Yaakov Shimshon of Shipitovka
Rabbi Yaakov Shimshon of Shipitovka (5480–3 Sivan 5561) was a disciple of the Maggid of Mezeritch, and after the Maggid's passing, of R' Pinchas of Koritz. He served as rabbi of the town of Shipitovka, and in 5554 (1794) led a group of Polish Chassidim who emigrated to the Holy Land and joined the Chassidic settlement in Tiberias, where he remained until his passing.
Life[edit | edit source]
He was born in 5480 (1720) to R' Yitzchak.
He was numbered among the disciples of the Maggid of Mezeritch, and after the Maggid's passing, among the disciples of R' Pinchas of Koritz — with whom he later became a mechutan, as their children married one another.
He was renowned for his broad Torah learning and keen analytical mind, and was therefore entrusted with various missions to spread the message of Chassidus among scholarly circles and prominent rabbinical figures, such as the Noda BiYehudah, rabbi of Hamburg, and others.[1]
When R' Pinchas of Koritz was compelled to be absent from Slavuta, R' Yaakov Shimshon served in his stead. After R' Pinchas returned, R' Yaakov Shimshon began serving as rabbi of Shipitovka, after which he is named, and where he served for most of his life. He later served as rabbi also in the town of Uman and in the town of Bar.
In 5554 (1794) he emigrated to the Holy Land at the head of a group of Chassidim from Poland,[2] and joined the Chassidic community that had settled in Tiberias following the aliyah led by Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk. There he became a halachic sparring partner of R' Avraham of Kalisk.
After a period he traveled abroad to raise funds for the Polish immigrants. In 5559 (1799) he returned to the Land of Israel, arriving in Haifa.
Later, R' Nachman of Breslov made peace between R' Avraham of Kalisk and R' Yaakov Shimshon.[3]
He passed away at the age of 81 on the 3rd of Sivan 5561 (1801) and was interred in the ancient Jewish cemetery of Tiberias.
In 5777 (2017) a beis midrash bearing his name was established in Tiberias.
His Relationship with the Alter Rebbe[edit | edit source]
It is related in Chassidic tradition that on one occasion R' Pinchas of Koritz asked the Alter Rebbe to engage R' Yaakov Shimshon in a pilpul — a rigorous halachic exchange. After a lengthy discussion ranging across the entire Talmud, R' Pinchas observed that while both were thoroughly fluent in the whole of Shas, with R' Yaakov Shimshon one could discern a difference between a tractate studied recently and one studied long ago — whereas with the Alter Rebbe there was no difference whatsoever, everything being as fresh as if he had just learned it that very moment.[4]
After his emigration to the Holy Land, differences of opinion arose between him and R' Avraham of Kalisk, and he established a separate charitable fund together with R' Mordechai of Neshchiz. When the Alter Rebbe was asked to mediate, his letter in practice sided with R' Avraham of Kalisk, who had preceded R' Yaakov Shimshon, and he alluded to R' Yaakov Shimshon, writing of him: "And now there have come lately newcomers, men wise in their own eyes and upright in their own hearts, to demolish the structure and standing of the settlement of the Holy Land and to stir up strife needlessly against the conduct of our master, the great Kohen."[5] (The dispute between the Alter Rebbe and R' Avraham of Kalisk arose only after R' Yaakov Shimshon's passing, between the years 5563–5565.)
Family[edit | edit source]
- His son-in-law, R' Yehuda Meir Shapira of Shipitovka.[6]
- His son-in-law, R' Yisrael Yehuda Leib of Krasna.
Further Reading[edit | edit source]
- Sipurim Niflaim, pp. 62, 97.
External Links[edit | edit source]
Notes[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Yitzchak Alfasi, Encyclopaedia of Chassidus, his entry.
- ↑ So it emerges from the letters of the Alter Rebbe. Among researchers, some maintain that he made aliyah twice — first around 5550 (1790), and again in 5555 (1795).
- ↑ Shivchei HaRan, 19.
- ↑ HaTamim (Beis Moshiach), issue 14, p. 30.
- ↑ Toldos Chabad B'Eretz HaKodesh, p. 26.
- ↑ Son of his teacher R' Pinchas of Koritz.