Rabbi Ascher Singer of Paks

Rabbi Ascher Singer was born between 1770-1780 in Lelov in the time of Rabbi Dovid, The Lelover Rebbe. Ascher’ maternal grandfather a Talmudist from the area of Lublin, a town call Bechev (Bychawa). Ascher's father Rabbi Icek also a talmudist and merchant in Lelov. Family letters say one of the ancestors was a beautiful singer of religious melodies and at some point the family name Singer was adopted. Ascher travelled and studied in Nikolsburg and then went to the area of Bonyhad Hungary with a brother around 1790-1800. Rabbi Ascher married Fanny Spitzer, the daughter of Rabbi Yissachar Ber Spitzer of Bonyhad who had 4 daughters and 10 sons. Ascher was known to be an extremely learned and devout talmudic scholar. He had three daughters and four sons. One of his sons, travelled as a young man to the Middle East and Jerusalem, it seems that he may have died on that journey. The other three sons, all Rabbis and they followed quite different paths.

Son. Rabbi Isak Hirsch Singer. Born in Paks 1814. A noted scholar, teacher and talmudist he was also a Shochet. Isak Hirsch studied extensively and received many qualifications and Rabbinic letters of praise from leading Rabbis including the Ksav Sofer, Joel Ungar (Yoel of Rechnitz) and Tsevi Hirsh Oppenheimer. He was interested in Hebrew grammar and linguistics and he also composed Hebrew poetry, songs and prayers. It is noted in the family history that Isak Hirsch was both brilliant and eccentric. He married Babette (Bilah) Prosnitz, a daughter of the famous Rabbi Daniel Prosnitz (Prustitz) of Pressburg. In a 1923 letter Albert Szekely (Singer), the son of Rabbi Israel Singer wrote a reminiscence to his cousin Dr Martin Singer; "Hirsch Isaac was your grandfather, a great scholar with Hebrew scripture and poetry in his beautiful Hebrew writings, and I saw my father read his writings in my childhood when he did my father was happy. He was about to come home, at the time of death there from Bucharest. I never forget that I was a small child when I went to school in my sweet father's class when he received a message, a note from your beloved uncle Bernat, that your dear sweet grandfather, died. I was a little child but aware and my father took me home and we wept and we sat Shiva at home and every night studied Mishna."

Son. Rabbi Abraham Jacob Koppel Singer (Koppel Paks) Born in Paks around 1820. He studied with the Chatam Sofer and the Ksav Sofer in the Yeshiva of Pressburg. A number of responsa of Ksav Sofer and Maharam Schick are addressed to him. A Rabbi in Bodrogkeresztur, later in Losonc (Lucenec) Rabbi Singer had three sons who all became Rabbis. Rabbi Singer had a grandson, born after his passing, who went by exactly the same name as him and was himself a highly respected Rabbi in Kezmaroc and Samorin, he and most of his family were killed by the Nazis in Auschwitz. He had at least one daughter who survived and who married and settled in the United States.

Son. Rabbi Israel Singer studied talmud initially under his father Rabbi Ascher Singer in Paks. At 13 he went to Papa and studied with Rabbi Feivel Horowitz. Then he studied in Szent György (Jergen) where the famous Rabbi was the Maharam Schick. He then studied in Lackenbach under Rabbi Avraham Ullman and then in the Yeshiva in Nikolsburg under Samson Rafael Hirsch. In 1851 he went to Szeged, he taught there until 1860, then he lived in Sátoraljaújhely and was for many years an honoured teacher and Rabbi in the community. When the history of the Jewish school of Sátoraljaújhely was written it was dedicated to his memory.

• Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Sep 27 2021, 16:36:03 UTC