Betzalel HaLevi of Zhovkva
Betzalel ben Ariah Judah Leib HaLevi of Zhovkva (Hebrew: בצלאל בן אריה יהודה ליב הלוי מזאלקוו; c. 1720 - June 1802) also called Betzalel Zalkover was an 18th-century Ukrainian rabbi and scholar, known for his magnum opus "Beshem Betzalel". He is also the maternal grandfather of Simcha Bunim of Peshischa.
Betzalel HaLevi of Zhovkva | |
|---|---|
 Front page of Beshem Betzalel | |
| Personal | |
| Born | Betzalel ben Ariah Judah Leib c. 1710 |
| Died | June 1802 |
| Religion | Judaism |
| Children | Sarah Rachel |
| Parents |
|
Biography
Betzalel HaLevi was born around 1720 in Zhovkva, Ukraine. His father Rabbi Areyh Yehuda Leyb HaLevi was the Av Beit Din of Sokal. Through his mother, Betzalel was a descendant of Joel Sirkis. In his early years, he possibly studied abroad in Poland, where he married the daughter of Avraham Abele Mari of Lublin and Dreizel Bonems-Meisels. Dreizel was the granddaughter of Moses Bonems-Meisels and thus a descendant of Moses Isserles and Shmuel Eidels. In 1781, Betzalel published his magnum opus "Beshem Betzalel" (lit. 'In the name of Betzalel') in Padua, Italy. The halachic work was widely received and demonstrates Betzalel's more lenient attitude, especially in comparison to his contemporaries. It was also around this time that he took over the Yeshiva in Zhovkva, resulting in hundreds of new students flocking to Betzalel from surrounding areas. Betzalel died in June of 1802 in Zhovkva. He had one daughter, Sarah Rachel, who married Tzvi Hersh Bonhardt, and had Simcha Bunim of Peshischa.[1][2][3]
References
- HaLevi of Zhovkva, Betzalel (1781). "Beshem Betzalel". hebrewbooks.org. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
- Sefer She'achet, Rabbi Levy Grossman. Tel Aviv
- Rosen, Michael (2008). The quest for authenticity : the thought of Reb Simhah Bunim (1st ed.). Jerusalem: Urim Publications. ISBN 978-965-524-003-0. OCLC 190789076.