Simchah Roth facts for kids

Simchah Roth (who passed away in 2012) was an important rabbi and scholar from Israel. A rabbi is a Jewish religious leader and teacher. Simchah Roth is best known for editing the very first prayer book for the Masorti movement. A Siddur is a special book used for Jewish prayers.

Simchah Roth's Life and Work

Simchah Roth moved to Israel in 1969. He worked as a rabbi and teacher at the WUJS Institute in a town called Arad. Later, he taught in a developing town named Yeroham.

In 1989, Roth moved to Herzliyya. There, he became the rabbi of the Torat Hayyim Masorti Congregation. He served in this role from 1989 until he retired in July 2007.

Roles in Religious Leadership

Simchah Roth was also a member of the Herzliyya Mo'etzah Datit, which is like a city council for religious matters. He held several important positions within the Rabbinical Assembly in Israel. This group is made up of rabbis.

His roles included:

• Serving on the Va'ad Halakhah, which is their Law Committee.
• Being the vice-president and a past member of the Executive Committee.
• Leading the Religious Services Bureau of the Masorti Movement as its chairperson.

Creating the Masorti Prayer Book

One of Roth's biggest achievements was editing the first Masorti prayer book, called Siddur Va'ani Tefillati. He worked hard to make sure this prayer book had four key features:

• It needed to be true to the Masorti (Conservative) Jewish beliefs.
• It had to be Israeli-Zionist, connecting to the land of Israel.
• It needed to be open to different ideas (pluralistic).
• It had to be new and creative (innovative).

According to a scholar named David Ellenson, Roth's prayer book showed that Jewish traditions can grow and change. It taught that old rules are important, but new ideas and feelings are also very vital.

Important Decisions by Rabbi Roth

Throughout his career, Rabbi Roth made several important decisions and gave advice on Jewish law. These are known as rabbinic rulings.

In 2005, he ruled that during Passover, a special Jewish holiday, chametz (foods forbidden during Passover) should be given to non-Jewish people in need. This helps others and prevents waste.

In 2007, he advised people to avoid kissing mezuzahs. A mezuzah is a small scroll with prayers, often placed on doorframes. He suggested this to prevent the spread of germs and infectious diseases.

In 2009, Rabbi Roth made a significant ruling about Torah scrolls. A Torah scroll is a handwritten copy of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. He ruled that a Torah scroll written by a woman could be used in a community synagogue. He explained that since women are now expected to study the Torah deeply, they should also be allowed to write a scroll.

Views on Veganism

In 2010, Rabbi Roth suggested that Jewish people should consider eating a vegan diet. This means not eating any animal products like meat, eggs, or milk. He gave four main reasons for this idea:

• Kindness to Animals: He believed that modern ways of killing many animals at once are cruel. This goes against the Torah's rule of avoiding cruelty to animals (called tza'ar ba'alei hayyim).
• Good Health: Eating many animal products, as people do today, might not be good for our health. The Torah tells us to take care of ourselves.
• Protecting the Planet: He argued that if religious Jews stop eating animal products, it would greatly help reduce harm to our planet.
• Promoting Justice: Rabbi Roth felt that adopting a vegan diet would help promote fairness and justice in the world. He believed it could even help bring about the Messianic Age, a time of peace and goodness.