Everything about Jonathan Eybeschutz totally explained
Jonathan Eybeschutz (
Kraków 1690 -
Altona 1764), was a
Talmudist,
Halachist and
Kabbalist, holding positions as
Dayan of
Prague, and later as Rabbi of the "Three Communities":
Altona,
Hamburg and
Wandsbek. With
Jacob Emden, he's well known as a
protagonist in
the Emden-Eybeschutz Controversy.
Biography
Eybeschutz's father was the
rabbi in
Ivančice (
German: Eibenschütz, sometimes Eibeschutz),
Moravia. Eybeschutz was a child prodigy in
Talmud; on his father's death, he studied in the
yeshiva of
Meir Eisenstadt in
Prostějov (Prossnitz), and then later in
Holešov (Holleschau). He also lived in
Vienna for a short time. He married Elkele Spira, daughter of Rabbi Isaac Spira, and they lived in
Hamburg for two years with Mordecai ha-Kohen, Elkele's maternal grandfather.
Eybeschutz settled in
Prague in
1715 and became
head of the
yeshivah and a famous preacher. The people of Prague held Eybeschutz in high esteem and he was considered second there only to
Dayan David Oppenheim. In 1736, Eybeschutz was appointed
dayan of Prague. He became rabbi of Metz in
1741. In
1750, he was elected rabbi of the "Three Communities:" Altona, Hamburg, and Wandsbek.
He was "an acknowledged genius" in at least three separate areas of Jewish religious creativity:
Talmud and Jewish law (
halakhah); homiletics (
derush) and popular preaching; and
Kabbalah. "He was a man of erudition, but he owed his fame chiefly to his personality. Few men of the period so profoundly impressed their mark on
Jewish life."
Controversy
Eybeschutz wasn't without controversy. In Prague, he'd many contacts with
priests and the
intelligentsia, debating religious topics and matters of
faith. He became friendly with
Cardinal Hassebauer and also discussed religious questions with him. Through the help of the cardinal, Eybeschutz received permission to print the Talmud - but with the omission of all passages
contradicting the principles of Christianity. This angered the rabbis of Prague, and they revoked the printing license.
He became especially controversial because of a dispute that arose concerning the
amulets which he was suspected of issuing. It was alleged that these amulets recognized the false Messianic claims of
Sabbatai Zevi. Rabbi
Jacob Emden then accused him of
heresy; see
The Emden-Eybeschutz Controversy. The majority of the rabbis in Poland, Moravia, and Bohemia, as well as the leaders of the Three Communities supported Eybeschutz: the accusation was "utterly incredible" - in
1725, Eybeschutz was among the Prague rabbis who excommunicated the Shabbatean sect. (Others suggest that the Rabbis issued this ruling because they feared the repercussions if their leading figure was found to be a Shabbatean).
The controversy was a momentous incident in
Jewish history of the period — involving both
Yechezkel Landau and the
Vilna Gaon — and may be credited with having crushed the lingering belief in Sabbatai current even in some Orthodox circles. In
1760 the quarrel broke out once more when some
Shabbatean elements were discovered among the students of Eybeschutz'
yeshivah. At the same time his younger son, Wolf, presented himself as a Shabbatean prophet, with the result that the yeshivah was closed.
Works
Thirty of his works in the area of
Halakha (Jewish law) have been published. In addition, several of his works on homiletics, teaching methodology, and Kabbalah are currently in print. It is interesting to note that only one of his works was published in his lifetime. The posthumous printing of so many of his works is testimony to his influence on his contemporaries through his oral teachings and his personality. It is claimed that he also published numerous Shabbatian works anonymously.
- Homiletics (derush) and popular preaching:
On Talmud and halakhah:
- Novellae to Shulkhan Arukh: Urim ve-Tummim on Choshen Mishpat; Kereti u-Peleti on Yoreh De'ah; Sar ha-Alef on Orach Chayim.
- Notes on Maimonides' Mishneh Torah: Binah la-Ittim and Chiddushim al Hilkot Yom Tov both dealing with the holy days, and both published by his students, based on notes taken from his lectures; Bene Ahuvah on the matrimonial laws.
- Tiferet Yisrael, notes on the rabbinical laws of niddah (regarding menstruation), with additions by the editor, his grandson Israel.
On Kabbalah:
- Shem Olam, a collection of letters on the Kabbalah
Rabbi Eybeschutz also wrote Luchoth Habrith (Tablets of Testimony), in which he describes the whole dispute and refutes the charges against him. It includes also the letters of recommendation which he'd received from leading rabbis who came to his defense.
Further Information
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