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Aryeh Leib Kahana Heller ( 1745 – 1812) () was a
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 of t ...
,
Talmud 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 ...
ist, and Halachist in Galicia. He was known as "The ''Ketzos''" based on his magnum opus, '' Ketzot Hachoshen ('').


Biography

Born about 1745 in the Galician town of KalushMy Tzadik: רבי אריה לייב הכהן הלר בעל קצות החושן
/ref> (presently located in Ukraine), Heller was a fifth-generation descendant of Rabbi
Yom-Tov Lipmann Heller Rabbi Gershon Shaul Yom-Tov Lipmann ben Nathan ha-Levi Heller (c. 157919 August 1654), was a Bohemian rabbi and Talmudist, best known for writing a commentary on the Mishnah called the ''Tosefet Yom-Tov'' (1614–1617). Heller was one of the majo ...
. Heller was the youngest of five brothers, including Chaim, Mordechai, Daniel, and Yehuda (author of ''Kuntras HaSfeikos''), and one sister (about whom nothing is currently known). In his youth, after being recognized by his father as a
prodigy Prodigy, Prodigies or The Prodigy may refer to: * Child prodigy, a child who produces meaningful output to the level of an adult expert performer ** Chess prodigy, a child who can beat experienced adult players at chess Arts, entertainment, and m ...
, Heller was sent to learn Torah from Rabbi Meshulam Igra of Tysmienica, Poland, an outstanding authority. From 1788 to 1812, he was rabbi of
Stryi Stryi (, ; ) is a city in Lviv Oblast, western Ukraine. It is located in the left bank of the Stryi (river), Stryi River, approximately south of Lviv in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains. It serves as the administrative center of Stryi R ...
, a position later to be held by his opponent in many halachic debates, Rabbi
Yaakov Lorberbaum Jacob Lorberbaum or Jacob ben Jacob Moses of Lissa (1760-1832) , Hebrew: יעקב בן יעקב משה מליסא) was a rabbi and posek. He is most commonly known as the Ba'al HaChavas Da'as or the Ba'al HaNesivos for his most well-known works, ...
. He had four children: a daughter, Franziska Freide (1788–1842), who married
Solomon Judah Loeb Rapoport Solomon Judah Loeb Rapoport (; June 1, 1786 – October 15, 1867) was a Galician and Czech rabbi and Jewish scholar. Rapoport was known by an acronym "Shir", שי"ר occasionally שיל"ר, formed by the initial letters of his Hebrew n ...
(Shi'r) in 1810, and three sons: Yosef (1769–1832), David (1771–1830), and Zwi Hirsch (1776–1834). Heller was a staunch misnaged and prominent critic of the
Hasidic Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most of those aff ...
movement. Rabbi Heller's works became widely disseminated throughout Europe at a time when, due to technical and financial reasons, this kind of recognition was rare.


