Samuel Salant

Shmuel Salant (Hebrew: שמואל סלנט‎; January 2, 1816 – August 16, 1909) served as the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem for almost 70 years. He was a renowned Talmudist and Torah scholar.

He was born in Białystok, then part of Russia. After marrying Toiva (Yonah), the eldest daughter of Rabbi Yosef Zundel of Salant, he adopted his father-in-law's surname. At an early age his lungs became damaged, and he was advised to seek a warm climate. This induced him in 1840 to go with his wife and son Binyomin Beinish to Jerusalem.

En route, in Constantinople, he met and gained the friendship of Sir Moses Montefiore, then on his way to defend the Jews falsely accused in the Damascus Blood Libel. Salant arrived in Jerusalem in 1841, rejoining his father-in-law and about 500 other Ashkenazim who had preceded him. From 1848 to 1851 he served as a meshulach (fund-raiser), visiting the principal cities of Lithuania and Poland to collect money for the impoverished Jews of the Old Yishuv. This age-old practice was termed the Chaluka.

In 1860, Salant travelled to Germany, Amsterdam, and London to collect funds. Upon his return to Jerusalem, he succeeded in ensuring that his contributions were equally divided between the Sephardim and Ashkenazim. He also collected donations for the building of the Beis Yaakov Synagogue in Jerusalem. In 1871 he succeeded Rabbi Meir Auerbach as chief rabbi of the Ashkenazim.

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