Baal Shem of London | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Falk attributed toJohn Singleton Copley[1] | |
| Personal life | |
| Born | Hayyim Samuel Jacob Falk 1708 |
| Died | 17 April 1782 (aged 73–74) |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Judaism |
| Buried | Alderney Road Jewish Cemetery, London |
Hayyim Samuel Jacob Falk (Hebrew:חיים שמואל יעקב דפאלק מרדיולה לנידו; 1708 – 17 April 1782), also known as theBaal Shem of London andDoctor Falckon, was arabbi,Baal Shem,kabbalist andalchemist.
Falk was born in eitherFurth inBavaria orPidhaytsi inPodolia. After the rabbi narrowly escaped beingburnt at the stake by the authorities inWestphalia who had charged him withsorcery, the German Count Alexander Leopold Anton von Rantzau secretly gave him refuge inHolzminden. During this stay there in 1736, Falk made impressive kabbalistic performances in Rantzau's castle, witnessed by noblemen and the Count's son Georg Ludwig Albrecht. The latter's memoirs contain a detailed account of these mystical demonstrations.[1] Sometime after 1736, Falk arrived in London. He lived at 35 Prescott Street, London, United Kingdom and atWellclose Square, London until his death. He was a neighbour ofEmanuel Swedenborg and there is some evidence that he had a significant influence on him.[2]
RabbiJacob Emden accused him of being aSabbatean, as he invited Moses David of Podhayce, a known supporter ofSabbatai Zevi with connections toJonathan Eibeschutz, to his home.[3]
He died on 17 April 1782 and was buried in Alderney Road Cemetery, Mile End, London.[4] Falk bequeathed in his will an annual sum of 100 pounds to theGreat Synagogue of London as well as someSifrei Torah.
Many stories exist regarding Falk's extraordinary powers. According to one account, Falk made secretive visits toEpping Forest in his carriage, where he was said to have buried some treasure. On one of these occasions a wheel came loose from the vehicle on theWhitechapel Road, but followed the carriage all the way to the forest. When Falk ran short of coal, he was said to have performed a magical feat involving three shirts and a ram's horn.[5] Falk was also able to keep candles burning miraculously, and to transport objects from one place to another.[citation needed]
Some claimed that he had saved theGreat Synagogue from fire by writing something inHebrew on the pillars of the door.
Falk kept a diary containing records of dreams and the Kabbalistic names of angels. This can be found in the library of theUnited Synagogue in London. In 2002 Michal Oron published the diary and a biography of Falk.[6] The diary is written inHebrew and is very cryptic. The diary was published together with the diary of Falk's assistant, Tsvee Hirsch of Kalish.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Joseph Jacobs and Hermann Adler (1901–1906)."Falk, Ḥayyim Samuel Jacob". InSinger, Isidore; et al. (eds.).The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.