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Kalonymus Kalman Epstein
Kalonymus Kalman Halevi Epstein ( he, רבי קלונימוס קלמן אפשטיין; Nowy Korczyn (Neustadt), Poland, 1753 – Kraków, 1825) was a rabbi and Kabbalist, one of the great leaders of the Chassidic movement, known as the ''Maor Vashamesh'' (מאור ושמש) after his sefer. Biography Born in 1753, Epstein, known as "Kalmish," was the son of Aaron Halevi Epstein and an alleged descendant from the Prophet Samuel and King David. Epstein's early years were lived in abject poverty in Neustadt, Poland, one of 10 children, before his father moved the family to Kraków to seek a better life when Epstein was five years old. In Kraków, he became known as an Illui (young prodigy). As a child, after selling bagels baked in the home of his parents to assist in his family's support, Epstein would sneak into the ''beth midrash'' and listen to the Torah sermons given by Krakow scholars, including Yitzchak Halevi, Chief Rabbi of Kraków. One day following one of the sermons, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hasidic Philosophy
Hasidic philosophy or Hasidism ( he, חסידות), alternatively transliterated as Hasidut or Chassidus, consists of the teachings of the Hasidic movement, which are the teachings of the Hasidic ''rebbes'', often in the form of commentary on the Torah (the Five books of Moses) and Kabbalah ( Jewish mysticism). Hasidism deals with a range of spiritual concepts such as God, the soul, and the Torah, dealing with esoteric matters but often making them understandable, applicable and finding practical expressions. With the spread of Hasidism throughout Ukraine, Galicia, Poland, and Russia, divergent schools emerged within Hasidism. Some schools place more stress on intellectual understanding of the Divine, others on the emotional connection with the Divine. Some schools stress specific traits or exhibit behavior not common to other schools. Most if not all schools of Hasidic Judaism stress the central role of the Tzadik, or spiritual and communal leader, in the life of the individual ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
18th-century Polish Rabbis
The 18th century lasted from January 1, 1701 ( MDCCI) to December 31, 1800 ( MDCCC). During the 18th century, elements of Enlightenment thinking culminated in the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions. During the century, slave trading and human trafficking expanded across the shores of the Atlantic, while declining in Russia, China, and Korea. Revolutions began to challenge the legitimacy of monarchical and aristocratic power structures, including the structures and beliefs that supported slavery. The Industrial Revolution began during mid-century, leading to radical changes in human society and the environment. Western historians have occasionally defined the 18th century otherwise for the purposes of their work. For example, the "short" 18th century may be defined as 1715–1789, denoting the period of time between the death of Louis XIV of France and the start of the French Revolution, with an emphasis on directly interconnected events. To historians who expand ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hasidic Rebbes
Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contemporary Western Ukraine during the 18th century, and spread rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most affiliates reside in Israel and the United States. Israel Ben Eliezer, the "Baal Shem Tov", is regarded as its founding father, and his disciples developed and disseminated it. Present-day Hasidism is a sub-group within Haredi Judaism and is noted for its religious conservatism and social seclusion. Its members adhere closely both to Orthodox Jewish practice – with the movement's own unique emphases – and the traditions of Eastern European Jews. Many of the latter, including various special styles of dress and the use of the Yiddish language, are nowadays associated almost exclusively with Hasidism. Hasidic thought draws heavily ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Encyclopaedia Judaica
The ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'' is a 22-volume English-language encyclopedia of the Jewish people, Judaism, and Israel. It covers diverse areas of the Jewish world and civilization, including Jewish history of all eras, culture, holidays, language, scripture, and religious teachings. As of 2010, it had been published in two editions accompanied by a few revisions. The English-language ''Judaica'' was also published on CD-ROM. The CD-ROM version has been enhanced by at least 100,000 hyperlinks and several other features, including videos, slide shows, maps, music and Hebrew pronunciations. While the CD-ROM version is still available, the publisher has discontinued it. The encyclopedia was written by Israeli, American and European professional subject specialists. History Preceding attempts Between 1901 and 1906 ''The Jewish Encyclopedia'' had been published in 12 volumes. It was followed by the ''Jüdisches Lexikon I–II'' (1927–28, in German), ''Encyclopaedia Judaica I–II ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kalonymus Kalman Shapira
Kalonymus Kalman Shapira (or Klonimus Kalmish Szapiro) (or "Shapiro," a more common transliteration of the Polish spelling of his name "Szapiro") (20 May 1889–3 November 1943), was the Grand Rabbi of Piaseczno, Poland, who authored a number of works and was murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust. Early years and life before the war Kalonymus Kalman Shapira was born in Grodzisk Mazowiecki, Poland to his father, the '' Imrei Elimelech'' of Grodzhisk. Named after his maternal great-grandfather, the renowned ''Maor VaShemesh'', he was a scion of a distinguished family, which included Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk, the Chozeh of Lublin and the Maggid of Kozhnitz. The Rebbe was born on the day after Lag BaOmer, 19 Iyar 5649, and his bris was on Yesod SheBeYesod of the Omer. At the age of three, he was orphaned by the death of his father. In 1905 he married Rachel Chaya Miriam, daughter of his nephew Grand Rabbi Yerachmiel Moshe of Kozhnitz. She helped him prepare his lecture ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shulchan Aruch
The ''Shulchan Aruch'' ( he, שֻׁלְחָן עָרוּך , literally: "Set Table"), sometimes dubbed in English as the Code of Jewish Law, is the most widely consulted of the various legal codes in Judaism. It was authored in Safed (today in Israel) by Joseph Karo in 1563 and published in Venice two years later. Together with its commentaries, it is the most widely accepted compilation of Jewish law ever written. The ''halachic'' rulings in the ''Shulchan Aruch'' generally follow Sephardic law and customs, whereas Ashkenazi Jews generally follow the halachic rulings of Moses Isserles, whose glosses to the ''Shulchan Aruch'' note where the Sephardic and Ashkenazi customs differ. These glosses are widely referred to as the ''mappah'' (literally: the "tablecloth") to the ''Shulchan Aruch's'' "Set Table". Almost all published editions of the ''Shulchan Aruch'' include this gloss, and the term "Shulchan Aruch" has come to denote ''both'' Karo's work as well as Isserles', with Karo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sefer (Hebrew)
''Sifrei Kodesh'' ( he, ספרי קודש, , Holy books), commonly referred to as ''sefarim'' ( he, ספרים, , books), or in its singular form, ''sefer'', are books of Jewish religious literature and are viewed by religious Jews as sacred. These are generally works of Torah literature, i.e. Tanakh and all works that expound on it, including the Mishnah, Midrash, Talmud, and all works of ''halakha'', Musar, Hasidism, Kabbalah, or ''machshavah'' ("Jewish Thought"). Historically, ''sifrei kodesh'' were generally written in Hebrew with some in Judeo-Aramaic or Arabic, although in recent years, thousands of titles in other languages, most notably English, were published. An alternative spelling for 'sefarim' is ''seforim''. Terms The term ''Sifrei Kodesh'' is Hebrew for "Holy Books", and includes all books that are considered holy in Rabbinic Judaism. This includes all Torah literature as well as Jewish prayer books. Among Orthodox Jews the word ''sefer'' (plural ''s'f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apta Rebbe
