Shimshon ben Mordechai of Slonim

Shimshon (Samson) ben Mordechai of Slonim (c. – 13 May 1794), was an 18th-century rabbi, philosopher, mathematician, and scientist. He was one of the leaders of Haskalah and the Misnagdim, and was influenced by the Vilna Gaon. He was the Av Beit Din of Slonim and Königsberg and is thought to have been descended from Shimshon Loew ben Bezalel, the Maharal of Prague's brother, through his grandson, Samson ben Pesah Ostropoli.

Early life and early adulthood (c. 1734-1765) Little is known about Shimshon's early life. He was born in Lithuania, sometime between 1734 and 1736. After returning from Hamburg around 17 or 18 years of age (1751-1753), he was ordained as a rabbi. In the following years, he was rabbi in the small towns of Kolyshki and Krāslava. Later in his life, Shimshon would make frequent trips back to Hamburg, so he could buy books for his collection. This connection was identified by historian Samuel Joseph Fuenn in his book Safah le-Ne'emanim (1881).

Meeting with Baruch Schick of Shklov In 1778, upon the recommendation of the Vilna Gaon, Baruch Schick of Shklov (1744-1808) journeyed to Slonim to ask Shimshon to write an approbation to the first ever Hebrew translation of Euclid's Elements, Sefer Oklidus. Shimshon agreed and wrote part of the introduction to the book. Several other rabbis such as Saul Loewenstamm and Solomon Shalem from The Hague and Amsterdam contributed to the introduction as well.

Firstly, he talked about the proper place Euclid had in history. Shimshon made the assumption that Euclid lived in Greece right around when Mordecai and Esther were living in Persia. Next, he gave a lengthy summary of the contents of the book..

To conclude his writing, Shimshon related it all back to Schick's wish to educate Jews on the sciences. Shimshon referred to the Jews being thought of as uneducated and ignorant. His intentions were to bring science and mathematics into the Jewish people's everyday lives, so they could be recognized as more intelligent and civilized people.

Approbation by Shimshon ben Mordechai of Slonim in Sefer Oklidus (Euclid's Elements Hebrew Translation).

Jeremy Bentham's visit In December, 1787, the English philosopher, Jeremy Bentham, was going to visit his brother, Samuel in Krichev, when he spent the night in Slonim. As he writes in his journal, all of the inns were full, so he was forced to spend the night with a rabbi who also kept a hardware store. He goes on to describe the rabbi's home and that he had two bookcases with "not fewer than 250 or 300 Vols.". Bentham also talked about how the rabbi possessed a copy of Euclid's Elements, as well as a manuscript on astronomy which contained a diagram that was the rabbi's own work. Historians such as Israel Bartal have logically assumed that this was the same rabbi who lent Solomon Maimon books nine years earlier.

Final years (1788-1794) Sometime in the late 1780s, after Bentham's visit, a fire started in the thatch roof of Shimshon's house. It eventually consumed everything in his house including all of his books and manuscripts. He became stricken with grief. It is said that after the fire, "Shimshon eulogized his loss in the synagogue and cried bitter tears."

In 1791, after the fire, he left town for a spot as an Av Beit Din in the town of Königsberg. By that point, Shimshon was very sick and tired. He only spent time there for several years until his death in May 1794.

Legacy All of Shimshon's books and his own manuscripts were destroyed in the aforementioned fire. This unfortunately has limited many historians from being able to determine his role in Jewish history. In his family's tradition he was known as "a scholar and Kabbalist, an astronomer and philosopher, accomplished in all seven sciences, the author of many books, on the exoteric and the esoteric, and the chokhmot." Shimshon was also remembered for bringing Haskalah to Slonim as well as being a Mitnaged. He also encouraged bringing education into every Jew's everyday lives. He is regarded as being one of the most influential rabbis of Slonim, alongside Moses ben Isaac Judah Lima.

Descendants Shimshon's descendants mostly settled in Kosava. They adopted the surname, Karelitz after the town of Karelichy. Some of his most famous rabbinical descendants were the Rabbis Avrohom Yeshaya Karelitz (author of the Chazon Ish), Nissim Karelitz, and Shmaryahu Yosef Chaim Kanievsky.

Other descendants include politician Frank N. Newman, author Jean Hanff Korelitz, the mathematician Leonard Carlitz, real estate developer, Gary Barnett, Dr. Samuel Karelitz, pediatrician and founding chairman of Long Island Jewish Medical Center (LIJ), and former Massachusetts State Representative Clarence Karelitz.

Notable associates Shlomo ben Joshua, Solomon Maimon (1753–1800) German philosopher Rabbi Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, Vilna Gaon (1720–1797) leader of Mitnagdim and Haskalah Rabbi Baruch ben Jacob Schick, Baruch Schick of Shklov (1744–1808) one of the pioneers of Haskalah and author Rabbi Aryeh Leib ben Mordechai Epstein of Königsberg, Aryeh Leib Epstein of Königsberg (1708–1775) rabbi and author of Or ha-Shanim Rabbi Yitzhak ben Aryeh Leib Epstein, Ichile Ginshpriker of Slonim (1730–1807) Basha (Shimshon's wife's) first cousin. Son of Rabbi Aryeh Leib Epstein of Königsberg