Shabbatai ha-Kohen
Encyclopedia
Shabbatai ben Meir ha-Kohen (1621–1662) was a noted 17th Century 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), and his rulings were considered authoritative by later halakhists.
, Lithuania
in 1621 and died at Holleschau, Moravia
on the 1st of Adar
, 1662. He first studied with his father and in 1633 he entered the yeshivah of Rabbi
Joshua Höschel ben Joseph
at Tykotzin, moving later to Cracow and Lublin
, where he studied under Naphtali ben Isaac ha-Kohen.
Returning to Vilna, he married the daughter of the wealthy Shimon Wolf, a grandson of Moses Isserles
, and shortly after was appointed to the Beit Din as one of the assistants of Moses ben Isaac Judah Lima
, author of Chelkat Mechokek. In 1655, during fighting between Polish forces and the invading Swedish army in the Northern War
, Shabbatai ha-Kohen fled Vilna with the entire Jewish community. After a short stay at Lublin he went to Prague
and later to Dřešín
in Moravia
, from where he was called to the rabbinate of Holešov
, where he remained until his death in 1662. While in Holešov, he gained the friendship of Magister Valentino Wiedreich of Leipzig
. The Shakh′s grave in the Jewish cemetery of Holešov still exists and is visited by people from all over the world.
, the Siftei Kohen or the Shakh, a commentary on the Shulchan Aruch
Yoreh De'ah
. This work was approved by the greatest Polish and Lithuanian scholars and since 1674 has been published in most editions of the Yoreh De'ah.
Shabbatai ha-Kohen was regarded by his contemporaries as more than usually learned. He frequently contested the decisions of his predecessors, and followed an entirely new path in the interpretation of the Talmudic law. He made light, too, of the decisions of his contemporaries, and thus drew on himself the enmity of some among them, including David ben Shmuel ha-Levi
, author of Ture Zahav, and Aaron Shmuel Kaidanover, author of Birkhat ha-Zevach, who was the father-in-law of his brother Yonah Menachem Nachum ha-Kohen. Nevertheless, Sifsei/Siftei/Sifte Kohen, Shakh's commentary on the Shulchan Aruch
, was considered by a majority of Talmudists as of the highest authority, and they applied his decisions to actual cases as the final word of the Law. As a logician he stood, perhaps, first among the Talmudic scholars of his age.
, which he used in explaining various passages of the Bible
. His mastery of Hebrew
is evidenced by the selichot
which he composed in commemoration of the Chmielnicki tragedies. In 1648 the communities of the Polish Kingdom were devastated by Chmielnicki, Shabbatai ha-Kohen portrayed the persecutions of the Jews in his Megillah Afah.
, built as an octagonal platform with a metal railing. Some parts of the walls and the vault are decorated with ornamental paintings with herbal and faunal motifs and Hebrew texts. The sidehall is separated from the main hall by two arcades. On the first floor there is the women's gallery, decorated with liturgical texts, and the second floor was used as a school. Today, the synagogue is a Museum; both floors house the exhibition “The Jews in Moravia”.
Biography
Shabbatai ha-Kohen was born either in Amstibovo or in VilnaVilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
, Lithuania
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...
in 1621 and died at Holleschau, Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
on the 1st of Adar
Adar
Adar is the sixth month of the civil year and the twelfth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. It is a winter month of 29 days...
, 1662. He first studied with his father and in 1633 he entered the yeshivah of Rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
Joshua Höschel ben Joseph
Joshua Höschel ben Joseph
Joshua Höschel ben Joseph was a Polish rabbi born in Vilnius, Lithuania about 1578 and died in Cracow on August 16, 1648. In his boyhood, he journeyed to Przemyśl, Red Ruthenia, to study the Talmud under Rabbi Samuel ben Phoebus of Cracow. He returned to his native country, and continued his...
at Tykotzin, moving later to Cracow and Lublin
Lublin
Lublin is the ninth largest city in Poland. It is the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 350,392 . Lublin is also the largest Polish city east of the Vistula river...
