Abraham Lichtstein () was a Polish

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 t ...

and

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

ist. He served as the Av Beis Din of

Przasnysz Przasnysz () is a town in north-central Poland. Located in the Masovian Voivodship, about north of Warsaw and about south of Olsztyn, it is the capital of Przasnysz County. It has 18,093 inhabitants (2004). It was one of the most important towns ...

, Poland and authored a commentary on the

Pentateuch The Torah ( , "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. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () o ...

entitled ''Kanfei Nesharim'' (, "Wings of Eagles").

Early life, education and career

Lichtstein was born in

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the List of cities and towns in Poland, tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Biał ...

at the end of the eighteenth century. He was the son of Rabbi Eliezer Lipman Lichtstein and grandson of Rabbi Kalman of Białystok. His major work, ''Kanfei Nesharim'', was published in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

in 1881. The ''

sefer Sefer may refer to: * Sefer (Hebrew), a term for a book People with the surname * Franjo Šefer (born 1905), Yugoslav tennis player * Bela Šefer, Yugoslav footballer playing in 1924 People with the forename * Sefer Reis, Turkish privateer and O ...

'' is divided into several parts, each with a separate name: #''Kiryat Sefer'', an introduction to each book of the Pentateuch #''To'aliyyot ha-Ralbag'', a treatment of the doctrines deduced by

Gersonides Levi ben Gershon (1288 – 20 April 1344), better known by his Graecized name as Gersonides, or by his Latinized name Magister Leo Hebraeus, or in Hebrew by the abbreviation of first letters as ''RaLBaG'', was a medieval French Jewish philosoph ...

from passages of the

Torah The Torah ( , "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. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

#''Abach Soferim'', miscellanea #''Machazeh Abraham'', consisting of sermons on each section of the Torah #''Ner Mitzvah'', a treatment of the number of the precepts according to

Maimonides Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (, ) and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam (), was a Sephardic rabbi and Jewish philosophy, philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah schola ...

#''Shiyyure Miẓwah'', a treatment of the additional precepts according to

Nahmanides Moses ben Nachman ( ''Mōše ben-Nāḥmān'', "Moses son of Nachman"; 1194–1270), commonly known as Nachmanides (; ''Nakhmanídēs''), and also referred to by the acronym Ramban (; ) and by the contemporary nickname Bonastruc ça Porta (; l ...

Moses ben Jacob of Coucy Rabbi Moses ben Jacob of Coucy, also known as Moses Mikkotsi (; ), was a French Tosafist and authority on Halakha (Jewish law). He is best known as the author of one of the earliest codifications of Halakha, the '' Sefer Mitzvot Gadol''. Biogr ...

, and

Isaac ben Joseph of Corbeil Isaac ben Joseph of Corbeil (died 1280) () was a 13th-century French rabbi and tosafist, best known as the author of ''Sefer Mitzvot Ḳatan.'' Biography Isaac was the son-in-law of R. Yechiel of Paris, whose yeshiva he attended, and the pupil ...

#''Milchemet Mitzvah'', on the disputes among various authorities concerning the numbering of the precepts by Maimonides #''Torat ha-Ḳorbanot'', on the

Levitical Levites ( ; ) or Levi are Jewish males who claim patrilineal descent from the Tribe of Levi. The Tribe of Levi descended from Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah. The surname ''Halevi'', which consists of the Hebrew definite article "" ''Ha-' ...

laws of offerings and on the order of the High Priest's service in the

Sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

Yom Kippur Yom Kippur ( ; , ) is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, corresponding to a date in late September or early October. For traditional Jewish people, it is primarily centered on atonement and ...

#''Sha'arei Tziyyon'', orations on theological subjects The whole work was published together with the text of the Pentateuch (Josefow, 1829) and republished without the text (Vilna, 1894). Lichtstein also authored a commentary on the ''Sefer ha-Tappuach'', which was published together with the text in the Grodno edition of 1799.

References

External links

''Sefer Kanfei Nesharim'' (Hebrew download)
* ''Jewish Encyclopedia''
“Lichtstein, Abraham B. Eliezer Lipman”
by Solomon Schechter & N. T. London (1906). Now in public domain. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lichtstein, Abraham Lipman 19th-century deaths Bible commentators Writers from Białystok 18th-century births 19th-century Polish rabbis