Avraham Yehoshua Heshel of

Apt Apt. is an abbreviation for apartment. Apt may also refer to: Places * Apt Cathedral, a former cathedral, and national monument of France, in the town of Apt in Provence * Apt, Vaucluse, a commune of the Vaucluse département of France * A ...

, popularly known as the Apter Rebbe or Apter Rov, was born in Żmigród,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

in 1748 and died in Mezhbizh,

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

(now

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

) 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 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 ...

), Avraham Yehoshua Heshel showed great promise even at an early age. Acquiring fame as a

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 ...

ic scholar, he studied under Rabbi

Elimelech of Lizhensk Elimelech Weisblum of Lizhensk (1717–March 11, 1787) was a rabbi and one of the great founding Rebbes of the Hasidic movement. He was known after his hometown, Leżajsk ( yi, ליזשענסק, translit=Lizhensk) near Rzeszów in Poland. He was ...

and Rabbi Yechiel Michl of Zlotchov. Becoming one of the foremost spokesmen of the growing

Chasidic 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 contem ...

movement in

, he began his career as Rabbi of Kolbuszowa. In 1800 he accepted the post of Rabbi of Apt, or

Opatów Opatów (; yi, אַפּטאַ, אַפּט) is a town in southeastern Poland, within Opatów County in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy Cross Province). Historically, it was part of a greater region called Lesser Poland. In 2012 the populati ...

. 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 Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

. 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 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 ...

and the cradle of Hasidism, where he devoted himself completely to the study and dissemination of Chasidism. His daughter, Rachel Ashkenazi, authored several original commentaries on the Torah. It was during this period in his life, in Mezhbizh, that he gained the veneration of thousands of followers, among whom were a number of the prominent rabbis of the age. His outstanding character trait was his strongly expressed love of the

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

people, which earned him the title of ''Oheiv Yisrael'', "Lover of Israel". ''Oheiv Yisrael'' became the title of the published collection of his thoughts arranged according to the weekly

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

portions. The work abounds with lofty kabbalistic insights and interpretations. It is one of the basic Chasidic texts and bespeaks the Apter Rov's passionate love of his fellow

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

s. The Apter Rov is one of the most notable and beloved luminaries in the Hasidic firmament. On his deathbed, crying bitterly over the long exile, he said: "Before his demise, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berdichev promised that upon entering the World-to-Come he would not rest or sit until

Mashiach The Messiah in Judaism () is a savior and liberator figure in Jewish eschatology, who is believed to be the future redeemer of the Jewish people. The concept of messianism originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible a messiah is a king or Hig ...

would come. But they diverted his attention by teaching him lofty and mystical concepts until he forgot his pledge—but I assure you, I will not forget." He was buried in Mezhbizh, near the

. An ornate stone ohel marks his grave in the old Jewish cemetery. According to one Hasidic legend, angels subsequently carried his body and buried him in the

Holy Land The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...

, and in the Jewish Cemetery in

Tiberias Tiberias ( ; he, טְבֶרְיָה, ; ar, طبريا, Ṭabariyyā) is an Israeli city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's F ...

there is a stone marking his supposed grave.

The Hasidic dynasty of Mezhbizh/Zinkov

Rabbi Avraham Yehoshua Heshel of Apt was the founder of the Mezhbizh/Zinkover rabbinic dynasty. In honor of the dynasty's founder, his descendants adopted the family name Heshel.

References

*Chapin, David A. and Weinstock, Ben, ''The Road from Letichev: The history and culture of a forgotten Jewish community in Eastern Europe, Volume 1''. iUniverse, Lincoln, NE, 2000. *Kaplan, Aryeh (1991) Chasidic Masters: History, Biography, Thought. Moznaim Publishing Corporation. *Rabinowicz, Tzvi M. ''The Encyclopedia of Hasidism'': Jason Aronson, Inc., 1996. *Finkel, Avraham Y. ''The Great Chasidic Masters'': Jason Aronson, Inc., 1992. {{DEFAULTSORT:Heshel, Avraham Yehoshua 1748 births 1825 deaths People from Jasło County Hasidic rebbes Hasidic rabbis in Europe Polish Hasidic rabbis

Rabbis 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 ...