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 a prominent ]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 o ...
and mystic.
Biography
Isaiah Horowitz was born in Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
around 1555.
''Jewish Encyclopedia'' bibliography: His first teacher was his father, Avraham ben Shabtai Sheftel Horowitz, a notable scholar and author, and a disciple of Moses Isserles
). He is not to be confused with Meir Abulafia, known as "Ramah" ( he, רמ״ה, italic=no, links=no), nor with Menahem Azariah da Fano, known as "Rema MiPano" ( he, רמ״ע מפאנו, italic=no, links=no).
Rabbi Moses Isserles ( he, משה � ...
(Rema). Horowitz studied under Meir Lublin
Meir Lublin or Meir ben Gedalia (1558 – 1616) was a Polish rabbi, Talmudist and Posek ("decisor of Jewish law"). He is well known for his commentary on the Talmud, ''Meir Einai Chachamim''. He is also referred to as Maharam (Hebrew acronym: ...
and Joshua Falk. He married Chaya, daughter of Abraham Moul, of Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, and was a wealthy and active philanthropist, supporting Torah study
Torah study is the study of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature, and similar works, all of which are Judaism's religious texts. According to Rabbinic Judaism, the study is done for the purpose of the '' mitzvah'' ("co ...
, especially in Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
. In 1590, in Lublin
Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of ...
, he participated in a meeting of the Council of Four Lands, and his signature appears on a decree that condemns the purchase of rabbinic positions.
In 1602, Isaiah Horowitz was appointed Av Beit Din
The ''av beit din'' ( ''ʾabh bêth dîn'', "chief of the court" or "chief justice"), also spelled ''av beis din'' or ''abh beth din'' and abbreviated ABD (), was the second-highest-ranking member of the Sanhedrin during the Second Temple period, ...
in Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, and in 1606 was appointed Rabbi of Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...
. In 1614, after serving as rabbi in prominent cities in Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, he left following the Fettmilch Uprising and assumed the prestigious position of chief rabbi of Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
.
In 1621, after the death of his wife, he moved to Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, was appointed rabbi of the Ashkenazi community in Jerusalem, and married Hava, daughter of Eleazer. In 1625, he was kidnapped and imprisoned, together with 15 other Jewish rabbis and scholars, by the Pasha
Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignita ...
(Ibn Faruh) and held for ransom. After 1626, Horowitz moved to Safed
Safed (known in Hebrew as Tzfat; Sephardic Hebrew & Modern Hebrew: צְפַת ''Tsfat'', Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Tzfas'', Biblical Hebrew: ''Ṣǝp̄aṯ''; ar, صفد, ''Ṣafad''), is a city in the Northern District of Israel. Located at an elev ...
, erstwhile home of Kabbalah, and later died 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 ...
on March 24, 1630 (Nisan
Nisan (or Nissan; he, נִיסָן, Standard ''Nīsan'', Tiberian ''Nīsān''; from akk, 𒊬𒊒𒄀 ''Nisanu'') in the Babylonian and Hebrew calendars is the month of the barley ripening and first month of spring. The name of the month i ...
11, 5390 on the Hebrew calendar
The Hebrew calendar ( he, הַלּוּחַ הָעִבְרִי, translit=HaLuah HaIvri), also called the Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today for Jewish religious observance, and as an official calendar of the state of Israel ...
).
In his many 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 ...
, homiletic
In religious studies, homiletics ( grc, ὁμιλητικός ''homilētikós'', from ''homilos'', "assembled crowd, throng") is the application of the general principles of rhetoric to the specific art of public preaching. One who practices o ...
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 comman ...
works, he stressed the joy in every action, and how one should convert the evil inclination into good, two concepts that influenced Jewish thought through to the eighteenth-century, and greatly influenced the development of Hasidic Judaism
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 cont ...
.
Famous descendants of Isaiah Horowitz included Yaakov Yitzchak of Lublin (known as "The Seer of Lublin"), the prominent Billiczer rabbinical family of Szerencs, Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...
and the Dym family of rabbis and communal leaders in Galicia
Galicia may refer to:
Geographic regions
* Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain
** Gallaecia, a Roman province
** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia
** The medieval King ...
, Aaron HaLevi ben Moses of Staroselye
Aaron HaLevi ben Moses (Hurwitz) of Staroselye was a Talmudic scholar and Kabbalist of note who lived in Poland during the latter part of the eighteenth century and the early part of the nineteenth.
Student of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi
He ...
(a prominent student of 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 ...
