Samson ben Pesah Ostropoli (died July 15, 1648), 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 from
Ostropol
Staryi Ostropil ( uk, Старий Остропіль, links=no), also known as Ostropil ( uk, Остропіль), is a selo on the Sluch River located in Khmelnytskyi Raion, Khmelnytskyi Oblast about 133 miles (222 km) WSW of Kyiv, Ukr ...
who was martyred at
Polonnoye
Polonne () is a city on the Khomora River in Shepetivka Raion, Khmelnytskyi Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. Polonne hosts the administration of Polonne urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. The current estimated population is
P ...
,
Volhynia
Volhynia (also spelled Volynia) ( ; uk, Воли́нь, Volyn' pl, Wołyń, russian: Волы́нь, Volýnʹ, ), is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between south-eastern Poland, south-western Belarus, and western Ukraine. Th ...
, during the
Khmelnytsky Uprising
The Khmelnytsky Uprising,; in Ukraine known as Khmelʹnychchyna or uk, повстання Богдана Хмельницького; lt, Chmelnickio sukilimas; Belarusian language, Belarusian: Паўстанне Багдана Хмяльніц ...
. When the Cossacks laid siege to Polonnoye, Samson, with 300 of his followers, arrayed in their shrouds and
praying-shawls, went to the synagogue, and stood there praying until the enemy came and butchered them all.
Ostropoli was a noted
kabalist. He was the author of a commentary (published by his nephew Pesaḥ at Zolkiev in 1709) on the kabalistic work ''Ḳarnayim.'' According to the author of ''
Yewen Meẓulah,'' he wrote also a commentary on the
Zohar
The ''Zohar'' ( he, , ''Zōhar'', lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is a foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah (the five ...
, titled ''Machane Dan,'' in conformity with the cabalistic system of
Isaac Luria
Isaac ben Solomon Luria Ashkenazi (1534Fine 2003, p24/ref> – July 25, 1572) ( he, יִצְחָק בן שלמה לוּרְיָא אשכנזי ''Yitzhak Ben Sh'lomo Lurya Ashkenazi''), commonly known in Jewish religious circles as "Ha'ARI" (mean ...
, but this work has not been preserved. Other works of his are:
Dan Yadin, a commentary on an early cryptic kabalistic work called Sefer Karnayim.
A collection of all Rabbi Shimshon's known Torah commentaries called Nitzotzay Shimshon.
His most famous work is the Erev (eve of) Pesach Letter famous for the assurance of blessing to those that study it called 'Maamar Sod Eztba Elokim' (The Secret of The Finger of G-d) on the ten plagues in Egypt.
Which recently became available online in English and Hebrew (with comprehensive commentary).
See also
*
Martyrdom in Judaism
Martyrdom in Judaism is one of the main examples of Jews doing a ''kiddush Hashem'', a Hebrew term which means "sanctification of hename". An example of this is public self-sacrifice in accordance with Jewish practice and identity, with the poss ...
Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography
*
Grätz, Gesch. x.57, 65, Leipzig, 1897;
*Yewen Meẓulah, section Gezerah Deḳaḳ, Polonah;
*
Azulai, Shem ha-Gedolim, i.181, Wilna, 1852;
*Gurland, Le-Korot ha-Gezerot, ii.25, vi.60 et seq.;
*Fürst, Bibl. Jud. iii.357.
References
*
https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/promotions/1706120/r-shimshon-of-ostropolis-1599-1648-erev-pesach-segula-that-saved-lives.html
External links
Article on Rabbi Shimshon of Ostropli's famed 'Erev Pesach Letter' (Ma'amar Sod Etzba Elokim) https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/promotions/1706120/r-shimshon-of-ostropolis-1599-1648-erev-pesach-segula-that-saved-lives.html
A Kabbalistic Letter written by Rabbi Samson of Ostropoli traditionally read in Hassidic circles on the eve of Passover
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ostropoli, Samson Ben Pesah
1648 deaths
Jewish martyrs
Kabbalists
17th-century Polish rabbis
Bible commentators
Year of birth unknown
People from Khmelnytskyi Oblast