Rabbi Jacob Joseph of

Polonne 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 ...

, (1710–1784) (

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 ...

: ) or Rabbi Yaakov Yosef of Pollonye, was one of the first and best known of the disciples of the founder of

Hasidic Judaism Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Judaism, Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory ...

, 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 ...

Biography

Yaakov Yosef (sometimes spelled Yacov Yoseph) had been a fervent adherent to the school of

Lurianic Kabbalah Lurianic Kabbalah is a school of kabbalah named after Isaac Luria (1534–1572), the Jewish rabbi who developed it. Lurianic Kabbalah gave a seminal new account of Kabbalistic thought that its followers synthesised with, and read into, the earlie ...

. He was already an accomplished scholar when he attached himself to the Besht (

), and his becoming a disciple engendered much controversy, and indeed some persecution. At that time, he was the rabbi of the city of

Shargorod Sharhorod (; , ), also known as Shargorod, is a town located within the Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Sharhorod Raion, one of 33 regions of Vinnytsia Oblast. Population: History Early history Sharhorod was ...

for several years, and he was expelled from his position on a Friday afternoon in 1748. In several of his ''responsa'', which he wrote in Rashkov, where he took up residence after his banishment from Sharogrod, he reveals the suffering which he had undergone. Later, he was appointed rabbi in

Nemirov Nemyriv ( uk, Немирів, russian: Немирoв, pl, Niemirów) is a historic town in Vinnytsia Oblast (province) in Ukraine, located in the historical region of Podolia. It was the administrative center of former Nemyriv Raion (district). ...

, a center of

Hasidism Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Judaism, Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory ...

, where he practiced daily fasting for five years, until the Besht came upon him. His book, ''Toldos Yaacov Yosef'', (published in 1780), was the first chassidic work ever published. In it repeats the phrase, "''I have heard from my teacher''", 249 times. He is one of the foremost sources for teachings from the Baal Shem Tov. Reb Yaacov Yosef was also somewhat known for his abrupt temperament, yet his teachings on the

Zaddik Tzadik ( he, צַדִּיק , "righteous ne, also ''zadik'', ''ṣaddîq'' or ''sadiq''; pl. ''tzadikim'' ''ṣadiqim'') is a title in Judaism given to people considered righteous, such as biblical figures and later spiritual masters. The ...

, the saint-mystic and holy leader, provide an example of attainment of the highest degree of spiritual solitude, while also exemplifying the piety of a respected leader at the center of the community. After the death of the Baal Shem Tov he thought that he should have succession and not the Maggid of Mezrich and Rabbi Pinchas of Kuritz.

Family

Rabbi Jacob Joseph's son was Rabbi Samson of Raszkow.

Teachings

Rabbi Jacob Joseph addresses the question regarding the dual requirement in Judaism to both love and fear God. Rabbi Jacob Joseph resolves this matter by asserting that when one reaches a high level of inwardness (of the soul), both fear and love of God coalesce into one, becoming indistinguishable from one another, eliminating the need to give priority to one over the other.

Works

Rabbi Jacob Josef authored four books: * ''Toledot Yaakov Yosef'' (1780). The first Chassidic work ever published, and the primary source for various sayings of the Ba‘al Shem Tov as well as members of his inner circle.Haviva Pedaya (N.D.)
Ya‘akov Yosef of Polnoye
yivoencyclopedia.org It is "in the main a compilation of sermons, arranged according to the Torah portion of the week.... ndcontains the most basic paradigms of the Hasidic worldview." * ''Ben Porat Yosef'' (1781). Sermons, mainly on

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

; also, the first book to contain “Igeret ‘aliyat ha-neshamah” (The Epistle of the Ascendance of the Soul). * ''Tzafnat Paneach'' (1782), on

Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Ex ...

* ''Ketonet Pasim'' (1866; published posthumously), on Leviticus and

Numbers A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The original examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can ...

. The titles of these four works are all biblical allusions to Rabbi Jacob Joseph's name, in particular the figure of Joseph.Rosman, Moshe, and Murray Jay Rosman. ''Founder of Hasidism: A Quest for the Historical Ba'al Shem Tov''. University of California Press. 1996. Page 138.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacob Joseph of Polonne 18th-century rabbis from the Russian Empire Hasidic rabbis 1710 births 1784 deaths