Goldman, Aharon Halevi
GOLDMAN, AHARON HALEVI
GOLDMAN, AHARON HALEVI (1854–1932), rabbi of the Jewish agricultural colony Moisesville, Argentina. Goldman was born in Podolia, Russia. When he was 18 years old he was ordained and worked as a shoḥet. Goldman accepted the role of spiritual leader of the first organized group of 120 families that planned to establish themselves in Argentina as farmers. The group arrived in Buenos Aires on board the Wesser on August 14, 1889. Goldman immigrated with his wife and five children. The group established an agricultural colony in Palacios, province of Santa Fe; in 1890 they moved to a new home, close to the railway, which Aharon Goldman called Kiryat Moshe or Moises-Ville, referring to Moshe Rabbeinu, who liberated the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, as a symbol of the liberation of the settlers from the oppressive situation that they had suffered in Russia.
In his role as rabbi in Moisesville Goldman tried to maintain observance, especially kashrut and the Sabbath. He succeeded in obtaining the recognition by the authorities of the Sabbath as the weekly day of rest and Sunday as a weekday. Goldman was also gabbai ẓedakah in charge of the collection of money for the local needy and for the yeshivot in Ereẓ Israel and the Diaspora. He studied 18 hours a day. A large part of his responsa was dedicated to the various problems facing the Jews in a new social and geographical environment. He solved halakhic problems with respect to the different seasons in the southern part of the globe, as well as the different fauna not mentioned in the Torah with respect to the dietary laws. His responsa were published posthumously by his grandson Dr. David Goldman, in Divrei Aharon (Jerusalem, 1981). Goldman maintained a wide correspondence with prominent rabbis of his generation: Isaac Elhanan *Spektor, Samuel *Salant, *Ḥafeẓ Ḥayyim, Abraham Isaac ha-Kohen *Kook, and Samuel *Mohilever. His rabbinical authority was recognized throughout Argentina and was accepted also by Shaul Setthon Dabbah, rabbi of the Aleppan community of Buenos Aires.
One of his sons, mordechai goldman, was shoḥet in Moisesville and died in 1981 in Jerusalem.
[Efraim Zadoff (2nd ed.)]