Shimon Sofer

Shimon Sofer (German: Simon Schreiber; 1820–1883) was a prominent Austrian Orthodox Jewish rabbi in the 19th century. He was Chief Rabbi of Kraków, Poland after serving as Chief Rabbi of Mattersdorf. He was the second son of Rabbi Moshe Sofer (Chassam Sofer) of Pressburg. As president of the Orthodox Jewish party Machzikei HaDas, Sofer was a member of the Polenklub at the Reichsrat under the Austria-Hungary monarch Franz Joseph I. He was elected as Deputy of the Kolomyia's election district of Galicia. He became the foremost leader of the Orthodox Jews of Galicia in religious as well as in worldly matters. As a Halakhist and Talmudist he authored commentary and responsa in a work known today as Michtav Sofer.