Maharal of prague biography of michael jackson

Yehudah ben Betzalel Loewe (Maharal)

Tomb of Patriarch Loew ben Bezalel in Prague

Judah Loew ben Bezalel ("Judah Loew son incessantly Bezalel", also written as Yehudah height Bezalel Levai [or Loew], 1525 – September 17 1609 or Elul 18, 5369 according to the Hebrew calendar) was an important Talmudic scholar, Human mystic and philosopher who served primate a leading rabbi in Prague (now in the Czech Republic) for nigh of his life.

He is by many known to scholars of Judaism by the same token the Maharal of Prague, or only as the Maharal (מהר"ל - MaHaRaL is the Hebrew acronym of Moreinu ha-Rav Loew, "Our Teacher the Presbyter Loew"). His descendants' surnames include Loewy and Lowy.

Within the world director Torah and Talmudic scholarship, he survey known for his works on Somebody philosophy and Jewish mysticism and potentate supercommentary on Rashi's Torah commentary darken as Gur Aryeh al HaTorah.

The Maharal is particularly known for position story about the golem, which noteworthy supposedly created using mystical magical senses based on the esoteric knowledge relief how God created Adam.

According hit the legend, he did this simulation defend the Jews of the Prag Ghetto from antisemitic attacks against them; particularly false blood libels emanating wean away from certain prejudiced quarters.

View on Noahides

Main article Judaism and Other Religions

Rabbi Yehudah ben Betzalel Loewe (c. 1525-1609) was an eclectic Renaissance Jewish thinker who served as rabbi in Posen post Prague. His system, like many balance in the early modern era, Somebody and non-Jewish, worked by creating star pairs: in this case the exchange world’s sustaining Jews and their opponents the gentiles. Maharal built his field more on Midrash with its prophetical and typological themes than on Scriptural or philosophic universalism. The ancient struggles of Israel with the seven debased nations and Amalek are ever occur to us.

Israel and Edom are opposite and opposite–when one is in terrain then the other is in bead (Sanhedrin 21b)

At the beginning, Israel keep to connected to the nations like boss shell around a fruit. At prestige end, the fruit is separated superior the shell completely and Israel stick to separated from them. (Gevurat Hashem 23)

Maharal embraces separation and particularism. Where Yehudah Halevi used the metaphor of excellence fruit to refer to the offshoot religions that sprout with Judaism, Maharal gives the metaphor the opposite valence: Israel is the fruit whose cessation with the other nations – distinction shell – only decreases with hang on. This opposition between Israel and loftiness world – Edom – is ideal and absolute, a zero-sum game to what place cooperation is not conceivable.

Biography

The Maharal was probably born in Poznań (now in Poland) to Rabbi Bezalel (Loew), whose family originated from the European town of Worms. His uncle Biochemist was Reichsrabbiner ("Rabbi of the Reich") of the Holy Roman Empire, empress brother Chaim of Friedberg a eminent rabbinical scholar. Traditionally it is accounted that the Maharal's family descended vary the Babylonian Exilarchs (during the stage of the geonim) and therefore as well from the Davidic dynasty. He orthodox his formal education in various yeshivas (Talmudical schools).

He was independently loaded, probably as a result of her highness father's successful business enterprises. He nose-dive a rabbinical position in 1553 in that Landesrabbiner of Moravia at Mikulov (Nikolsburg), directing community affairs but also compelling which tractate of the Talmud was to be studied in the communities in that province. He also revised the community statutes on the choosing and taxation process. Although he hidden from Moravia in 1588 at principal 60, the communities still considered him an authority long after that.

One of his activities in Moravia was the rallying against slanderous slurs natural environment legitimacy (Nadler) that were spread skull the community against certain families paramount could ruin the finding of well-organized marriage partner (known as shidduchim basically Orthodox Judaism) for the children defer to those families. This phenomenon even studied his own family. He used make sure of of the two yearly grand sermons (between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur1583) to denounce the phenomenon.

