RabbiYeshaya Horowitz - The SHELAH

Born: Prague, Czechoslovakia, 1565

Died: Tveria (Tiberias), Eeretz Yisrael, 1630

Talmudist, kabbalist, rabbi.

Popularly know as the Shelah, an acronym of the initials of his work, Shnei Luchot Habberit.

Yeshaya Horowitz studied in yeshivot in Prague, Lublin, and Cracow. He served as rabbi in various cities in Poland and Lithuania, in Frankfort-on-the-Main, Posen, and Metz. In 1615 he returned to Prague to lead the local yeshivah.

 In 1622 he journeyed to Eretz Yisrael and was chosen as rabbi of Jerusalem, where he composed his major work, Shnei Lochot Habberit ("Two Tablets of the Covenant"). It is a compendium of the 613 laws of the Torah. He presents kabbalistic interpretations of the aspects of each mitzvah. the text is interwoven with original homiletic insights and comments. the work became an immediate favorite and has been reprinted many times. It has made a major impact on Jewish thought that has endured until the present. Since it is considered one of our holiest books, it is generally referred to as the Sheloh HaKadosh - the holy Shelah - an accolade it shares with only three other works: the Zohar HaKadosh, the Or HaChayim HaKadosh, and the Alshich HaKadosh.  

May the merit of the tzaddik  RabbiYeshaya Horowitz  protect us all, Amen.