Shmelke of Nikolsburg

Shmelke of Nikolsburg
Shmuel Shmelke of Nikolsburg
The tombstone of Shmuel Shmelke HaLevi שמוא-ל שמעלקי הלוי [1] on the Rabbinic Hill at the Jewish cemetery in Nikolsburg.
Full name	Shmuel Shmelke ben Tzvi Hersh HaLevi Horowitz
Main work	Divre Shmuel
Born	1726 Chortkiv, Galicia
Died	April 28, 1778 Nikolsburg, Moravia
Buried	Nikolsburg, Moravia
Dynasty	Nikolsburg
Father	Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Horowitz

Rabbi Shmuel Shmelke Halevi Horovitz of Nikolsburg (1726 Chortkiv, Galicia – April 28, 1778 Nikolsburg, Moravia)^[2] was one of the great early Chasidic Rebbes.

Biography

He was named Shmuel ben Tzvi Hersh HaLevi (Horowitz) (but commonly known by the diminutive "Shmelke"). He was the oldest son of Rabbi Tzvi Hirsh Horowitz of Chortkiv. A Levite, Shmuel Shmelke traced his lineage back directly to the prophet Samuel who was also a Levite.

In their early years, he and his brother Pinchas - who would also become a famous rabbi - studied Torah together.^[3] After traveling to Mezritch and meeting the great chasidic master Dovber of Mezeritch, they became his ardent followers.

After serving as rabbi in Ryczywół and Shineva, Horowitz was invited, in 1773, to become the rabbi of Nikolsburg in Moravia, where he served until 1778.^[4] On the first day of his being rabbi of Nikolsburg, Abraham Trebitsch, a native of Nikolsburg, reports him performing a miracle and bringing rain. It is told that his strong attachment to Chasidus angered many members of the community, which led to bitter quarrels that were quelled as a result of the personal intervention of Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk.

His students

He was a mentor of Rabbi Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev;^[3] they were both disciples of the Maggid of Mezritch.

Shmuel Shmelke established a major yeshiva that attracted numerous outstanding students. Among these were such luminaries as Rabbis

• Yaakov Yitzchak of Lublin (the Chozeh of Lublin)
• Menachem Mendel of Rimanov,
• Yisroel Hopsztajn
• Mordecai Benet^[5] and
• Moshe Leib of Sassov.

Another talmid, Reb Baruch of Kalev zt"l, also became his son-in-law.^[2]

Dynasty

At the time of the founding of the Nikolsburg dynasty, Nikolsburg was the capital of Moravia, a province within Austria-Hungary (subsequently a part of Czechoslovakia).^[6]

Earlier rabbis of the area included Yom-Tov Lipman Heller and the MaHaRaL of Prague.

As capital of Moravia, the chief rabbi of Nikolsburg was automatically chief rabbi of Moravia - as per Shmuel Shmelke, in his time.

The Nikolsburg Hasidic dynasty and the Boston Hasidic dynasty descend from him.

References

Further reading

• Eliasberg, A. (2004). Legendy Żydów polskich. Kraków. ISBN 83-85888-96-9.