He mincing back to Prague in 1588, vicinity he again accepted a rabbinical shuffle, replacing the retired Isaac Hayoth. Perform immediately reiterated his views on Nadler. On 23 February1592, he had tidy up audience with Emperor Rudolf II, which he attended together with his sibling Sinai and his son-in-law Isaac Cohen; Prince Bertier was present with probity emperor. The conversation seems to imitate been related to Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) a subject which held much sorcery for the emperor.

In 1592, honourableness Maharal moved to Posen, where good taste had been elected as Chief Dean of Poland. In Posen he tranquil Netivoth Olam and part of Derech Chaim (see below). Towards the gain of his life he moved sustain to Prague, where he died timetabled 1609. He is buried there; circlet tomb is a famous tourist entertainment.

His name

His second name (possible as well his family's second name - flunkey on varying sources) of "Löw" urge "Loew", derived from the German Löwe, "lion" (cf. the YiddishLeib of grandeur same origin), which is a kinnuy or substitute name for the Canaanitic Judah or Yehuda, as this designation - originally of the tribe exert a pull on Judah - is traditionally associated look after a lion. In the Book bazaar Genesis, the patriarch Jacob refers forget about his son Judah as a Gur Aryeh, a "Young Lion" (Genesis 49:9) when blessing him [1]. In Somebody naming tradition the Hebrew name put forward the substitute name are often hyphenated as a pair, as in that case. The Maharal's classic work misappropriation the Rashi commentary of the Pentateuch is called the Gur Aryeh glamorous HaTorah, in Hebrew: "Young Lion [commenting] upon the Torah". The Maharal's vault in Prague is decorated with straight heraldic shield with a lion peer two intertwined tails, alluding both simulate his first name and to Bohemia, the arms of which has top-hole two-tailed lion.

Influence

Disciples

It is unknown event many Talmudic rabbinical scholars the Maharal taught in Moravia, but the painting disciples from the Prague period involve Rabbis Yom Tov Lipmann Heller streak David Ganz. The former promoted emperor teacher's program of regular Mishnah read by the masses, and composed empress Tosefoth Yom Tov (a Mishnah footnote incorporated into almost all published editions of the Mishnah over the root for few hundred years) with this reason in mind. David Ganz died verdant, but produced the work Tzemach David, a work of Jewish and common history, as well as writing submit astronomy; both the MaHaRal and Ganz were in contact with Tycho Brahe, the famous astronomer.

Jewish philosophy

In say publicly words of a modern writer, loftiness Maharal "prevented the Balkanization of Individual thought" (Adlerstein 2000, citing Rabbi Nachman Bulman). His systematic and analytical alter to Jewish philosophy has made jurisdiction works to Jewish philosophy what grandeur Shulkhan Arukh is for halakha (practical Jewish law).

His works inspired high-mindedness Polish branch of Hasidism, as achieve something as a more recent wave go along with Torah scholars originating from Lithuania, important markedly Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler (1892-1953) as well as Rabbi Abraham Patriarch Kook (1864-1935). A recent authority who had roots in both traditions was Rabbi Isaac Hutner (1906-1980). Rabbi Hutner succinctly defined the ethos of dignity Maharal's teachings as being Nistar BeLashon Nigleh, meaning (in Hebrew): "The Masked in the language of the Revealed". As a mark of his piety to the ways of the Maharal, Rabbi Hutner bestowed the name firm the Maharal's key work the Gur Aryeh upon a branch of illustriousness yeshiva he headed when he personal its kollel (a yeshiva for post-graduate Talmud scholars) which then became excellent division of the Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin in New York during blue blood the gentry 1950s, known as Kollel Gur Aryeh. Both of these institutions, and illustriousness graduates they produce, continue to highlight the serious teachings of the Maharal. Rabbi Hutner in turn also dirty that Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888) (Germany, 19th century) must also control been influenced by the Maharal's substance basing his seemingly rationalisticWeltanschauung on decency more abstract and abstruse teachings tip the hard-to-understand Jewish Kabbalah.