Works

R. Aryeh Leib Heller wrote three major works: #''Ketzot HaChoshen'' (''Ends of the Breastplate'', published 1785)אריה ליב
/ref> is a halachic work which explains difficult passages in the ''
Shulchan Aruch The ''Shulhan Arukh'' ( ),, often called "the Code of Jewish Law", is the most widely consulted of the various legal codes in Rabbinic Judaism. It was authored in the city of Safed in what is now Israel by Joseph Karo in 1563 and published in ...
'',
Choshen Mishpat ''Choshen Mishpat'' (Hebrew: חושן משפט) is the Hebrew for "Breastplate of Judgement". The term is associated with one of the four sections of Rabbi Jacob ben Asher's compilation of halakha (Jewish law), Arba'ah Turim. This section treats a ...
(which deals mainly with business and financial laws such as contracts, witnesses, etc.) with novel ideas proposed by Rabbi Aryeh Leib. This remarkable work is considered a classic. Familiarity with this work is considered mandatory for any Torah scholar and it is a fixture in any Talmudic library. It is customarily studied in conjunction with R. Yaakov Lorberbaum's ''Netivot ha-Mishpat'', which seeks to controvert R. Heller's conclusions on many points. Rabbi Heller in reply wrote a book ''Meshoveiv Nesivos'' "that responds to the words of the author of Netivot", as its introduction, and Rabbi Lorberbaum responded again to his objections in a later edition of "Netivot". Heller's brother Yehuda's book, ''Kuntras Ha'Sfeikos'', is often published in tandem with the "Ketzos". #''Avnei Milluim'' (''Filling Stones'') is a halachic work which explains difficult passages in the ''Shulchan Aruch'',
Even HaEzer ( "The Stone of Help" or "The Rock of the ") is a section of Rabbi Jacob ben Asher's compilation of halakha (Jewish law), ''Arba'ah Turim''. This section treats aspects of Jewish law related to marriage, divorce, and sexual conduct. Later, Rabbi ...
(which deals mainly with marital issues) with novel ideas proposed by him. #'' Shev Shema'tata'' (''7 Passages'') is a work composed of seven sections, each with approximately 25 chapters, which explains intricate halachic topics including the validity of a single witness and the practical ramifications of a doubt. The reasoning process that Heller employs to analyse and resolve these very basic conflicts and contradictions in the Talmud is considered the basis for the analytical method used in modern times in Talmudic study. Testimony to the critical nature of this seminal work is the fact that it was one of the few texts chosen by the
Vaad Hatzalah Vaad Hatzalah (the Rescue Committee or Committee for Rescuing) was an organization to rescue Jews in Europe from the Holocaust, which was founded in November 1939 by the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada (''Agudath Harabb ...
(the post-
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
organization which saved Jews and helped them re-integrate into society) to be copied and disseminated. Although an early form of this work was initially presented by him when he was still a young man during his seven days of celebration after his wedding, it was actually one of his later publications and underwent significant editing by the author. His introduction to this celebrated work includes some profound Biblical exegesis.


Family significance

As indicated by the HaCohen in his name, Rabbi Aryeh Leib Heller was descended from the family of
Aaron According to the Old Testament of the Bible, Aaron ( or ) was an Israelite prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of Moses. Information about Aaron comes exclusively from religious texts, such as the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament ...
, the original High Priest, and therefore was a member of the priestly class. Many ''
kohanim Kohen (, ; , ، Arabic كاهن , Kahen) is the Hebrew word for "priest", used in reference to the Aaronic priesthood, also called Aaronites or Aaronides. They are traditionally believed, and halakhically required, to be of direct patriline ...
'' today claim to be descendants of Leib Heller's family, including the current Toldos Aharon Rebbe, but proof is difficult to establish without proper lineage data. Typically, the claim of lineage to Rabbi Heller is a tradition passed on through the generations for prestige reasons. His brother's descendants include Rabbi
Yehuda Amital Yehuda Amital (; born Yehuda Klein; 31 October 1924 – 9 July 2010) was an Orthodox rabbi, the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion, and a member of the Israeli cabinet, associated with the Israeli Left. The concept of a Hesder Yeshiva is att ...
.Archived a
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Wayback Machine


References


External links




Ketzot HaChoshen – The complete, searchable book in PDF format
* Noam Samet, '
Ketsot Ha-Choshen: The Beginning of "Lamdanut": Features & Tendencies
'' (in Hebrew), doctoral dissertation,
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) (, ''Universitat Ben-Guriyon baNegev'') is a public university, public research university in Beersheba, Israel. Named after Israeli List of national founders, national founder David Ben-Gurion, the unive ...
, 2016. {{DEFAULTSORT:Heller-Kahana, Aryeh Leib HaCohen 1740s births 1812 deaths People from Kalush, Ukraine Clergy from Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast 18th-century rabbis from the Russian Empire 19th-century rabbis from the Russian Empire Orthodox rabbis from Galicia (Eastern Europe) Kohanim writers of Rabbinic literature Authors of books on Jewish law Polish Haredi rabbis