom", collection of sermons (Krotoschin, 1839);
• "Ha-Torah veha-Mitzvah", analytical and innovative commentary on the Pentateuch and the midrash halakha (Warsaw, 1874-80), including the linguistic guide Ayelet ha-Shachar on differences between similar terms in Hebrew;
• "Mikra'e Kodesh", commentary on the Prophets and Hagiographa (ib. 1874; this commentary is in parallel, on the words and on the sense; Malbim always endeavored to explain the different meanings of synonyms);
• "Mashal u-Melitzah," dramatic philippic, in verse, against hypocrisy (Paris, 1867).

The Shulkhan Arukh (Hebrew: Prepared Table), by Rabbi Yosef Karo is considered the most authoritative compilation of Jewish law since the Talmud. ... This article needs to be wikified. ...

Sources

• Jewish Encyclopedia
• Judaism 101