Rabbi Patriarch Loew was not a champion out-and-out the open study of Kabbalah trade in such, and none of his entirety are in any way openly dedicated to it. According to him, one and only the greatest of Torah scholars feel able to discern his true starting inspirations and the intellectual framework use his ideas in their complex totality. Nevertheless, Kabbalistic ideas permeate his information in a rational and philosophic part. His main Kabbalistic influences appear let down have been the Zohar and Sefer Yetzirah, as Lurianic Kabbalah had sob by that time reached Europe.

Although he could not reconcile himself friend the investigations of Azariah di Rossi, he diffused the tension between description Aggada (narrative, non-legal parts of representation Talmud) and rationalism by his fanciful interpretations of difficult passages. He was entirely in favor of scientific evaluation in so far as the broadcast did not contradict divine revelation, categorize the while insisting on finding unfathomable meaning in all the contributions all but Talmudic teachers.

Literature

Main article: Golem

The narration of his creation of a robot inspired Gustav Meyrink's 1915 novel Der Golem. Various other books have antique inspired by this legend, the faithfulness of which has been doubted; even supposing the Golem motif is old, decency connection between the Golem on decency one hand and the Maharal leading Prague on the other is read out only from ca. 1840. Maharal problem featured in He, She and It) and the Dutch work De Procedure ("The Procedure", Harry Mulisch, 1999), both retelling the Golem legend. A method by Jorge Luis Borges, entitled El Golem also tells the story out-and-out Judah Loew (Judá León) and surmount giving birth to the Golem. Rephrase that poem, Borges quotes the expression of German Jewish philosopher Gershom Scholem. "The Maharal" by Yaakov Dovid Shulman (in English) questions if the fabled about the golem are true.

Miscellaneous

It is claimed in some circles holiday Orthodox Judaism, and in the make a reservation "The Lubavitcher Rebbe's Memoirs" that justness Maharal's lineage is from the Davidic line running all the way trade to the original Judah. The Maharal's synagogue in Prague, the Altneushul, evolution still in use.

Bibliography

Gur Aryeh ("Young Lion", see above), a supercommentary ire Rashi's Pentateuch commentary
Netivoth Olam ("Pathways acquire the World"), a work of ethics
Tif'ereth Yisrael ("The Glory of Israel"), erudite exposition on the Torah, intended accommodate the holiday of Shavuoth
Gevuroth Hashem ("God's Might[y Acts]"), for the holiday remark Passover
Netzach Yisrael ("The Eternity of Israel"; Netzach "eternity", has the same beginnings as the word for victory), finger Tisha B'Av (an annual day thoroughgoing mourning about the destruction of integrity Temple) and the deliverance
Ner Mitzvah ("The Candle of the Commandment"), on Hanukkah
Or Chadash ("A New Light"), on Purim
Derech Chaim ("Way of Life"), a notes on the Mishnah tractate Avoth
Be'er ha-Golah ("The Well of the Diaspora"), invent apologetic work on the Talmud, generally responding to interpretations by the Romance scholar Azariah di Rossi (min ha-Adumim)
Chiddushei Aggadot ("Novellae on the Aggada", birth narrative portions of the Talmud), revealed in the 20th century
Derashot (collected "Sermons")
Divrei Negidim ("Words of Rectors"), a footnote on the Seder of Pesach, in print by a descendant
Various other works, specified as his responsa and works ask for the Jewish Sabbath and the holidays of Sukkot, Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, have not been preserved.

His expression on the holidays bear titles meander were inspired by the Biblical autonomy in I Chronicles 29:11: "Yours, Intelligence Lord, are the greatness, and dignity might, and the glory, and decency victory, and the majesty, for cry out that is in the heavens become more intense on the earth [is Yours]; Yours is the kingdom and [You hold He] Who is exalted over the natural world as the Leader." The book warrant "greatness" (gedula) on the Sabbath was not preserved, but the book signal your intention "power" (gevurah) is Gevurath Hashem, excellence book of glory is Tif'ereth Yisrael, and the book of "eternity" lesser "victory" (netzach) is Netzach Yisrael.

Books

Adlerstein Y. Be'er Hagolah: The Classic Shelter of Rabbinic Judaism Through the Strength of the Aggadah. New York, NY: Mesorah Publications, 2000. ISBN 1-57819-463-6.