Baal Shem of London | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of the Baal Shem of London by John Singleton Copley | |
| Personal | |
| Born | Hayyim Samuel Jacob Falk 1708 |
| Died | 17 April 1782 (aged 73–74) |
| Religion | Judaism |
Hayyim Samuel Jacob Falk (Hebrew : חיים שמואל יעקב דפאלק מרדיולה לנידו; Also known as the Baal Shem of London and Doctor Falckon; 1708 – 17 April 1782) was a rabbi, Baal Shem Practical Kabbalist and alchemist.
Falk was born in either Fürth in Bavaria or Pidhaytsi in Podolia. After having narrowly escaped being burnt at the stake by the authorities in Westphalia who had charged him with sorcery, the German Count Alexander Leopold Anton von Rantzau secretly gave him refuge in Holzminden. During this stay in 1736, Falk made his impressive kabbalistic performances in Rantzau’s castle witnessed by noblemen and Alexander’s son Count Georg Ludwig Albrecht von Rantzau. In his famous Mémoires du comte de Rantzow, which are referred to by many researchers as an original standard source, this young Count gives a thorough and detailed account of all these mystic demonstrations. [1] Sometime after 1736, Falk arrived in London. He lived at 35 Prescott Street, London, United Kingdom and at Wellclose Square, London until his death. He was a neighbour of Emanuel Swedenborg and there is some evidence that he had a significant influence on him. [2]
Rabbi Jacob Emden accused him of being a Sabbatean, a supporter of Sabbatai Zevi, as he invited Moses David of Podhayce, a known Sabbatean with connections to Jonathan Eibeschutz, to his home. [3]
He died on 17 April 1782 and was buried in Alderney Road Cemetery, Mile End, London [4] Falk bequeathed in his will an annual sum of 100 pounds to the Great Synagogue of London as well as some Sefer Torahs.
Many stories exist regarding Falk's extraordinary powers. According to one account, Falk made secretive visits to Epping Forest in his carriage, where he was said to have buried some treasure. On one of these occasions a wheel came loose from the vehicle on the Whitechapel Road, but followed the carriage all the way to the forest. When Falk ran short of coal, he was said to have performed a magical feat involving three shirts and a ram's horn. [5] Falk was also able to keep candles burning miraculously, and to transport objects from one place to another.[ citation needed ]
Some claimed that he had saved the Great Synagogue from fire by writing something in Hebrew on the pillars of the door.
Falk kept a diary containing records of dreams and the Kabbalistic names of angels. This can be found in the library of the United Synagogue in London. In 2002 Michal Oron published the diary and a biography of Falk. [6] The diary is written in Hebrew and is very cryptic. The diary was published together with the diary of Falk's assistant, Tsvee Hirsch of Kalish.
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Hasidic philosophy or Hasidism, alternatively transliterated as Hasidut or Chassidus, consists of the teachings of the Hasidic movement, which are the teachings of the Hasidic rebbes, often in the form of commentary on the Torah and Kabbalah. Hasidism deals with a range of spiritual concepts such as God, the soul, and the Torah, dealing with esoteric matters but often making them understandable, applicable and finding practical expressions.
Practical Kabbalah in historical Judaism, is a branch of the Jewish mystical tradition that concerns the use of magic. It was considered permitted white magic by its practitioners, reserved for the elite, who could separate its spiritual source from Qliphoth realms of evil if performed under circumstances that were holy (Q-D-Š) and pure. The concern of overstepping Judaism's strong prohibitions of impure magic ensured it remained a minor tradition in Jewish history. Its teachings include the use of Divine and angelic names for amulets and incantations.
Abraham Gershon of Kitov, also known as Rabbi Gershon of Brody, was probably born in or near Kuty (Kitov), Poland around 1701 and died in Jerusalem in 1761. He is best known as the Baal Shem Tov's brother-in-law.
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Rabbi Falk can refer to several people:
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Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer, known as the Baal Shem Tov or as the BeShT, was a Jewish mystic and healer, who is regarded as the founder of Hasidic Judaism. "Besht" is the acronym for Baal Shem Tov, which means "Master of the Good Name" or "one with a good reputation".
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