Jeremiah Mattersdorf


Rabbi Jeremiah ben Isaac Mattersdorf was a Polish Jewish rabbi and author, who served as the Chief Rabbi of Mattersburg, Austria and Abaújszánto, Hungary.

Biography

Born in Oswiecim, Galicia sometime in the mid-18th century, his father Rabbi Itzhak served as the head rabbi of Oswiecim. In his early years, Mattersdorf studied under Rabbi Meir Eisenstadt. In about 1770, he was appointed as the Chief Rabbi of Mattersburg, after which he changed his surname to "Mattersdorf". During his tenure as the Mattersburg Rabbi he headed a yeshivah which had among its students Aaron Chorin and Simcha Bunim of Peshischa. Although due to immense economic hardship in Mattersburg, he decided to move to Abaújszánto in 1801, where he was appointed the Chief Rabbi of the community. He eventually moved to Aszód, Hungary were he died in 1805. His most famous work was "Moda'ah Rabbah", a commentary on Ḥayyim Shabbethai's "Torat Ḥayyim".