Aaron HaLevi ben Moses (Hurwitz) of Staroselye was a
Talmudic scholar
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 ...
and
Kabbalist of note who lived in
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 ...
during the latter part of the eighteenth century and the early part of the nineteenth.
Student of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi
He was one of the most enthusiastic and steadfast disciples of the kabbalist
Shneur Zalman of Liadi
Shneur Zalman of Liadi ( he, שניאור זלמן מליאדי, September 4, 1745 – December 15, 1812 O.S. / 18 Elul 5505 – 24 Tevet 5573) was an influential Lithuanian Jewish rabbi and the founder and first Rebbe of Chabad, a branch of ...
, rabbi of
Liozna
Liozna ( be, Лёзна, pl, Łoźna, russian: Лиозно, german: Ljesno, yi, ליאזנע ''Lyozne'') is a town in Vitebsk Region, Belarus, the capital of Liozna District. It is located close to the border with Russia by the Vitebsk-Smolen ...
and
Liadi, and studied under him until he had acquired a full knowledge of his mystic lore. He urged Rabbi Shneur Zalman to publish his work, ''
Tanya'' (Slavita, 1796); and when the latter was imprisoned by a royal decree in 1798, Aaron traveled from town to town to collect money from his master's followers, to ransom him, or at least to bribe the jailer and the prison warders to allow them to see Rabbi Shneur Zalman. After the latter's death in 1812, Aaron took up his residence as rabbi at
Staroselye, and many flocked to him to have the Law explained in accordance with the teachings of his master. These formed a school known as the
Hasidim of Staroselye.
Works
Aaron was the author of ''Sha'are Abodah'' ( he, , The Gates of Worship), Shklov, 1820–21, a work which is also known by the name ''Avodat HaBenonim'' ( he, , The Worship of the Average men). It is divided into five sections: the first on the unity of God; the second on the union of souls; the third on divine service; the fourth on the Law and the Commandments; and the fifth on repentance. He also wrote ''Avodat HaLevi'' ( he, ), Lemberg, 1861, a commentary on the Pentateuch. All of Aaron's teachings are based on the oral traditions of Rabbi Shneur Zalman and on his work, ''Tanya''.
Family
Rabbi Aaron was a descendant of Rabbi
Isaiah Horowitz
Isaiah or Yeshayahu ben Avraham Ha-Levi Horowitz ( he, ישעיה בן אברהם הלוי הורוויץ), (c. 1555 – March 24, 1630), also known as the ''Shelah HaKaddosh'' ( "the holy ''Shelah''") after the title of his best-known work, was ...
(Shaloh HaKadosh).
Rabbi Aaron's son,
Haim Raphael HaLevi ben Aaron of Staroselye, was the second rebbe of Strashelye.
[Ehrlich, Avrum. The Leadership of Dovber. Leadership in the Habad Movement. (Chapt. 11). Jerusalem: Jason Aronson, 2000. https://www.academia.edu/1316532/Leadership_in_the_Habad_Movement]
Michael Levi Rodkinson, an early Hasidic historiographer was Aaron's grandson.
References
18th-century Polish rabbis
Talmudists
Polish Hasidic rabbis
Rebbes of Chabad
19th-century Polish writers
19th-century scholars
19th-century Polish rabbis
People from Mogilev Region
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