11 Nisan · Yahrzeit

The Shelah HaKadosh

Rabbi Yeshayahu ben Avraham Horowitz - “The Shelah HaKadosh” (named after his main work) - was born in Prague around 1555. Yahrzeit - 11 Nisan Burial place - Tiberias A Bohemian rabbi – Talmudist and kabbalist – he married the daughter of the wealthy Avraham Maohel, which gave him the means to spend generously on charity and on the purchase of books. He was one of the leaders of the Polish Jewish community. Already in 1590 he condemned the acquisition of rabbinic positions through bribery. Horowitz served as rabbi in many communities: in Poznan and Krakow, later in 1600, in Ostroh, Volhynia (1603), in Frankfurt am Main (c. 1606), and in Prague (1614). In 1621, after the death of his wife, he moved to the Holy Land. According to the views of the kabbalists, an unmarried man could not live in the Land of Israel, so Horowitz remarried. Although various Jewish communities offered him the position of rabbi, he chose instead to go to Jerusalem, where he arrived on November 19, 1621. In 1625, he was seized by the Turkish governor along with other members of the community and imprisoned. After the community ransomed him for an enormous sum, the Shelah HaKadosh moved to Safed. “Shnei Luchot HaBrit” (The Two Tablets of the Covenant) is the main work of the Shelah HaKadosh. The first letters of the title of his book “Shnei Luchot HaBrit” - Shelah - became his name, as is often the case in Jewish tradition. Devout Jews sought comfort and guidance in this book, which was reprinted many times in abridged form. Horowitz's prayer book is full of pure thoughts and kabbalistic teachings: “The morning prayer is a turning to Divine mercy, since the increasing light represents G-d's kindness, while the waning afternoon light signifies stern Divine judgment. Avraham established the morning prayer because he embodied Divine kindness, while Yitzchak established the afternoon prayer because he embodied Divine might.” (page 144a) The Shelah HaKadosh quotes extensively from his predecessors – the Reishit Chochmah, the Ramak, and the Arizal. It was the fame of the Arizal that drew Horowitz to the Land of Israel, where he hoped to find his disciples and learn more about his teachings. His own writings, however, became far more widespread than those of any of the Arizal's students. In Tiberias, at the entrance to the burial complex of the Rambam, to the left of the central steps, is the grave of the Shelah HaKadosh. On 11 Nisan, his yahrzeit, huge crowds gather here. Prayers of the Shelah HaKadosh 1. Prayer of the Shelah HaKadosh for children on Rosh Chodesh Sivan https://silatehilim.com/молитва-за-детей-шла-акодеш-в-рош-ходеш/ 2. Tikkun HaGadol of the Shelah HaKadosh https://silatehilim.com/тикун-а-гадоль-шла-а-кадош/ 3. Tefillah LeParnasa of the Shelah HaKadosh https://silatehilim.com/эрев-рош-ходеш-нисан-тфила-ле-парнаса/ May the merit of this tzadik protect Am Yisrael! (https://dailyzohar.com/tzadikim/900-Rabbi-Isaiah-or-Yeshayahu-ben-Avraham-Horowitz)

Pilgrimage site: Grave: The Shela HaKadosh