Avraham Yehoshua "Heschel"(or Abraham Joshua) (1595 – 1663) was a renowned rabbi and

talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

ist in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

, Poland. In 1654 Heschel became Chief Rabbi of

, succeeding

Yom-Tov Lipmann Heller Rabbi Gershon Shaul Yom-Tov Lipmann ben Nathan ha-Levi Heller (c. 157919 August 1654), was a Bohemian rabbi and Talmudist, best known for writing a commentary on the Mishnah called the ''Tosefet Yom-Tov'' (1614–1617). Heller was one of the major ...

upon his death. Subsequent to the

Chmielnicki massacres The Khmelnytsky Uprising,; in Ukraine known as Khmelʹnychchyna or uk, повстання Богдана Хмельницького; lt, Chmelnickio sukilimas; Belarusian: Паўстанне Багдана Хмяльніцкага; russian: � ...

, Heschel was lenient in allowing '' agunah''s (women whose husbands were only presumed dead) to remarry. Heschel's second wife was Dina, the granddaughter of

Saul Wahl Saul Wahl Katzenellenbogen (1541–1617) was a wealthy and politically influential Polish Jew who is said to have briefly occupied the throne of Poland on 18 August 1587. He has historically borne the nickname, "''Le roi d'un jour''" (king for a ...

, who according to folklore was king of Poland for one day. Heschel's main students are Rabbi David Halevi Segal (Taz), and Rabbi Shabsai Cohen (Shach). Heschel is buried in the Old Jewish Cemetery of Kraków, also known as the

Remuh Cemetery The Old Jewish Cemetery of Kraków ( pl, Stary cmentarz żydowski w Krakowie), more commonly known as the Remah Cemetery ( pl, Cmentarz Remuh), is a historic necropolis established in the years 1535–1551, and one of the oldest existing Jewish ...

References

17th-century Polish rabbis Chief rabbis of cities Polish Orthodox rabbis Rabbis from Kraków 1595 births 1663 deaths {{Poland-rabbi-stub