Avraham Yehoshua Heschel

For the American philosopher, see Abraham Joshua Heschel. For the Hasidic rebbe, see Avraham Yehoshua Heshel. For the Talmudist who authored Meginei Shelomo, see Joshua Höschel ben Joseph. For the Sabbatian writer, see Joshua Heschel Zoref.
Gravestone of Rabbi Yehoshua Heschel in the Old Jewish cemetery of Krakow

Avraham Yehoshua "Heschel"(or Abraham Joshua) (1595 – 1663) was a renowned rabbi and talmudist in Kraków, Poland.[1]

His father Rabbi Jacob of Lublin was a rabbi in Brisk and then Lublin.

In 1654 Heschel became Chief Rabbi of Kraków, succeeding Yom-Tov Lipmann Heller upon his death.[1]

Subsequent to the Chmielnicki massacres, Heschel was lenient in allowing agunah (women whose husbands were only presumed dead) to remarry.[2]

Heschel's second wife was Dina, the granddaughter of Saul Wahl, who according to folklore was king of Poland for one day.[1]

Heschel's main students are Rabbi David Halevi Segal (Taz), and Rabbi Shabsai Cohen (Shach).

Heschel is buried in the Old Jewish Cemetery of Kraków, also known as the Remuh Cemetery.[3]

  1. ^ a b c Valley, Eli (1999). The Great Jewish Cities of Central and Eastern Europe: A Travel Guide and Resource Book to Prague, Warsaw, Crakow, and Budapest. Jason Aronson. p. 331. ISBN 9780765760005.
  2. ^ Eisenberg, Ronald L. (March 20, 2014). Essential Figures in Jewish Scholarship. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 175. ISBN 9780765709950.
  3. ^ Sherwin, Byron L. (1997). Sparks Amidst the Ashes: The Spiritual Legacy of Polish Jewry. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195355468.