Shmuel Dovid Ungar
| Rabbi Shmuel Dovid Ungar | |
|---|---|
| Position | Rosh Yeshiva |
| Yeshiva | Nitra Yeshiva |
| Began | 1931 |
| Ended | 1944 |
| Successor | Rabbi Sholom Moshe Ungar |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Shmuel Dovid Ungar |
| Born |
23 November 1885 Piešťany, present-day Slovakia |
| Died | 9 February 1945 (aged 59) Slovakia |
| Buried | Piešťany, Slovakia |
| Nationality | Slovak |
| Denomination | Orthodox |
| Residence | Nitra, Slovakia |
| Parents | Rabbi Yosef Moshe Ungar |
| Spouse | Miriam Leah Fisher |
| Children | Sholom Moshe Yaakov Yitzchak Benzion Chaya Nechama |
Rabbi Shmuel Dovid Ungar (23 November 1885 – 9 February 1945), also known as Rabbi Samuel David Ungar, was the rabbi of the Slovakian city of Nitra and dean of the last surviving yeshiva in occupied Europe during World War II. He was the father-in-law of Rabbi Chaim Michael Dov Weissmandl, who relied on his guidance to contrive many schemes to rescue Slovak Jewry from the Nazis.
Ungar was the only son born to his father, Rabbi Yosef Moshe Ungar (1855–1897), the rabbi of the town of Pöstyén (today: Piešťany). He was a descendant of the Abrabanel. Ungar's father died when he was 11 years old, and he became a frequent guest at the home of Rabbi Kalman Weber, who was appointed Rav of Pöstyén in his father's place.
After his bar mitzvah, Shmuel Dovid left home to study at the yeshiva in Preshov headed by his uncle, Rabbi Noach Baruch Fisher. Later, he studied at the yeshiva in Unsdorf led by Rabbi Shmuel Rosenberg. He married his first cousin, Miriam Leah Fisher, daughter of Rabbi Noach Baruch.
At the age of 21, Ungar became the Rav of Korompa (today: Krompachy), and founded a yeshiva in that town. Five years later, he was asked to become Rav and Rosh Yeshiva of Nagyszombat (today: Trnava), an old and well-established Jewish community, which he served for 15 years. It was during this tenure that he became known as one of the leading rabbis of Europe for his erudition and strict adherence to halakha. It was also during this time that Rabbi Chaim Michael Dov Weissmandl joined his yeshiva and formed a lifelong attachment to him.
In 1931, Ungar was approached by the town of Nitra, which had recently lost its chief rabbi, Rabbi Avraham Aharon Katz, with a request that he head that community. To sweeten the offer, the community promised to help him expand its yeshiva under his leadership. Weissmandl tried to dissuade Ungar from accepting the offer, arguing that it would be a mistake to leave an established community like Trnava for Nitra, which was only about 200 years old and had 3,000 Jews. Ungar, however, said he would go. "My heart tells me that the day will come when there will be no yeshiva anywhere in Slovakia but Nitra, and I want to be there when that happens", he said presciently.
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