Avraham Yehoshua Heshel of Apt, popularly known as the Apter Rebbe or Apter Rov, was born in Żmigród, Poland in 1748 and died in Mezhbizh, Russian Empire (now Ukraine) in 1825. Rabbinical career A scion of famous rabbinic families, on both his father's and his mother's side (his family can be traced back to Maharam Padua and Saul Wahl), Avraham Yehoshua Heshel showed great promise even at an early age. Acquiring fame as a talmudic scholar, he studied under Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk and Rabbi Yechiel Michl of Zlotchov. Becoming one of the foremost spokesmen of the growing Chasidic movement in Poland, he began his career as Rabbi of Kolbuszowa. In 1800 he accepted the post of Rabbi of Apt, or Opatów. Although he held many other rabbinic positions, to the chasidim he remained always the Apter Rov. In 1808 he was chosen as Rabbi of Iaşi, Moldavia. In the wake of communal strife there, he was forced to leave his post and settled in Mezhbizh, the home of the Baal Shem Tov and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Menachem Mendel Of Rimanov
Menachem Mendel Torem of Rimanov also known as Mendele Rimanover (Alt. spellings: ''Riminov'', ''Rimanev'') (1745–May 29, 1815) was a famous Hasidic Rebbe and one of the first five distributors of the Hasidic movement in Poland and Galicia together with Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak of Lublin, Rabbi Yisrael Hopstein, Rabbi Avraham Yehoshua Heshel of Apta, and Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Epstein. Early life Menachem Mendel was born in 1745 in Nowe Miasto to an old rabbinical Polish family reportedly descended from the Baal HaTurim. According to one account, he was introduced to Hasidut at the age of 11 when he met Dov Ber of Mezeritch. As a youth, he studied under Shmelke of Nikolsburg at Ryczywol and Joseph ben Meir Teomim in Berlin. His primary mentor was Elimelech of Lizhensk and he was among his most celebrated students. After Rav Elimelech's death in 1786, Rebbe Menachem Mendel assumed his position as the principal Chassidic Master in Galicia. Chassidic Court As one of the five ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maggid Of Kozhnitz
Yisroel Hopstein (1737–1814), also known as the Maggid of Kozhnitz, was the founder of Kozhnitz Hasidism, and a noted ''hasidic'' leader in Poland during the late 18th and early 19th century. He was a student of both the Magid/Dov Ber of Mezeritch and Elimelech of Lizhensk, and wrote many books on Chassidus and Kabbalah. He is sometimes referred to as "the Avodat Yisrael" for his works. Biography Hopstein was born in Opatów, to his father, Shabbetai, who was at an advanced age, after having received a blessing from the Baal Shem Tov. The father was a bookbinder; his mother's name was Perl. As a young child he was recognized as an ''illui'' (prodigy). He studied under the tutelage of Rabbi Shmelke of Nikolsburg, who eventually convinced Hopstein to learn with Dov Ber, the ''Maggid of Mezritch''. After the passing of Dov Ber, he went to learn with Elimelech of Lizhensk. Hopstein lived for years in Kozhnitz (Kozienice), was founder of the Kozhnitz Hasidic dynasty, and died t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chozeh Of Lublin
Yaakov Yitzchak HaLevi Horowitz ( he, יעקב יצחק הלוי הורוביץ), known as "the Seer of Lublin" (), ''ha-Chozeh MiLublin''; (c. 1745 - August 15, 1815) was a Hasidic rebbe from Poland. "Rabbi Yaacov Yitzchak, the Chozeh of Lublin, is one of the truly beloved figures of Chassidism. He merited the title of Chozeh, which means seer or visionary ..." A leading figure in the early Hasidic movement, he became known as the "seer" or "visionary" due to his purported ability to gaze across great distance by supernatural means. He was a disciple of the Maggid of Mezritch. He continued his studies under Shmelke of Nilkolsburg and Elimelech of Lizhensk. He lived for a while in Lantzut before moving to Lublin. After Horowitz moved to Lublin, thousands of Hasidim flocked to learn from him. Among his disciples were such Hasidic luminaries as Yaakov Yitzchak Rabinowicz ("the Holy Jew"), Simcha Bunim of Peshischa, Meir of Apta, David of Lelov, Moshe Teitelbaum, Tzvi Elimele ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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