Aryeh Leib ben Asher Ginzburg (or Wallerstein) ( he, אריה ליב גינסבורג) ( 1695 – June 23, 1785), also known as the Shaagas Aryeh, was a

Lithuanian Lithuanian may refer to: * Lithuanians * Lithuanian language * The country of Lithuania * Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Culture of Lithuania * Lithuanian cuisine * Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

and author.

Life

Born in

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

, c. 1695, he was a

Rabbinical Rabbinic Judaism ( he, יהדות רבנית, Yahadut Rabanit), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, or Judaism espoused by the Rabbanites, has been the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Babylonian ...

casuist In ethics, casuistry ( ) is a process of reasoning that seeks to resolve moral problems by extracting or extending theoretical rules from a particular case, and reapplying those rules to new instances. This method occurs in applied ethics and ju ...

. At one time Ginsburg was rabbi in

Pinsk Pinsk ( be, Пі́нск; russian: Пи́нск ; Polish: Pińsk; ) is a city located in the Brest Region of Belarus, in the Polesia region, at the confluence of the Pina River and the Pripyat River. The region was known as the Marsh of Pinsk a ...

, and then later founded a

yeshivah A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are stud ...

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

. Here however he engaged in hostile dispute with the Gaon Yechiel Halpern, whose supporters eventually drove Ginsburg from the city.YIVO: Gintsburg, Aryeh Leib ben Asher
/ref> Legend has it that the Shaagas Aryeh was run out of the city of Minsk on an oxen cart. Due to the insult, as he left the city he remarked "What, Minsk isn't burning yet?" For years, fires that broke out were attributed by the Jews of Minsk to the curse of the Shaagas Aryeh. His most famous book ''Shaagas Aryeh'' (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

, שאגת אריה, for 'Roar of the Lion'), a collection of responsa, was first published in

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

in 1755 and is still frequently quoted in rabbinical debate, as are many of his

responsa ''Responsa'' (plural of Latin , 'answer') comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them. In the modern era, the term is used to describe decisions and rulings made by scholars i ...

. After its publication he became known as "the ''Shaagas Aryeh''" after his book. He became rabbi in

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in 1765, but an early argument with his congregation led to him refusing to enter the synagogue except to give four sermons a year. Despite this he retained his post until he died in Metz on June 23, 1785. Hasidim considered the Shaagas Aryeh "the definitive talmid hakham (great leader) of the generation", They maintain a legend that the

Besht Israel ben Eliezer (1698 – 22 May 1760), known as the Baal Shem Tov ( he, בעל שם טוב, ) or as the Besht, was a Jewish mystic and healer who is regarded as the founder of Hasidic Judaism. "Besht" is the acronym for Baal Shem Tov, which ...

sought out the Shaagas Aryeh and "served him by putting his shoes on for him". A legend exists of his death. During his studies a bookcase fell on him, covering him with books. His students were able to rescue him after an hour or so and he related to them that he had been covered by the books of the authors with whom he had quarreled. He had asked forgiveness from all of them and they all complied save for one,

Mordecai Yoffe Mordecai ben Avraham Yoffe (or Jaffe or Joffe) ( 1530 – 7 March 1612; Hebrew: מרדכי בן אברהם יפה) was a Rabbi, Rosh yeshiva and posek. He is best known as author of ''Levush Malkhus'', a ten-volume codification of Jewish law tha ...

(known as the ''Levush'') who refused. He knew therefore that he was not long for this world, and pronounced the verse in

'' "Aryeh shoag mi loi yiroh"''; i.e. that ''Aryeh'' (the lion, meaning himself) ' (roars), but ''mi'' (an acronym of Mordecai Yoffeh, but can also mean 'who') ' (is not afraid). It is speculated that this legend is the source of the

urban myth An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...

surrounding the death of the French-Jewish composer

Charles-Valentin Alkan Charles-Valentin Alkan (; 30 November 1813 – 29 March 1888) was a French Jewish composer and virtuoso pianist. At the height of his fame in the 1830s and 1840s he was, alongside his friends and colleagues Frédéric Chopin and Franz Lisz ...

, whose family originated from Metz.Conway, David (2012), ''Jewry in Music'', Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 230.

Works

*''Shaagas Aryeh'' - halachic discussions in the form of questions and answers, mostly on the topics of

Orach Chaim Orach Chayim, (''manner/way of life'') is a section of Rabbi Jacob ben Asher's compilation of Halakha (Jewish law), Arba'ah Turim. This section addresses aspects of Jewish law pertinent to the Hebrew calendar (be it the daily, weekly, monthly, or ...

*''Gevuras Ari'' - glosses to Ta'anit, Yoma, Makkot (published Vilna, 1862) *''Turei Even'' - glosses to the Talmudic tractates Rosh haShanah, Hagigah, and Megillah (published 1781)

Notes

Sources

"Research into the Life and Family of the Shagas Aryeh"
(Hebrew)
Shagas Aryeh Research Project - With a focus on Genealogy
* Feuerwerker, David (1976), ''L’Émancipation des Juifs en France. De l’Ancien Régime à la fin du Second Empire''. Albin Michel: Paris, * Finkelman, Shimon (1986), ''Shaagas Aryeh''. Illustrated by Yosef Dershowitz. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications. 1986. , . * Gelbein. Moshe (2004). ''Jewish parables: a mashal for every occasion''. ArtScroll series. ArtScroll (Mesorah). Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications. . See p. 158. * Himelstein, Shmuel (2003) ''Wisdom & wit: a sparkling treasury of Jewish anecdotes and advice''.Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications. , . See p. 295. * Horowitz, Rabbi Levi Yitzchok (foreword) (2002), ''A Chassidic journey: the Polish Chassidic dynasties of Lublin, Lelov, Nikolsburg and Boston''. Feldheim Publishers. 2002. 1583305688, . See p. 227. * Kolel 'Iyun ha-daf (Jerusalem). ''Insight to the daf''. Jerusalem; Tashen. 2007. . See p. 18. * Yerushalmi, Shmuel. ''The Life and teachings of Rav Aryeh Leib ben Asher Gunzburg (1695-1785) he Shaagas Aryeh'. In Hebrew. Vagshal. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gunzberg, Aryeh Leib Ben Asher 1695 births 1785 deaths 18th-century Polish–Lithuanian rabbis Lithuanian Orthodox rabbis Rabbis from Minsk Rabbis from Metz