orig. Israel ben Eliezer born 1700, probably Tluste, Podolia, Pol. died 1760, Medzhibozh Charismatic founder of Hasidism ( 1750). An orphan, he worked in synagogues and yeshivas, and when he retired to the Carpathian Mountains to engage in mystical speculation he gained a reputation as a baal shem, or healer. From 1736 he lived in the village of Medzhibozh and devoted himself to spiritual pursuits. He was widely known as the Besh, an acronym of Baal Shem ov. He rejected the asceticism of older rabbis and focused on communion with God, service of God in everyday tasks, and rescue of the sparks of divinity that, according to the Kabbala, are trapped in the material world. His discourses during Sabbath meals have been preserved; he left no writings of his own. He made a point of conversing with simple working people. Hasidism brought about a social and religious upheaval in Judaism, establishing a mode of worship marked by new rituals and religious ecstasy
born 1579, Wallerstein, Bavaria died Sept. 7, 1654, Kraków, Pol. Bohemian Jewish religious scholar. After serving as rabbi in Moravia and Vienna, he became chief rabbi in Prague in 1627. He was forced to collect a heavy tax imposed on Jews by Ferdinand II during the Thirty Years' War, damaging his reputation in the Jewish community. Later, as rabbi in Volhynia, he earned the enmity of wealthy Jews for denouncing simony. From 1643 he was chief rabbi in Kraków. He is best known for his commentary on the Mishna, The Additions of Yom Tov (1614-17)
born 1579, Wallerstein, Bavaria died Sept. 7, 1654, Kraków, Pol. Bohemian Jewish religious scholar. After serving as rabbi in Moravia and Vienna, he became chief rabbi in Prague in 1627. He was forced to collect a heavy tax imposed on Jews by Ferdinand II during the Thirty Years' War, damaging his reputation in the Jewish community. Later, as rabbi in Volhynia, he earned the enmity of wealthy Jews for denouncing simony. From 1643 he was chief rabbi in Kraków. He is best known for his commentary on the Mishna, The Additions of Yom Tov (1614-17)