Aryeh Leib Bernstein (1708 – October 22, 1788) was the first and only Chief Rabbi of Galicia.

Life

Bernstein was born in 1708 in

Brody Brody (, ; ; ; ) is a city in Zolochiv Raion, Lviv Oblast, Zolochiv Raion, Lviv Oblast, western Ukraine. It is located in the valley of the upper Styr, Styr River, approximately northeast of the oblast capital, Lviv. Brody hosts the administrati ...

, in the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

. His father Issacher Ber was a rabbi who served as rabbi of Kehillat Ḥayyatin ("Congregation of the Tailors") in Brody, was rosh ha-medinah ("head of the province") of Brody, a trustee of the

Council of Four Lands The Council of Four Lands (, ''Va'ad Arba' Aratzot'', ) was the central body of Jewish authority in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from the second half of the 16th century to 1764, located in Lublin. The Council's first law is recorded as h ...

and parnas of Rydzyna Province. His paternal grandmother, Surah Babad, was the great-granddaughter of two prominent

Talmudists 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 modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the centerpiece of Jewi ...

Avraham Yehoshua Heschel Avraham Yehoshua "Heschel"(or Abraham Joshua) (1595 – 1663) was a renowned rabbi and talmudist in Kraków, Poland. His father Rabbi Jacob of Lublin was a rabbi in Brisk and then Lublin. In 1654 Heschel became Chief Rabbi of Kraków, succee ...

on her paternal side and

Shabbatai HaKohen Shabbatai ben Meir HaKohen (; 1621–1662) was a talmudist and halakhist. He became known as the ''Shakh'' (), which is an abbreviation of his most important work, ''Siftei Kohen'' () (literally ''Lips of the Priest'') on the Shulchan Aruch. Bi ...

on her maternal side. Bernstein was briefly rabbi of

Zbaraz Zbarazh (, ; ; ) is a small city in Ternopil Raion, Ternopil Oblast, western Ukraine. It is located in the historic region of Galicia. Zbarazh hosts the administration of Zbarazh urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Population: Zbar ...

as a young man, after which he returned to Brody and entered commerce. In the 1740s, Brody was a in time of economic prosperity and its Jews were establishing commercial links abroad, with Bernstein concentrating a large a large part of trade in his hands. In 1776, Austrian Empress

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position suo jure, in her own right. She was the ...

(who seized the province of Galicia in 1772 during the

First Partition of Poland The First Partition of Poland took place in 1772 as the first of three partitions that eventually ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The growth of power in the Russian Empire threatened the Kingdom of Prussia an ...

) issued an ordinance that the

Galician Jews Galician Jews or Galitzianers () are members of the subgroup of Ashkenazim, Ashkenazi Jews originating and developed in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria and Bukovina from contemporary western Ukraine (Lviv Oblast, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblas ...

appoint a

Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi () is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a capitulation by Ben-Zion Meir ...

stationed in the Galician capital of

Lemburg Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

. Three candidates were proposed for the position: the Rabbi of

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

Yechezkel Landau Yechezkel ben Yehuda HaLevi Landau (8 October 1713 – 29 April 1793) was an influential authority in halakha (Jewish law). He is best known for the work ''Noda Biyhudah'' (נודע ביהודה), by which title he is also known. Biography Land ...

, the Rabbi of

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Zebi Hirsch and Bernstein. Landau was the top choice for the position, but the Jewish community of Prague insisted Landau stay in Prague and refuse the office. After two years of negotiating, the government gave up on appointing Landau Chief Rabbi and gave the office to their second choice, Bernstein. He was not a prominent Galician rabbi, but shortly before the election for chief rabbi he hosted several monks traveling from Russia to Vienna and convinced them to speak on his behalf before the Empress. He wanted the position not for the honor itself, but for the influence and power of the office as well as a chance to gain further wealth. Originally a wholesale merchant, Bernstein monopolized the entire

grain trade The grain trade refers to the local and international trade in cereals such as wheat, barley, maize, rice, and other food grains. Grain is an important trade item because it is easily stored and transported with limited spoilage, unlike other agri ...

in Brody and held almost all the leases on Jewish taxes. He was representative of the old autocratic

Kahal Kahal () is a moshav near Highway 85 in northern Israel. Located on the border of the Upper Galilee and Lower Galilee, north of Sea of Galilee and just northwest of Tabgha, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mevo'ot HaHermon Regional Council ...

rulers, and his tax policy proved very unpopular with almost all of the Galician communities. As Chief Rabbi, he had a lot of power over the various communities, especially in terms of nominating rabbis and butchers as well as raising taxes. He worked with various Brody merchants (including his brother Zwi Hirsh) in multiple money-raising plans. Quarrels developed between Bernstein and various Jewish guilds, with the Jews of Brody being particularly opposed to his position. At one point, when a fire spread to Bernstein's house, most of the local Jews refused to help extinguish the fire. In 1785, following official protests from all over Galicia, the district government began an inquiry into Bernstein's actions. The inquiry concluded the complaints were unjustified and based on purely personal motives, but in 1786 the government abolished the position of Chief Rabbi in light of the persistent opposition from the Jewish community. Bernstein was allowed to keep the title of Chief Rabbi, and he spent the last year of his life pursuing commercial pursuits while gradually withdrawing from public life and transferring his business to his sons Wolf and Benjamin. Aryel married Chaya Zamoscz, daughter of Rabbi . At one point Yechezkel Landau (who was teaching at the Great Synagogue of Brody at the time) accused Bernstein's wife of adultery. This led to a violent dispute between the two rabbis and Landau was ultimately compelled to leave Brody. Bernstein's children were Reise (wife of the Rabbi of

Tarnopol Ternopil, known until 1944 mostly as Tarnopol, is a city in western Ukraine, located on the banks of the Seret (river), Seret River. Ternopil is one of the major cities of Western Ukraine and the historical regions of Galicia (Central Europe ...

Agraham Broda), Rachel (wife of Rabbi Mordecai Halberstamm and great-grandmother of

Amalia Freud Amalia Malka Nathansohn Freud ( Nathansohn; 18 August 1835 – 12 September 1930) was the mother of Sigmund Freud. She was born in Brody in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria to Jakob Nathanson and Sara Wilenz and later grew up in Odesa, where ...

), Jacob (Rabbi of Zbaraz and of the Tailors), Wolf (the great-grandfather of

Zvi Hirsch Chajes Zvi Hirsch Chajes ( - November 20, 1805 - October 12, 1855; also Chayes or Hayot or Chiyos) was a Galician talmudic scholar. He is best known for his work ''Mevo Hatalmud'' (Introduction to the Talmud), which serves both as commentary and intr ...

), and Benjamin. Bernstein died on October 22, 1788. He was buried in the aristocratic section of the Brody cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernstein, Aryeh Leib 1708 births 1788 deaths 18th-century Polish rabbis Rabbis from Galicia (Eastern Europe) Chief rabbis People from Brody People from Zbarazh 18th-century Polish–Lithuanian clergy Jews from the Austrian Empire People from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria 18th-century merchants Burials in Ukraine