), the Fruchter-Langer families and Rabbi Meir Zelig Mann of Memel, Lithuania (b. 1921, d. 2008).
Works
His most important work ''Shenei Luḥot HaBerit'' ( he, שני לוחות הברית, '' Two Tablets of the Covenant'', abbreviated ''Shelah'' ), is an encyclopedic compilation of ritual, ethics
Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concer ...
, and mysticism. It was originally intended as an ethical will - written as a compendium of the Jewish religion. The title page of the first edition states that the work is "compiled from both 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 ...
s, Written and Oral
The word oral may refer to:
Relating to the mouth
* Relating to the mouth, the first portion of the alimentary canal that primarily receives food and liquid
** Oral administration of medicines
** Oral examination (also known as an oral exam or or ...
, handed down from Sinai". The work has had a profound influence on Jewish life - notably, on the early Hasidic movement, including 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 ...
; 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 ...
was described as a "''Shelah Yid''", and ''Shelah'' clearly echoes in his work, '' Tanya''. The work was first published in 1648 by his son, Shabbethai Horowitz, and has been often reprinted, especially in an abbreviated form. (See also שני לוחות הברית article in the Hebrew Wikipedia
Hebrew Wikipedia ( he, ויקיפדיה העברית, ) is the Modern Hebrew, Hebrew language edition of Wikipedia. This edition was started on 8 July 2003 and contains more than encyclopedia article, articles as of .
History
Timeline
*8 Jul ...
).
Horowitz also wrote the ''Sha'ar ha-Shamayim'' siddur
A siddur ( he, סִדּוּר ; plural siddurim ) is a Jewish prayer book containing a set order of daily prayers. The word comes from the Hebrew root , meaning 'order.'
Other terms for prayer books are ''tefillot'' () among Sephardi Jews, '' ...
(prayer book) which had an influence on the later Ashkenazi '' nusach''.
Tefillat HaShlah - The Shelah's Prayer
Rabbi Horowitz wrote that the eve of the first day of the month of Sivan
''Sivan'' (Hebrew: סִיוָן, Standard ''Sīvan'', Tiberian ''Sīwān''; from Akkadian ''simānu'', meaning "Season; time") is the ninth month of the civil year and the third month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. It is a ...
is the most auspicious time to pray for the physical and spiritual welfare of one's children and grandchildren, since Sivan
''Sivan'' (Hebrew: סִיוָן, Standard ''Sīvan'', Tiberian ''Sīwān''; from Akkadian ''simānu'', meaning "Season; time") is the ninth month of the civil year and the third month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. It is a ...
was the month that the 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 ...
was given to the Jewish people. He composed a special prayer to be said on this day, known as the ''Tefillat HaShlah'' "the Shelah's Prayer". In modern times, the custom of saying this prayer on the appointed day has become very popular among Orthodox parents.
Burial place
He is buried in HaRambam compound / complex 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 ...
/ Tveria.
Other notable rabbis also buried in HaRambam compound / complex:
* Maimonides
Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...
* Eliezer ben Hurcanus
* Yohanan ben Zakkai
* Joshua ben Hananiah
Joshua ben Hananiah ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ ben Ḥánanyāh''; d. 131 CE), also known as Rabbi Yehoshua, was a leading tanna of the first half-century following the destruction of the Second Temple. He is the seventh-most-frequently mentioned sage i ...
Footnotes
External links
Sources
Short biography of Rabbi Isaiah Halevi Horowitz (The Shelah)
chabad.org
ou.org
jewishvirtuallibrary.org
Rabbi Isaiah HaLevi Horowitz –The Shelah
meaningfullife.com
horwitzfam.org
Tefillat HaShlah Custom in Modern Life
mavenmall.com
Resources
Shney Luchot Habrit: fulltext download
(Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
), seforimonline.org
''"Shney Luchot Habrit"''
Translator Rabbi Eliyahu Munk, Urim Publications 2000.
* Isaiah Horowitz: The Generations of Adam. Ed. by Miles Krassen. New York 1996.
Text of Tefillat HaShlah
(Hebrew), he.wikisource
Literature
*"Life and teachings of Isaiah Horowitz", Rabbi Dr. E. Newman, Judaica Press 1972.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horowitz, Isaiah
1550s births
1630 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
Rabbis from Prague
17th-century Bohemian rabbis
17th-century German rabbis
Rabbis in Safed
Ashkenazi rabbis in Ottoman Palestine
Kabbalists
Authors of books on Jewish law
Rabbis from Frankfurt
17th-century rabbis from the Ottoman Empire