ASZOD, JUDAH BEN ISRAEL

ASZOD, JUDAH BEN ISRAEL (1794–1866), Hungarian rabbi. Born in Aszód (Pest region), he studied at the yeshivah of Mordecai *Banet in Nikolsburg (Moravia). From 1826 to 1830 he served as dayyan in Dunaszerdahely (then Hungary), and later in other communities, and from 1853 he headed a large yeshivah there, which attracted hundreds of pupils. Aszod conducted halakhic correspondence with Moses *Sofer and with his son, as well as with other leading Hungarian rabbis of the time. He was a member of the Orthodox rabbinical delegation to the emperor Franz Joseph in Vienna in 1864, which appealed to him to cancel the proposed plan for a government-sponsored rabbinical seminary. The emperor requested his blessing, whereupon Aszod invoked on him the blessing of long life. His collection of responsa, Teshuvot Maharia (Moreno ha-Rav Judah Aszod), also called Yehudah Ya'aleh (pt. 1, (1873); pt. 2 (1880); repr. 1965), arranged according to the four divisions of the Shulḥan Arukh, is regarded as one of the best works of its kind. Of his other works there have been published Ḥiddushei Maharia, aggadic novellae on the Torah and some on talmudic themes (1912) and novellae to tractate Ketubbot (1913); Divrei Maharia (1931, with an additional part published in 1932), aggadic novellae on Torah and some sermons and eulogies, together with the novellae of his son Aaron Samuel Aszod. His novellae on Torah were published in the Yalkut Efrayim (1905). Judah was succeeded as rabbi of Dunaszerdahely by his son, Aaron Samuel Aszod (1830–1905).

bibliography:

S. Buechler, Die Lebensgeschichte des Rabbi Juda Aszód (1933); Ben-Menahem, in: Sinai, 62 (1967/68), 268–77.