, where he studied under Naphtali ben Isaac ha-Kohen.
Returning to Vilna, he married the daughter of the wealthy Shimon Wolf, a grandson of Moses Isserles
Moses Isserles
Moses Isserles, also spelled Moshe Isserlis, , was an eminent Ashkenazic rabbi, talmudist, and posek, renowned for his fundamental work of Halakha , entitled ha-Mapah , an inline commentary on the Shulkhan Aruch...
, and shortly after was appointed to the Beit Din as one of the assistants of Moses ben Isaac Judah Lima
Moses ben Isaac Judah Lima
Moses ben Isaac Judah Lima was a Lithuanian rabbinical scholar, one of the Acharonim. "Lima" is not the family name, but a nickname for "Yehudah" ....
, author of Chelkat Mechokek. In 1655, during fighting between Polish forces and the invading Swedish army in the Northern War
Second Northern War
The Second Northern War was fought between Sweden and its adversaries the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , Russia , Brandenburg-Prussia , the Habsburg Monarchy and Denmark–Norway...
, Shabbatai ha-Kohen fled Vilna with the entire Jewish community. After a short stay at Lublin he went to Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
and later to Dřešín
Dřešín
Dřešín is a village and municipality in Strakonice District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic.The municipality covers an area of , and has a population of 294 ....
in Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
, from where he was called to the rabbinate of Holešov
Holešov
Holešov is a town in the Zlín Region, Czech Republic. The town is located on the western hillside of the Hostýn Hills - the westernmost part of the Carpathian Mountains....
, where he remained until his death in 1662. While in Holešov, he gained the friendship of Magister Valentino Wiedreich of Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
. The Shakh′s grave in the Jewish cemetery of Holešov still exists and is visited by people from all over the world.
The "Shakh"
In Cracow in 1646, he published his magnum opusMagnum opus
Magnum opus , from the Latin meaning "great work", refers to the largest, and perhaps the best, greatest, most popular, or most renowned achievement of a writer, artist, or composer.-Related terms:Sometimes the term magnum opus is used to refer to simply "a great work" rather than "the...
, the Siftei Kohen or the Shakh, a commentary on the Shulchan Aruch
Shulchan Aruch
The Shulchan Aruch also known as the Code of Jewish Law, is the most authoritative legal code of Judaism. It was authored in Safed, Israel, by Yosef Karo in 1563 and published in Venice two years later...
Yoreh De'ah
Yoreh De'ah
Yoreh De'ah is a section of Rabbi Jacob ben Asher's compilation of halakha , Arba'ah Turim around 1300. This section treats all aspects of Jewish law not pertinent to the Hebrew calendar, finance, torts, marriage, divorce, or sexual conduct....
. This work was approved by the greatest Polish and Lithuanian scholars and since 1674 has been published in most editions of the Yoreh De'ah.
Shabbatai ha-Kohen was regarded by his contemporaries as more than usually learned. He frequently contested the decisions of his predecessors, and followed an entirely new path in the interpretation of the Talmudic law. He made light, too, of the decisions of his contemporaries, and thus drew on himself the enmity of some among them, including David ben Shmuel ha-Levi
David HaLevi Segal
David ha-Levi Segal , also known as the Turei Zahav after the title of his significant halakhic commentary on the Shulchan Aruch, was one of the greatest Polish rabbinical authorities....
, author of Ture Zahav, and Aaron Shmuel Kaidanover, author of Birkhat ha-Zevach, who was the father-in-law of his brother Yonah Menachem Nachum ha-Kohen. Nevertheless, Sifsei/Siftei/Sifte Kohen, Shakh's commentary on the Shulchan Aruch
Shulchan Aruch
The Shulchan Aruch also known as the Code of Jewish Law, is the most authoritative legal code of Judaism. It was authored in Safed, Israel, by Yosef Karo in 1563 and published in Venice two years later...
