אליעזר דוד גרינוואלד

Rabbi Eliezer David Greenwald (14 Shevat 5627/1867 – 1 Sivan 5688/1928) served as rav and rosh yeshivah in Bardejov, Tzehlim, Oberwischau and Satmar in Transylvania, and is known by the name of his sefer Keren L’David. He was born in Csorna in Hungary to Rabbi Amram Greenwald, son of Rabbi Yosef Greenwald, av beit din of Tchechowitz. In his youth he learned under his brother Rabbi Moshe Greenwald, author of Arugat HaBosem, and was counted his foremost talmid, and he learned for a short time under Rabbi Shmuel Ehrenfeld, author of the Chatan Sofer.

In 5649/1889 he married the daughter of Yaakov Rapaport of Bardejov and lived there some five years, founding a yeshivah and standing at its head. He afterwards served as dayan and moreh tzedek in Szerdahely, heading a yeshivah of about a hundred and thirty talmidim. At the beginning of 5667 he was chosen rav of the community of Tzehlim, where he also headed a large yeshivah, and in 5672/1912 he moved to the rabbanut of Oberwischau, at the head of a yeshivah of some hundreds of talmidim.

In 5681/1921 he was chosen rav of the community of Satmar, and alongside the rabbanut headed the local yeshivah, which with four hundred talmidim was the largest in Transylvania and in which he saw the heart of his work; it ran in the spirit of chassidut. He raised many talmidim, among them rabbanim and well-known talmidei chachamim in Transylvania and Hungary. His writings are the teshuvot Keren L’David on Orach Chaim, holding a hundred and seventy-two teshuvot, printed at Satmar in 5689; Keren L’David, chiddushei aggadah on the Torah in two parts; a further volume of chiddushei aggadah and derashot for the moadim; and a Haggadah shel Pesach with his commentary Chasdei David. His adopted daughter married his brother’s grandson Rabbi Yosef Greenwald, his foremost talmid, who worked on the printing of his sefarim.