Rabbi Yochanan Sofer (b. 1920s) is the Rebbe of the Erlau Hasidic dynasty, a small-sized movement in Orthodox Judaism. He was born in Erlau (nowadays Eger), Hungary, where his father and grandfather served as Grand Rabbis. After surviving the Holocaust, he continued their legacy by founding a yeshiva and a movement in their name, first in Hungary and then in Jerusalem, Israel.

Family history

Rabbi Yochanan Sofer is a great-grandson of Rabbi Moses Sofer (1762 – 1839), known as the Chasam Sofer. The Chasam Sofer was the Rav of Pressburg (present-day Bratislava) and the leading rabbinical figure of Orthodox Judaism in the Austrian Empire, as well as one of the greatest Talmudic scholars of his time.

The Chasam Sofer was succeeded as Rav of Pressburg by his son, Rabbi Samuel Benjamin Sofer (1815 – 1872), known as the Ksav Sofer. The Ksav Sofer had 10 children — 6 sons and 4 daughters. One of the sons, Rabbi Shimon Sofer, was born in the year 1850.

In 1881,^[1] Rabbi Shimon was appointed Rav of the Hungarian city of Erlau (Eger). There he founded a large yeshiva which was attended by elite Torah scholars from throughout Hungary. This yeshiva became a foundation of the Erlau dynasty, a branch and direct link to the philosophy and teachings of Rabbi Shimon's grandfather, the Chasam Sofer.

As Rabbi Shimon aged, his son, Rabbi Moses Sofer (author of Yad Sofer), took on the role of Rav and dayan (rabbinical judge) of the town of Erlau. Rabbi Shimon was referred to by his congregation with the revered and affectionate title of "Rebbe".

Rabbi Shimon led the Jewish community in Erlau for some 64 years. He and his community were deported to Auschwitz by the Nazis in 1944. Soon thereafter, at the age of 94, Rabbi Shimon Sofer was murdered by the Nazis together with his son, Rabbi Moshe Sofer, and many others from the city of Erlau.

Early life

Yochanan Sofer was born to Rabbi Moses Sofer in the town of Erlau in the early 1920s. He was raised on the knees of his grandfather and received his rabbinical education from his father. He studied at the Verpleleter Yeshiva in Verpelet, Hungary, whose rosh yeshiva was Rabbi Yosef Usher Pollack (1888-1944), Verpleleter Rav and author of Shearis Yosef Usher.^[2]

While his father and grandfather were murdered at Auschwitz, the young Rabbi Yochanan miraculously survived that concentration camp. After the war, he returned to Hungary to rebuild the Jewish community and yeshiva. With a small group of boys and adolescents (mostly orphans), he re-established the Erlau yeshiva.

Move to Israel

Rabbi Yochanan Sofer immigrated to Israel together with his yeshiva. For a short period of time, the yeshiva merged with the Pressburg Yeshiva in Jerusalem, which was headed by Rabbi Akiva Sofer (known as the Daas Sofer), another great-grandson of the Chasam Sofer. Rabbi Yochanan served there as a maggid shiur.

During this time, Rabbi Yochanan became a close disciple of Rabbi Aharon Rokeach, the Belzer Rebbe. From him, Rabbi Yochanan he acquired extensive knowledge of Hasidut, which eventually led him to preach numerous Hasidic customs.

Opinion and politics

Rabbi Yochanan Sofer is considered a leading halakhic authority with enormous influence on the Orthodox Jewish community, as well as an expert in Israeli politics and security issues. He is often called upon to voice his opinion on global Jewish issues.

He was appointed to the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Agudath Israel by Rabbi Yisrael Alter (the Beis Yisrael), when Rabbi Yochanah was only 38 years of age. At the time, the protocol was amended to allow this new member, as the original protocol allowed only rabbis above the age of 40 to join.

Whilst United Torah Judaism, of which Agudath Israel is a part, represents all of the Agudath Israel communities, the Erlau community is part of the Shlomei Emunim faction within the UTJ party. Shlomei Emunim is represented in the Knesset by Rabbi Meir Porush.

The Erlau community took an active part in the launch of the Hamevaser Newspaper in the late 2008. Hamevaser is owned and run by Rabbi Meir Porush.

Preceding 1948, the rabbinical authorities of the Sofer family and their disciples strongly opposed the various forms of modern Zionism. They did not approve of the formation of a Jewish state nor the use of Hebrew for mundane purposes.^[3] Their firm belief was that the Mashiach must arrive prior to the liberation of the Holy Land and that the Hebrew language was designated for the use of Torah study and prayer only. Once Israel declared independence in 1948, the approach remained the same, though the circumstances changed.

Rabbi Yochanan Sofer took on the approach to Zionism similar to that of his rebbe, Rabbi Aharon Rokeach of Belz. This ideology allows for dialogue with the Zionist leaders and for representation in the Knesset, though it does not give mandate or any halachic justification to the legislative system of the State of Israel as it does not conform to the laws of the Torah. Rabbi Yochanan Sofer actively advocates for the sanctity of the Shabbat, the preservation of Torah Judaism and the purity of the Holy Land.

Despite ideological differences, Rabbi Yochanan Sofer is respected by leaders of Orthodox Jewish communities, including Satmar, Edah HaChareidis, Litvish, Shas – Sefardi, Chabad-Lubavitch, and the National Religious Party / National Union alike.

Rabbi Yochanan Sofer is known to have a strong relationship with Rabbi Ovadia Yosef (former Chief Rabbi of Israel and spiritual leader of Shas) and with Rabbi Yosef Sholom Eliashiv, spiritual leader of Degel HaTorah.

Rabbi Yochanan Sofer's view of the Israeli-Arab conflict maintains that as a matter of Jewish law, any territorial concession on Israel's part would endanger the lives of all the Jews in the Land of Israel and is therefore forbidden. He also insists that even discussing the possibility of such concessions shows weakness and would encourage Arab attacks, and thus endanger Jewish lives. He has been quoted as saying to Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom: "I am not prepared to concede even one soil grain of the Land of Israel to the Arabs".^[4][5] As well, he was opposed to the unilateral pullout from Gaza and was quoted as saying, "Whoever leads to the transfer (of Jews from parts of Israel) is destroying the country".^[6]

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