LUBETZKY, JUDAH

LUBETZKY, JUDAH (1850–1910), French rabbi. Lubetzky was born in Russia. He went to Paris in 1880 and was appointed rabbi of the Eastern European Jews there the following year and a member of the Paris bet din in 1904. He published his edition of parts of the Sefer ha-Hashlamah of Meshullam b. Moses of Béziers from a manuscript in the Paris library of Baron *Guenzburg, together with his own commentary, entitled Torat ha-Hashlamah, and an introduction giving the biography of Meshullam and of other Provençal scholars (3 vols., 1885–1910). In 1896 he published Bidkei Battim, comprising: (1) notes and amendments to the Sefer ha-Hashlamah on tractates Berakhot, Ta'anit, Yevamot, and Megillah, with a biographical introduction on some Provençal rabbis; (2) Meshullam's criticism of Maimonides' laws of Eruvin and Shevu'ot, from a manuscript, with Lubetzky's own notes; (3) a critique of Mordecai Horowitz with regard to the *Clevesget.

Lubetzky became famous for the vigorous stand he took against the proposal to introduce a conditional clause into Jewish marriages in France, with the aim of making civil divorce effective in the dissolution of Jewish marriages. The proposal was first made in 1885 and again in 1893. By his articles in the Hebrew periodicals and by enlisting the opposition of the great rabbis of the time he was successful in having it rejected. In 1907 an assembly of French rabbis resolved to adopt the proposal. Lubetzky then collected the opinions of more than 400 eminent scholars and, supported by Baron Rothschild, succeeded in having the resolution rescinded. He prepared all the material relevant to the proposal for publication and sent it to Ḥayyim Ozer *Grodzinski. When the proposal was again raised, Grodzinski gave the material to Aaron D.A. Waronovski, who published it with the title, Ein Tenai be-Nissu'in (1930).

bibliography:

Schapira, in: Ha-Yehudi, 14 (1910/11), nos. 35–36; Der Israelit (Sept. 29, 1910).

[Shlomoh Zalman Havlin]