Rabbi Mordechai Jaffe of Lechovitch (1742 – 18 January 1810) was a Hasidic rabbi who was the disciple of Rabbi

Shlomo of Karlin Rabbi Shlomo of Karlin () (1738 – 12 July 1792) was a disciple of the Maggid of Mezeritch and rabbi Aharon the Great of Karlin. After the death of Aharon, Solomon became the leader of the Hasidic dynasty in Karlin. His descendants served as ra ...

and was the founder of the Lechovitch dynasty of Hasidism, from which the ,

Slonim Slonim is a town in Grodno Region, in western Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Slonim District. It is located at the junction of the Shchara and Isa (river), Isa rivers, southeast of Grodno. As of 2025, it has a population of ...

Koidanov Dzyarzhynsk, or Dzerzhinsk, formerly known as Koydanava until 1932, is a town in Minsk Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Dzyarzhynsk District. As of 2025, it has a population of 29,630. History In the Middle Ages, the ...

, and

Novominsk Novominsk is a Hasidic Judaism, Hasidic List of Hasidic dynasties, dynasty, originating in Mińsk Mazowiecki, Poland, and now based in the United States. It also runs a yeshiva known as Yeshivas Novominsk - Kol Yehuda, currently led by Rabbi Yosef ...

courts descended. He was the president of the for Jews in Israel.

Biography

Jaffe was born in Nesvish in 1742 to Rabbi Noah HaPanchas of Nesvish, a descendant of

Mordecai Yoffe Mordecai ben Avraham Yoffe (or Jaffe or Joffe) ( 1530 – 7 March 1612; Hebrew: מרדכי בן אברהם יפה) was a Rabbi, Rosh yeshiva and posek. He is best known as author of ''Levush Malkhus'', a ten-volume codification of Jewish law th ...

, who raised him under the Jewish faith and officiated his

Bar Mitzvah A ''bar mitzvah'' () or ''bat mitzvah'' () is a coming of age ritual in Judaism. According to Halakha, Jewish law, before children reach a certain age, the parents are responsible for their child's actions. Once Jewish children reach that age ...

. For his education, he travelled to Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, who told Jaffe that "a third of the world rests on him". He later studied under Rabbi

. He also travelled with his fellow student,

Asher of Stolin (I) Rabbi Asher Perlow of Stolin (; ) (1759 – 27 October 1826) was the son of Rabbi Aharon the Great of Karlin and the third Admor of the Karlin dynasty, and the founder of its Stolin subdynasty. Biography Perlow was born in 1759 to Rabbi Ahar ...

, to Rabbi

Boruch of Medzhybizh Rabbi Boruch of Medzhybizh (1753–1811), was a grandson of the Baal Shem Tov. Reb Boruch (known in his childhood as Reb Boruch'l, a Yiddish diminutive, and subsequently as ''Reb Boruch'l HaKadosh'') was the first major "rebbe" of the Hasidic mov ...

. After his marriage, Jaffe continued to live in Nesvizh until the death of Rabbi Shlomo in July 1792, who was killed by the

Cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...

army. Following that development, he began to lead a community of Hasidism in

Lyakhavichy Lyakhavichy or Lyakhovichi is a town in Brest Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Lyakhavichy District. As of 2025, it has a population of 10,537. History Known since the 15th century in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania as t ...

, Belarus. His followers numbered in the thousands, and as he grew more popular, he was arrested in 1799 by the Russian government due to opposition to his practices by Russian elite. He was arrested along with Rabbi

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 ...

and Rabbi Asher of Stolin, and was released later in the year. He was appointed to serve as president of the Holy Land Fund on behalf of Kollel Raysin (of Belarus), where he worked extensively to financially support the Hasidic community in

Eretz Yisrael The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definitions ...

, travelling to collect funds for them. Jaffe died in

Stolin Stolin is a town in Brest Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Stolin District, the largest district in the region. Stolin is located from the Belarus–Ukraine border. As of 2025, it has a population of 14,034. Stolin i ...

on 18 January 1810 (13 Shvat 5570), present in the city for the wedding of his grandson Rabbi Shlomo Chaim Perlov. His children surviving him were: * Rabbi

Noach of Lechovitch Rabbi Noach Jaffe of Lechovitch (; ; 1775 – October 2, 1832) was a Hasidic rabbi of the Lechovitch dynasty as successor to his father, Rabbi Mordechai of Lechovitch. He was the president of the on behalf of Kollel Raysin. Biography Jaffe ...

, who succeeded him in the Lechovitch dynasty and as treasurer of the Kollel Raysin * Rabbi Aharon of Lechovitch, who married the daughter of Rabbi Asher of Stolin and died before his father on 3 Shvat 5566 (20 January 1806) * Rabbi Shlomo of Lechovitch * A daughter, who married Rabbi Moshe Aharon, grandson of Rabbi

Chaim Chaykl of Amdur Chaim Chaykl (Chaika) Levin of Amdur (Hebrew: חיים חייקל (חייקא) לוין מאמדור; – March 13, 1787), also known as the Amdurer Rebbe, was an 18th-century Hasidic rebbe and author who is amongst the earliest founders of Lit ...

Teachings

As the disciple of Rabbi Shlomo, Jaffe followed in the footsteps of Karlin Hasidism, which emphasizes the importance of prayer with enthusiasm. He also emphasized among his followers the need for simple faith by memorizing Maimonides' 13 Tenets of Faith. His commentary of the

Torah The Torah ( , "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. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

was printed in many books, such as his grandson Rabbi Shalom of Breihin-Koidinov's "Divre Shalom", "Mishmeret Shalom", "Or Yasharim", "Torat Avot", and "Mira Dachia".

External links

Mordechai of Lechovitch
at the

National Library of Israel The National Library of Israel (NLI; ; ), formerly Jewish National and University Library (JNUL; ), is the library dedicated to collecting the cultural treasures of Israel and of Judaism, Jewish Cultural heritage, heritage. The library holds more ...

References

{{Authority control, qid=Q24038277 Hasidic rabbis Hasidic Judaism in Belarus People from Nyasvizh district 1742 births 1810 deaths Lyakhavichy Jaffe family 18th-century Polish–Lithuanian rabbis 19th-century rabbis from the Russian Empire