Rav Nosson HaKohen Adler (Katz) zt"l
הרב נתן בן יעקב שמעון אדלר (כץ) זצ"ל
Elul 27 , 5560
Rav Nosson HaKohen Adler (Katz) zt"l
Born Sunday 10 Teves 5502 in Frankfurt
A descendant of the author of the Yalkut Shimoni
He was a disciple of the Pnei Yehoshua and afterwards of Rav Moshe Rapf, but his Rebbe Muvhak was Rav David Teveli Schiff HaKohen who served afterwards as Av Beis Din in London.
He opened a yeshiva by age twenty and many great talmidei chachamim were his students and disciples such as: The Chasam Sofer, Rav Avraham Binga Av Beis Din Wertzberg, Rav Menachem Mendel Kargoy author Gidulei Taharah on Mikvaos, Rav Avraham Auerbach son in law of the Yad Duvid, Rav Chaim Deutschman Av Beis Din Kaline and others.
He was known as an expert in secular studies of nature and sciences as well as Hebrew and Aramaic grammar in addition to his Torah wisdom especially in the esoteric secrets of Kabbalah. The gedolim of Frankfurt used to say though that his expertise in hilchos tumah and tahara was unsurpassed and that the Divine spirit of Hashem spoke through him in these matters.
It was said that Rav Nassan Adler’s home was always open to guests and so that none ever be guilty of stealing, Rav Nosson Adler had declared all his possessions ownerless and hefker that way he was sure no one would ever steal from him.
He never recorded any of his Torah or chiddushim because he never forgot any of his learning. He once explained that the only heter to allow writing down the oral Torah SheBaal peh as explained by the Rambam is due to our forgetting it, we are allowed to write it down, “I however have no such heter to allow me to write down what I learned because I do not forget it!”
Some of his unique customs and minhagim were: since he was a Kohen, he himself duchened and recited the Birkas Kohanim in his own bais medrash daily (des[ite the minhag of most Ashkenazi Jews outside of Eretz Yisroel to only duchen on YomTov). He said about himself that as soon as the Bais haMikdash was rebuilt he was ready to do the avodah in Kodesh haKadashim since he was a master of and knew all the halachos of the Avodah of the Kohanim.
Another unique minhag he had was that he davened from the Siddur Arizal and used nusach Sefard as well as a Sefardi accent and pronunciation. The author of Tzror Chaim testified as an eye witness that he davened in Rav Nosson Adler’s bais medrash and heard him pronounce with a Sefardi accent and pronunciation which he studied under a Yerushalmi Jew for several years to learn. He also took two aliyahs every Shabbos for Kohen and Maftir.
(See Chut HaMeshulash pg13-14,16-17)
He passed away on 27 Elul תק''ס.
Stories of Rav Nosson HaKohen Adler (Katz) zt"l
One cold winter day, the Gaon, Rav Nosson Adler, was traveling together with his esteemed talmid, the Chasam Sofer. The horses pulling the wagon were trudging through the heavy snow with great difficulty. Suddenly, one of the horses collapsed and died, and the second horse was not strong enough to pull the wagon alone. The wagon driver, having no other choice, starting walking to the nearest village to obtain an additional horse. The two venerated passengers waited in the wagon.
Eventually, the wagon driver returned, leading a…donkey. When Rav Nosson saw the donkey, he descended from the wagon, and began to dance happily in the snow. “Rebbe,” asked the Chasam Sofer, “Why are you so happy?”
“Don’t you see?” asked Rav Nosson. “The wagon driver brought a donkey instead of a horse. Who would ever have thought that I would merit fulfilling the mitzva of “Do not plow with an ox and donkey together”? At home in Frankfurt, I never imagined that I would merit fulfilling this commandment. Now that Boruch Hashem, I merited it, I am filled with joy!”
The passengers instructed the wagon driver to return the donkey, and he brought back a horse in its place. (Ukarasa Lashabbos Oneg)
The Divrei Chaim of Sanz once told Rav Shimon Sofer of Cracow regarding his father the Chasam Sofer that:
“It was no chiddush that your father the Chasam Sofer was so great and holy and rose to such heights when he had a rebbe such as Rav Nassan Adler.
Regarding whom I heard from my own rebbe Rav Naphtali of Ropshitz who heard in turn from his rebbe the Rebbe Reb Melech of Lizensk author of Noam Elimelech who said that ‘for many years a soul such as Rav Nosson Adler’s had not descended to this world besides the soul of the Baal Shem Tov.’”