Aryeh Löb ben Mordecai Ha-Levi Epstein (''Ba'al ha-Pardes'') (1708 – June 26, 1775) was a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

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 ...

born in

Grodno Grodno (russian: Гродно, pl, Grodno; lt, Gardinas) or Hrodna ( be, Гродна ), is a city in western Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, 300 km (186 mi) from Minsk, about 15 km (9 mi) from the Polish b ...

. At first he refused to become a rabbi, preferring to devote himself entirely to study, but in 1739 he was forced by poverty to accept the rabbinate of Brestovech,

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 ...

, and in 1745 he became rabbi of

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

, where he remained until his death. He corresponded with Elijah, Gaon of Vilna, and with

Jonathan Eybeschütz Rav Yonatan Eybeschütz (רבי יהונתן אייבשיץ) (also Eibeschutz or Eibeschitz; 1690 1764) was a Talmudist, Halachist, Kabbalist, holding positions as Dayan of Prague, and later as Rabbi of the "Three Communities": Altona, Hambur ...

, with whom he sided in the quarrel about amulets (see Emden-Eybeschütz Controversy). He is the author of ''Or ha-Shanim,'' on the

613 commandments The Jewish tradition that there are 613 commandments ( he, תרי״ג מצוות, taryag mitzvot) or mitzvot in the Torah (also known as the Law of Moses) is first recorded in the 3rd century AD, when Rabbi Simlai mentioned it in a sermon that i ...

(

Frankfurt-on-the-Oder Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (), is a city in the German state of Brandenburg. It has around 57,000 inhabitants, is one of the easternmost cities in Germany, the fourth-largest city in Brandenburg, and the largest German ...

, 1754), ''Halakah Aḥaronah'' and ''Ḳunṭres ha-Ra'yot'' (ib. 1754; Königsberg, 1759), ''Sefer ha-Pardes,'' in three parts: (1) on the ''

Shema ''Shema Yisrael'' (''Shema Israel'' or ''Sh'ma Yisrael''; he , שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל ''Šəmaʿ Yīsrāʾēl'', "Hear, O Israel") is a Jewish prayer (known as the Shema) that serves as a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewis ...

'' and the observance of

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...

, (2) sermons, (3) funeral orations (ib. 1759). Several other

Kabbalistic Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...

and

halachic ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...

works from his pen are mentioned in his own works or by his biographer. A prayer which he composed on the occasion of the dedication of a new synagogue in Königsberg (ib. 1756) is found in the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...

. Annotations by him and by his son Abraham Meïr Epstein are published in some of the later editions of the

Babylonian 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 cente ...

. He is called " Levin Marcus" in Solowicz's ''Gesch. der Juden in Königsberg,'' Posen, 1857.

Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography

* Epstein, ''Geburot Ari'',

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, 1870; *

Joseph Zedner Joseph Zedner (10 February 1804 – 10 October 1871) was a German Jewish bibliographer and librarian. After completing his education, he acted as teacher in the Jewish school in Strelitz (Mecklenburg), where the lexicographer Daniel Sanders wa ...

, ''Cat. Hebr. Books Brit. Mus.'' p. 241; * Friedenstein, ''Ir Gibborim'', pp. 44, 47, Vilna, 1880;

External links

Jewish Encyclopedia article for Aryeh Leib Epstein
{{DEFAULTSORT:Epstein, Arje-Lejb 18th-century Polish rabbis 1708 births 1775 deaths People from Grodno