Samuel ben Nathan Ha-Levi Loew (Kelin or Kolin) (also "Lōw" or "Löw", ; c. 1720–1806) was a

Talmudist 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

Halakhist ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is based on biblical commandments ('' mit ...

, best known for his work ''Machatzit HaShekel'' (

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

pronunciation, ''Machatzis HaShekel''). The son of Nathan Naṭe ha-Levi, he was born at

Kolín Kolín (; ) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument reservations, urban monume ...

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

. For nearly 60 years he headed over a

yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...

Boskovice Boskovice (; ) is a town in Blansko District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 13,000 inhabitants. The area of the historic town centre, Jewish quarter, château complex and castle ruin is well preserved and is protec ...

(Boskowitz),

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

, where he died on May 20, 1806. He had the title Av Beis Din of Boskowitz. Samuel had 3 sons and 3 daughters: Benjamin Ze'ev Ha-Levi (Wolf) Boskowitz (1746-1818), Jacob (c 1750-1833), Jehuda (c 1751-1800), Sara (Hinda) married Markus (Mordechai Lob) Wassertrilling of Boskovice, Esther married Bernhard Biach. His son Wolf Boskowitz delivered the sermon at his funeral. His descendant in the 5th generation, Dr. Max Anton Löw, a convert to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, was the attorney of the anti-Semite Francis Deckert.''Mittheilungen der Gesell. zur Abwehr des Antisemitismus,'' 1896, pp. 45, 48; 1897, pp. 190, 216; ''Oest. Wochenschrift,'' 1896, p. 65 His works were published under the name ''Machatzit HaShekel'' as follows; these commentaries appear nowadays in most editions of 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 ...

'': * An extensive super-commentary on Abraham Abele Gombiner's ''Magen Abraham'' on ''Shulchan Aruch,

Orach Chayim ''Orach Chayim'' ("manner/way of life") is a section of Rabbi Jacob ben Asher's compilation of Halakha (Jewish law), '' Arba'ah Turim''. This section addresses aspects of Jewish law pertinent to the Hebrew calendar (be it the daily, weekly, mo ...

'' (Vienna, 1807-1808; 2d ed. 1817; several times reprinted) * A super-commentary on the "Shakh" on ''Shulchan Aruch,

Yoreh Deah ''Yoreh De'ah'' () is a section of Rabbi Jacob ben Asher's compilation of halakha (Jewish law), the ''Arba'ah Turim'', written around 1300. This section treats all aspects of Jewish law not pertinent to the Hebrew calendar, finance, torts, mar ...

'' '' Hilchot Niddah'' (Lemberg, 1858) and '' Hilchot Melichah'' (ib. 1860)

References

Its bibliography: * Aaron Walden, ''Shem ha-Gedolim he-Ḥadash,'' ii.44, Warsaw, 1880 * Isaac Benjacob, ''Oẓar ha-Sefarim,'' p. 321 *

Julius Fürst Julius Fürst (; 12 May 1805, Żerków, South Prussia – 9 February 1873, Leipzig), born Joseph Alsari, was a Jewish German oriental studies, orientalist and the son of noted maggid, teacher, and Hebrew grammarian Jacob Alsari. Fürst was a dis ...

, ''Bibl. Jud.'' s.v. Kollin, Samuel * Joseph Zedner, ''Cat. Hebr. Books Brit. Mus.'' p. 417 {{DEFAULTSORT:Loew, Samuel ben Nathan 18th-century rabbis from Bohemia Writers from Kolín People from Boskovice 1720s births 1806 deaths Authors of books on Jewish law Rosh yeshivas