Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel | |
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יהודה ליווא בן בצלאל | |
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| Personal life | |
| Born | c. 1524 |
| Died | 17 September 1609(1609-09-17) (aged 84–85) |
| Buried | Old Jewish Cemetery, Prague |
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| Signature |  |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Judaism |
Judah Loew ben Bezalel (Hebrew:יהודה ליווא בן בצלאל; c. 1524[1][a] – 17 September 1609),[3] also known asRabbi Loew (alt. Löw, Loewe, Löwe or Levai), theMaharal of Prague (Hebrew:מהר״ל מפראג), or simplythe Maharal (theHebrewacronym of "Moreinu ha-Rav Loew", "Our Teacher, Rabbi Loew"), was an importantTalmudic scholar,Jewish mystic, mathematician, astronomer,[4] and philosopher who, for most of his life, served as a leadingrabbi in the cities ofMikulov inMoravia andPrague inBohemia.
Loew wrote onJewish philosophy andJewish mysticism. His workGur Aryeh al HaTorah is a supercommentary onRashi'sTorah commentary. He is also the subject of a later legend that he createdthe Golem of Prague, an animate being fashioned from clay.[5]
His name "Löw" or "Loew" is derived from theGermanLöwe, "lion" (cf. theYiddishLeib of the same origin). It is akinnui, or substitute name, for theHebrew nameJudah orYehuda, as the Biblical characterJudah was likened to a lion inGenesis 49:9.[6] Lavi from that verse on Judah, is a lioness, hence his name Yehudah Lavi. In Jewish naming tradition, the Hebrew name and the substitute name are often combined as a pair, as in this case in which the combined name is Judah Loew. When Loew wrote his classic supercommentary onRashi'sTorah commentary, he entitled itGur Aryeh al HaTorah in Hebrew, meaning "Young Lion [commenting] upon the Torah".
Loew's tomb in Prague is decorated with a heraldic shield with a lion with two intertwined tails (queue fourchee), alluding both to his first name and toBohemia, the arms of which has a two-tailed lion.
Loew was probably born inPoznań,Poland[7]—though Perels[8] lists the birth town mistakenly[7] asWorms in theHoly Roman Empire—to Rabbi Bezalel (Loew), whose family originated from theRhenish town ofWorms. Perels claimed that his grandfather Chajim of Worms was the grandson ofJudah Leib the Elder and thus a claimant to theDavidic line, throughSherira Gaon.[8] However, modern scholars such asOtto Muneles have challenged this.[9] Prior to the publication of Perels' genealogy in 1853, traditions existed of the Maharal's descent from the House of David, not through Yehudah Leib the Elder or Hai Gaon, but through Rashi and his ancestor Yokhanan the Sandlar (died 140 C.E.).[10]Loew's birth year is uncertain, with different sources listing 1512,[11][8] 1520[12] and 1526.[7][13] His uncleJakob ben Chajim wasReichsrabbiner ("Rabbi of the Empire") of theHoly Roman Empire, and his older brother Chaim of Friedberg was a famous rabbinical scholar and Rabbi of Worms and Friedberg.
Sources in the Lubavitch tradition[14] say that at the age of 12, Loew went to yeshivahs in Poland and studied under RabbiYaakov Pollak. After Pollak left Poland, Loew spent 2 years wandering from place to place and then went onto the yeshivah of Rabbi Yitzchak Clover/Wormz, himself a student of Pollak. He learnt together in yeshivah with theMaharshal who was 17, 2 years his elder. He learnt together with the Maharshal andRema for a further 3 years. Rav Yitzchok Clover was in fact the grandfather of the Maharshal. The Maharshal left Poland and the Maharal remained and studied with the Rema for 2 more years. Maharal was 6 years his senior. He spent 20 years studying before he married.[citation needed]
Loew accepted a rabbinical position in 1553 asLandesrabbiner ofMoravia atMikulov (Nikolsburg), directing community affairs but also determining which tractate of theTalmud was to be studied in the communities in that province. He also revised the community statutes on the election and taxation process. Although he retired from Moravia in 1573 the communities still considered him an authority long after that.