, was considered by a majority of Talmudists as of the highest authority, and they applied his decisions to actual cases as the final word of the Law. As a logician he stood, perhaps, first among the Talmudic scholars of his age.
Other writings
In addition to his knowledge of the Talmudic law he was versed in the KabbalaKabbalah
Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...
, which he used in explaining various passages of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
. His mastery of Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
is evidenced by the selichot
Selichot
Selichot or slichot are Jewish penitential poems and prayers, especially those said in the period leading up to the High Holidays, and on Fast Days...
which he composed in commemoration of the Chmielnicki tragedies. In 1648 the communities of the Polish Kingdom were devastated by Chmielnicki, Shabbatai ha-Kohen portrayed the persecutions of the Jews in his Megillah Afah.
Shakh Synagogue
A Synagogue in Holešov is called Shakh Synagogue after Shabbatai ha-Kohen. It was built in the late 16th century, after the former synagogue had burned down in 1560. In the early 17th century the synagogue was enlarged with a sidehall and a women's gallery. Between 1725 and 1737 the interior was designed in a baroque decoration in the so called “Polish style”. The synagogue is an isolated plain building. It has a rectangular ground plan. In the eastern side of the main hall is the Aron ha-Kodesh - built in the baroque altar style. In the centre of the hall is the AlmemorBima
Bima is a city on the eastern coast of the island Sumbawa in central Indonesia's province West Nusa Tenggara, and the largest city on the island. In 2010 the municipality counted some 142,443 people, separate from the adjoining Regency of Bima with 407,636 population...
, built as an octagonal platform with a metal railing. Some parts of the walls and the vault are decorated with ornamental paintings with herbal and faunal motifs and Hebrew texts. The sidehall is separated from the main hall by two arcades. On the first floor there is the women's gallery, decorated with liturgical texts, and the second floor was used as a school. Today, the synagogue is a Museum; both floors house the exhibition “The Jews in Moravia”.
Published works
- Selichot for the 20th of SivanSivanSivan is the ninth month of the civil year and the third month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. It is a spring month of 30 days...
, in memory of those killed during the tragedy of 1648 (Amsterdam, 1651) - Sifte Kohen, on Shulchan Aruch Choshen MishpatChoshen MishpatChoshen Mishpat 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 , Arba'ah Turim. This section treats aspects of Jewish law pertinent to finance, torts, legal procedure and loans and interest in...
(Amsterdam, 1667) - Ha-Aruch, a commentary on the Yoreh De'ah (Berlin, 1667)
- Nekuddot ha-Kesef, criticism of the Ture Zahav of Divid b. Shmuel ha-Levi (Frankfort-on-the-Oder, 1677)
- Tekafo Kohen, general laws concerning "teku," etc. (Frankfort-on-the-Oder, 1677)
- Gevurat Anashim, on section 154 of the Shulchan Aruch Even Ha'ezerEven Ha'ezerEven Ha'ezer is a section of Rabbi Jacob ben Asher's compilation of halakha , Arba'ah Turim. This section treats aspects of Jewish law related to marriage, divorce, and sexual conduct. Later, Rabbi Yosef Karo modeled the framework of his own compilation of practical Jewish law, the Shulchan Aruch,...
(Dessau, 1697) - Po'el Tzedek, an arrangement of the 613 commandments of MaimonidesMaimonidesMoses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
(Jessnitz, 1720) - A discourse upon the passage Kammah Ma'a lotDayenuDayenu is a song that is part of the Jewish holiday of Passover. The word "Dayenu" means approximately, "it would have been enough for us", "it would have been sufficient", or "it would have sufficed" . This traditional up-beat Passover song is over one thousand years old...
in the Haggadah (Presburg, 1840; abbreviation of Kerem Shlomo)
External links
- Olam-Society: Judaica Holešov
- People bearing the family name Shakhmundes (etymologically meaning Lips of the Priest) are assembling reference and research at Shakhmundes, Schakmundes, Schachmundes