TzadikimRabbi Hirschel Ben Arye Löb Levin (also known as Hart Lyon and Hirshel Löbel; 1721 – 26 August 1800) was Chief Rabbi of Great Britain and of Berlin, and Rabbi of Halberstadt and Mannheim, known as a scholarly Talmudist.
Rabbi Hirschel Ben Arye Löb Levin (also known as Hart Lyon and Hirshel Löbel; 1721 – 26 August 1800) was Chief Rabbi of Great Britain and of Berlin, and Rabbi of Halberstadt and Mannheim, known as a scholarly Talmudist.
He was born in Rzeszów, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth to Aryeh Löb and Miriam Lowenstam. His father was rabbi at Amsterdam and his mother was daughter of Rabbi Chacham Zvi Ashkenazi. He was a descendant of Elijah Ba'al Shem of Chelm.
Along with his Talmudic and halakhic education, he also dealt with philosophy and the natural sciences, as well as Hebrew grammar, and even wrote several poems. In 1751 he was involved in the great controversy between his uncle Rabbi Yaakov Emdan and Rabbi Yehonatan Ivshitz, and wrote a number of articles in support of Amdan. In 1756 he was elected rabbi of the Great Synagogue in London, where it was called Hart Lyon, but after several years, seeing that the community did not meet the threshold of reverence and halakhic observance that awaited it, he left his post. He became rabbi of Halberstadt and later Mannheim, and in 1772 was appointed rabbi of Berlin.
In those days the winds of the Jewish Enlightenment movement began to blow in Berlin, and Levin was required to present the rabbinical position on the other side. In contrast to the way of the rabbis of Poland and Eastern Europe, who set up a firm line that sometimes reached the point of boycotts and insults, Levin took a relatively moderate line. The fact that he himself treated general education positively — though only when it was subject to Torah study — made it easier for him to stand up to the claims of the educated, and he was generally able to stand on his own. In 1778 he gave consent to the commentary and translation of the Torah Pentateuch of Moshe Mendelssohn, with whom he had friendly relations. In the same year, the authorities asked him to provide them with a written review of Jewish laws and regulations in the areas of law and marriage. Since he did not know German sufficiently, he asked Mendelssohn to prepare the review, and Mendelssohn did write a review called Ritualgesetze der Juden with Levin's approval.
In 1782, Levin became the focus of controversy over Naftali Hertz Weisel's essay "Words of Peace and Truth." Weisel sought to bring about a comprehensive change in the Jewish education system, the main thing being the study of general sciences and foreign languages alongside the study of the Torah that was customary until then. Rabbis Ezekiel Landa ("The Known in Judea"), David Tabil of Lisa, and others, who vehemently opposed Weisel's ideas, pressured Levin to take practical action against Weisel, and he did begin proceedings for his deportation from Berlin. On the other hand, the educated of Berlin revolted against the rabbis and enlisted the help of the authorities. The opposing pressures on Levin increased, and at the height of the conflict, Levin abruptly left Berlin, informing the city's breadwinners that he intended to immigrate to Israel, and asked them to help his wife and sons arrange departure and travel arrangements. Community leaders, including banker Daniel Itzig, rushed to speak to his heart and appease him, eventually returning to the community and continuing in office for another eight years, until his death.
May the merit of Rabbi Hirschel Ben Arye Löb Levin protect us all. Amen
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