Shabtai Sheftel Horowitz
Encyclopedia
Shabtai Horowitz was a rabbi and talmudist, probably born in Ostroh
, Volhynia
. He was the son of the kabbalist Isaiah Horowitz
, and at an early age married the daughter of the wealthy and scholarly Moses Charif of Lublin
. With his father he seems to have gone to Prague
, where he occupied a position as preacher; from Prague he went as rabbi to Fürth
, whence he was called to Frankfurt
am Main about 1632, and finally to Vienna
about 1650. There he died on April 12, 1660.
Horowitz wrote additions to his grandfather Abraham's Emeḳ Berakah (which appeared first in the Amsterdam edition of 1729), additions to his father's prayer-book, and a treatise on religious ethics under the title Vave Ha-Ammudim. This work he modestly designated as an introduction to his father's celebrated work Shnei Luchot Ha-Brit (The Two Tablets of the Covenant), with which it is always printed as an appendix. He also wrote an ethical testament (Ẓawwa'ah, Frankfort-on-the-Oder, n.d., often reprinted). It contains, besides some very charitable teachings, exhortations to strictness in ritual practise and in kabbalistic studies. Shabbethai further wrote some prayers (included in his father's prayer-book), especially a selichah
for the 20th of Sivan.
Ostroh
Ostroh is a historic city located in Rivne Oblast of western Ukraine, located on the Horyn River. Ostroh is the administrative center of the Ostroh Raion and is itself designated as a special administrative subordination within the oblast...
, Volhynia
Volhynia
Volhynia, Volynia, or Volyn is a historic region in western Ukraine located between the rivers Prypiat and Southern Bug River, to the north of Galicia and Podolia; the region is named for the former city of Volyn or Velyn, said to have been located on the Southern Bug River, whose name may come...
. He was the son of the kabbalist Isaiah Horowitz
Isaiah Horowitz
Isaiah Horowitz, , also known as the Shelah ha-Kadosh after the title of his best-known work, was a prominent Levite rabbi and mystic.-Biography:...
, and at an early age married the daughter of the wealthy and scholarly Moses Charif of Lublin
Lublin
Lublin is the ninth largest city in Poland. It is the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 350,392 . Lublin is also the largest Polish city east of the Vistula river...
. With his father he seems to have gone to Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, where he occupied a position as preacher; from Prague he went as rabbi to Fürth
Fürth
The city of Fürth is located in northern Bavaria, Germany in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the two cities being only 7 km apart....
, whence he was called to Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
am Main about 1632, and finally to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
about 1650. There he died on April 12, 1660.
Horowitz wrote additions to his grandfather Abraham's Emeḳ Berakah (which appeared first in the Amsterdam edition of 1729), additions to his father's prayer-book, and a treatise on religious ethics under the title Vave Ha-Ammudim. This work he modestly designated as an introduction to his father's celebrated work Shnei Luchot Ha-Brit (The Two Tablets of the Covenant), with which it is always printed as an appendix. He also wrote an ethical testament (Ẓawwa'ah, Frankfort-on-the-Oder, n.d., often reprinted). It contains, besides some very charitable teachings, exhortations to strictness in ritual practise and in kabbalistic studies. Shabbethai further wrote some prayers (included in his father's prayer-book), especially a selichah
Selichot
Selichot or slichot are Jewish penitential poems and prayers, especially those said in the period leading up to the High Holidays, and on Fast Days...
for the 20th of Sivan.