Jonathan Eybeschutz

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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 is well known as a protagonist in the Emden-Eybeschutz Controversy.

1 Biography
2 Controversy
3 Works
4 References

[edit] 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."

[edit] Controversy

Eybeschutz was not without controversy. In Prague, he had 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.

[edit] 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:
- Ya'arot Devash a frequently quoted collection of the sermons of Rabbi Eybeschutz.
- Tiferet Yehonatan on the weekly Torah portion
- Taryag Mitzvot, the 613 commandments in rimed acrostics.
- Notes on the Passover Haggadah, as well as Perush al Piska Had Gadya on the poem Had Gadya

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 had received from leading rabbis who came to his defense.