Aaron HaLevi ben Moses (Hurwitz) of Staroselye was a

Talmudic scholar 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 ...

and Kabbalist of note who lived in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

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, (; September 4, 1745 – December 15, 1812 O.S. / 18 Elul 5505 – 24 Tevet 5573) commonly known as the Alter Rebbe or Baal Hatanya, was a rabbi and the founder and first Rebbe of Chabad, a branch of Hasidic Judaism. He ...

, rabbi of

Liozna Lyozna or Liozno is an urban-type settlement in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Lyozna District. It is located east-southeast of Vitebsk, close to the border with Russia by the Vitebsk–Smolensk railroad ...

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'' (, The Gates of Worship), Shklov, 1820–21, a work which is also known by the name ''Avodat HaBenonim'' (, 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'' (), 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 () (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 and mystic. Biography Isaiah Horo ...

(Shaloh HaKadosh). Rabbi Aaron's son,

Haim Raphael HaLevi ben Aaron of Staroselye Haim Raphael HaLevi ben Aaron of Staroselye (died 1842) was the second and last rebbe of the Strashelye movement,Beck, Atara. "Is Chabad Lubavitch". Jerusalem Post. August 16, 2012. http://www.jpost.com/Magazine/Judaism/Is-Chabad-Lubavitch an exti ...

, 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 Michael Levi Rodkinson (1845 – January 4, 1904) was a Jewish scholar, an early Hasidic historiographer and an American publisher. Rodkinson is known for being the first to translate the Babylonian Talmud to English. Rodkinson’s literary works ...

, 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 {{Poland-rabbi-stub