Elijah Ba'al Shem (born 1550- died 1583) was a Polish rabbi who studied under Rabbi Solomon Luria and later became the Chief Rabbi of Chełm. He was a co-signer of the Agunah laws and, according to legend, used the powers of Kabbalah to create a Golem creature.[1][2] Many legends surround his life in regards to this creation. Because of his mastery over the names of God, he was the first Rabbi to be given the Baal Shem title.[3] He was the grandfather of Rabbi Tzvi Ashkenazi and the great grandfather of Jacob Emden.
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Born Eliyahu ben Aharon Yehudah ("Elijah son of Judah Aaron"), he studied under Rabbi Solomon Luria of Lublin to attain his rabbinical ordination and became Chełm's chief rabbi, a position he would hold for the rest of his life.[4][5] In 1564, he gathered with other prominent Rabbis, including his teacher, to co-author the "piske denim" (laws) which allowed an Agunah to remarry.[6][7] He was an avid practitioner of Kabbalah and was said to have created a Golem using the names of God from the Sefer Yezirah.[7][1][2] Because of his mastery over the esoteric uses of the names of God, he became the first person to be given the religious title of Baal Shem.[3]
His death is closely associated with the Golem myth. One version of it states that while trying to remove the life-giving name of God in an attempt to destroy the raging beast, Rabbi Elijah was crushed to death under the weight of the Golem as it fell to pieces.[8] Other sources suggest his face was only scratched and that he seemingly died of natural causes years later.[9]
He wrote two books during his life; the Sefer Mif’alot Elohim and the Sefer Toldot Adam.[10][11]
Two of Elijah's grandsons were great Halakhists: Tzvi Ashkenazi and his son Jacob Emden. They discussed the legal status of the golem: could the golem be counted in a minyan, the quorum of ten men required for prayer. Human form and modicum of understanding were not enough to make something human. Also, according to Emden, the destructive potential of the golem could destroy the world.[5]
According to the "Jewish Life and Work in Chełm" chapter of the Commemoration Book of Chełm (Poland) (Yisker-bukh Chełm),
"No one was allowed to enter the attic of the Old Synagogue. No one even knew where the key to the attic could be found. One person whispered to another the secret that in the attic there lies the golem of the famous Rabbi Elijah Ba'al Shem.
It was said that Elijah Ba'al Shem created from clay a golem [by means of the Sefer Yetzirah] who would stand on market days with an ax in his hand, and as soon as he saw that a peasant was going to beat up a Jew, the golem killed the peasant.
An entire week the golem served the Rabbi, the Rabbi's wife, and he performed the manual labor in the Beit Hamidrash [A Jewish house of study where the study of the Torah is undertaken].[12]
When the local landowner found out about the golem's might, the Ba'al Shem led the golem to the attic, withdrew from him the ineffable name of God, and converted the golem into a heap of clay. The Ba'al Shem locked the door, took with him the key, and since then the attic remained bolted."[9]
The tale about Elijah's creation of the Golem was retold in the book Israel der Gotteskampfer der Baalschem von Chełm und sein Golem ("Israel of the God's camphors of the Baal shem of Chełm and his Golem") written by Chayim Block and published in 1920.[13]
According to popular legend, Elijah's greatness was witnessed in dramatic fashion soon after his death. It was said that during his time, the only road to the Jewish cemetery passed directly in front of a Russian church. Whenever a Jewish funeral procession passed by, local Christians would come outside to throw rocks and cause trouble. Elijah knew of this and requested in his will that no one move or run away if the Chrisitans did the same following his death.
Elijah's wishes were carried out after his passing. When the procession neared the church, Christians began their ritual of pelting the coffin and its bearers with rocks and insults, when Elijah miraculously pushed open the coffin and, after consulting the Torah that was to be buried with him, the earth opened up and swallowed the church and all who were in it. The Rabbi then laid back and became rigid as a corpse again. The Jews stared at each other in utter disbelief and eventually continued on their way once they had recovered from the shock. From this time forward, it was said that the local Christians no longer threw rocks during Jewish funerals.
Until fairly recent times, pupils of the Kheder (Jewish elementary school) of a teacher named Leib Paks claimed that in the cellar, when jumping on a certain set of floor boards, the muffled ring of a church bell could be heard. This led the children to believe their teacher's school was built on the very same spot where the church had sank.[9]
Within the Chełm cemetery, there was a grave without a tombstone which was covered in bricks arranged in the shape of the Hebrew letter "Bet". This was believed to be the final resting place of Rabbi Elijah. Legend has it an angel would appear on the anniversary of his death and etch a letter on a certain brick. Because of this, everyone was afraid to touch the bricks.[9]
According to Rabbi Elijah, German Jews lived in Jerusalem during the 11th century. The story is told that a German-speaking Palestinian Jew saved the life of a young German man surnamed Dolberger. So when the knights of the First Crusade came to siege Jerusalem, one of Dolberger's family members who was among them rescued Jews in Palestine and carried them back to Worms, Germany to repay the favor.[14] Further evidence of German communities in the holy city comes in the form of halakic questions sent from Germany to Jerusalem during the second half of the eleventh century.[15]