One of his activities in Moravia was the rallying against slanderous slurs on legitimacy (Nadler) that were spread in the community against certain families and could ruin the finding of amarriage partner for the children of those families. This phenomenon even affected his own family. He used one of the two yearly grand sermons (betweenRosh Hashanah andYom Kippur 1583) to denounce the phenomenon.[15]
Loew moved to Prague in 1573, where he again accepted a rabbinical position, replacing the retired Isaac Hayoth.[15] He immediately reiterated his views onNadler. On 23 February 1592, he had an audience withEmperor Rudolf II, which he attended together with his brother Sinai and his son-in-law Isaac Cohen; Prince Bertier was present with the emperor. The conversation seems to have been related toKabbalah (Jewish mysticism,Hebrew: קַבָּלָה) a subject which held much fascination for the emperor.[15]
In 1592, Loew moved to Poznań, where he had been elected asChief Rabbi of Poland. In Poznań he composedNetivoth Olam and part ofDerech Chaim (see below).[15][16]
Loew's family consisted of his wife, Perel, six daughters, and a son, Bezalel, who became a rabbi inKolín, but died early in 1600. His wife was the daughter of a wealthy merchant, which allowed him to devote himself to scholarship.[17] His granddaughter wasEva Bachrach, was known for her scholarship and for the title of the bookHavvot Yair, authored by her grandson,Yair Bachrach.[18][19]
His elder brother wasHayim ben Bezalel, who authored a legal work Vikuach Mayim Chaim which challenged the rulings of Krakow legalist,Moshe Isserles.
Towards the end of his life Loew moved back to Prague, where he died in 1609. Loew is buried at theOld Jewish Cemetery, Prague inJosefov, where his grave and tombstone are intact.
Loew's numerous philosophical works have become cornerstones of Jewish thought;[20] and he was the author of "one of the most creative and original systems of thought developed by East European Jewry."[17]
He employed rationalist terminology and classical philosophical ideas in his writings,[17] and supported scientific research on condition that it did not contradict divine revelation.[15][21] Nevertheless, Loew's work was in many ways a reaction to the tradition of medieval rationalist Jewish thought, which prioritized a systematic analysis of philosophical concepts, and implicitly downgraded the more colorful and ad-hoc imagery of earlier rabbinic commentary. One of Loew's constant objectives was to demonstrate how such earlier commentary was in fact full of insightful commentary on humanity, nature, holiness, an other topics. According to Loew, the multitude of disconnected opinions and perspectives in classical rabbinic literature do not form a haphazard jumble, but rather exemplify the diversity of meanings that can be extracted from a single idea or concept.[22]
Loew's writings use as sources the Biblical verses and the recorded traditions of the rabbis, but through literary and conceptual analysis he develops these into a comprehensive philosophical system in which the following terminology recurs:[22]
An example of this terminology is Loew's philosophical interpretation of the followingmidrash: "The world was created for three things:challah,maaser, andbikkurim."[23] According to Loew, bikkurim representsyesodot (as individual fruit are given), maaser representstaarovot (as the fruit are gathered together and a fraction of them separated as a tithe), andchallah representstarkovot (as a new substance, dough, is created from the ingredients).[24]
Loew's approach to resolving contradictions between rabbinic literature and historical sources, emphasizing his preference forallegorization. He often interprets seemingly historical rabbinic narratives as conveying deeper, esoteric truths rather than literal historical events. For example, in the case ofTitus and theyetosh, Loew argues that the Talmudic story is not a factual account but a moral lesson about divine retribution. While he critiquesAzariah de Rossi's rejectionist tendencies, Loew himself avoids outright rejection of rabbinic texts, instead reinterpreting them to align with spiritual or metaphysical truths. His approach thus reflects a commitment to preserving the integrity ofrabbinic literature while addressinghistorical challenges creatively.[25]
