רפאל כהן

Rav Refael HaKohen ben Yekutiel Susskind (5483/1722–5564/1803), known in German sources as Rafael Kohen, was chief rabbi of the three kehillot of Altona, Hamburg and Wandsbek from 1775. Born in Lithuania, he learned in Minsk under Rav Aryeh Leib ben Asher, and in 1742, still a young man, took his rebbe’s place at the head of the Minsk yeshiva.

His rabbanut carried him across Lithuania: Rakov in 1744, then Vilkomir near Vilna from 1747, then back to Minsk as chief rabbi in 1757, and six years afterward to Pinsk as rav and rosh yeshiva. In 1771 he traveled to Berlin to print his Torat Yekutiel; the chachamim of that city received him with honor and offered him the vacant Berlin rabbanut, which he turned down. He served in Posen from 1772, and four years later accepted the call to the Three Communities, which he led for twenty-three years before stepping back from active service and remaining among his people to the end of his life. When word of his retirement reached the King of Denmark, in whose realm those kehillot lay, the king sent him a letter of appreciation for what he had done for his community.

He stood at the head of the opposition to Moshe Mendelssohn, and sought to keep Jewish readers away from the Biur, Mendelssohn’s translation of the Chumash, while it was still in manuscript; the effort failed once Mendelssohn secured the subscription of Christian VII, the ruler of Altona. When the cherem against Rav Shneur Zalman of Liadi was raised, he declined to take part in it, holding that a man who would set a punishment in motion carries a heavier burden than one who would set a berachah in motion.

Among his talmidim were Rav Chaim of Volozhin and his elder brother Rav Simcha. Beside Torat Yekutiel — chiddushim and comments on Shulchan Aruch Yoreh De’ah through siman 106, with responsa appended — he wrote Marpeh Lashon on mussar (Berlin 1790), V’shav HaKohen (Altona 1792), and Sha’alat HaKohanim Torah (Altona 1792), chiddushim on Zevachim, Menachot, Arachin, Temurah, Keritot, Yoma and Me’ilah. His last two public derashot were printed after his passing as Zecher Tzaddik.