Yet, Loew did not espousekabbalah or other Jewish mystical traditions, though he was familiar with them.[17]
Loew's worldview assumes that reality consists of a single cause, as well as diverse caused phenomena whose existence is constantly sustained by their cause. There is no room for randomness in reality, as that would indicate an absence of omnipotence or omniscience in the Cause.[22] For Loew, the uniform caused nature of reality also indicates the existence of moral order in the world. Science can describe the phenomena in the world, but it cannot create a preference for one over the other; such moral preferences must come from the higher order of the Torah, which Loew calls the "higher intellect" (שכל עליון).[22]
Loew emphasized the value of honesty and straightforwardness. Among other things, this led him to criticize thepilpul methodology common in yeshivas of his time. He even suggested to avoid learning the commentaries ofTosafot until one has reached an advanced level of understanding.[22] He suggested that if the commentaries ofRabbeinu Asher were printed in place of Tosafot, halacha-oriented study would be much more pervasive.[26]
LikeYehudah Halevi, he focused on the distinction between the physical and the spiritual, seeing the Jewish people as possessing an essentially spiritual nature which distinguishes it from all other phenomena in the world.[17]
It is unknown how many Talmudic rabbinical scholars Loew taught in Moravia, but the main disciples from the Prague period include RabbisYom-Tov Lipmann Heller andDavid Gans. The former promoted his teacher's program of regularMishnah study by the masses, and composed hisTosefoth Yom Tov (a Mishnah commentary incorporated into almost all published editions of the Mishnah over the past few hundred years) with this goal in mind.David Ganz wroteTzemach David, a work of Jewish and general history, as well as writing onastronomy; both Loew and Ganz were in contact withTycho Brahe, the famous astronomer.
Kerem Maharal, a moshav in northern Israel, was established by Czech Jewish immigrants and named in Loew's honour.
In April 1997, Czech Republic and Israel jointly issued a set of stamps, one of which featured the tombstone of Loew.[27][28][29] In May 2009, the Czech Post issued a stamp commemorating the 400th anniversary of rabbi Loew's death.[30] In June 2009 the Czech Mint issued acommemorative coin marking the same milestone.[31] TheStatue of Judah Loew ben Bezalel stands in Prague.
Loew is the subject of the legend about the creation of agolem, a creature made out of clay to defend theJews of the PragueGhetto fromantisemitic attacks, particularly theblood libel. He is said to have usedmystical powers based on theesoteric knowledge of howGod createdAdam.[32] The general view of historians and critics is that the legend is a German literary invention of the early 19th century. The earliest known source for the story thus far is the 1834 bookDer Jüdische Gil Blas by Friedrich Korn.[33][34] It has been repeated and adapted many times since.
He began publishing his books at a very late age. In 1578, at the age of 66, he published his first book,Gur Aryeh ("Young Lion", Prague 1578) - an supercommentary in five volumes forRashi's commentary on theTorah, which goes well beyond that, and four years later he published his bookGevuroth HaShem ("God's Might[y Acts]", Cracow 1582) anonymously.
His works on the holidays bear titles that were inspired by the Biblical verse inI Chronicles 29:11: "Yours, O Lord, are the greatness, and the might, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and on the earth [is Yours]; Yours is the kingdom and [You are He] Who is exalted over everything as the Leader." The book of "greatness" (gedula) on the Sabbath was not preserved, but the book of "power" (gevurah) isGevurath Hashem, the book of glory (tif'arah) isTif'ereth Yisrael, and the book of "eternity" or "victory" (netzach) isNetzach Yisrael.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906)."JUDAH LÖW (LÖB, LIWA) BEN BEZALEEL (known also as Der Hohe Rabbi Löw)".The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
