Rabbi Pinchas Horowitz, Baal HaHafla'ah, Chief Rabbi of Frankfurt am Main

Author of the Hafla'ah which mentions his wife's ancestry.

Rabbi Pinchas HaLevi Horowitz (born in Chortkiv about 1731; died in Frankfort-on-the-Main July 1, 1805) was a rabbi and Talmudist. The descendant of a long line of rabbinical ancestors and the son of Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Horowitz of Chortkiv, he received a thorough Talmudic education, chiefly from his older brother, Rabbi Shmelke of Nikolsburg.

He married at an early age the daughter of the wealthy Joel Heilpern, who provided for him and permitted him to occupy himself exclusively with his studies. Adverse circumstances then forced him to accept a rabbinical position, and he became rabbi of Witkowo, from which place he was called later on to Lachovice.

A decision rendered in a complicated divorce case attracted attention to him, and in 1771 he was elected chief rabbi of Frankfurt. Although a cabalist, he joined the agitation against Rabbi Nathan Adler, who held separate services in his house according to the cabalistic ritual. When Moses Mendelssohn's Pentateuch appeared, Horowitz denounced it in unmeasured terms, admonishing his hearers to shun the work as unclean, and approving the action of those persons who had publicly burned it in Vilna (1782). Following the same principle, he opposed the establishment of a secular school in 1794. Toward the end of his life he became blind, and his son, Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Horowitz, acted as his substitute in opposition to Reform Judaism and Secular Judaism.

Works

Horowitz's chief work is "Hafla'ah," novellae on the tractate Ketubot, with an appendix, "Kuntres Aharon," or "Shevet Achim," Offenbach, 1786. The second part, containing novellae on the tractate Kiddushin, also with an appendix, appeared under the title "Sefer ha-Mikneh," in 1800. Other-works are: "Nesivos la-Shavet," glosses on sections 1-24 of the Shulchan Aruch, Even HaEzer, Lemberg, 1837; "Giv'as Pinchas," a collection of eighty-four responsa, in 1837; and "Panim Yafos," a cabalistic commentary on the Pentateuch, printed with the Pentateuch, Ostrog, 1824 (separate ed. 1851, n.p.).

Rabbi Horowitz was one of the last pilpulists in Germany, and he therefore represents the developed stage of rabbinical dialectics. It was in keeping with these views that he opposed secular education and even the slightest change of the traditional form of public worship (see his denunciation of a choir in the synagogue, in "Givas Pinchas," No. 45). The progress of modernity toward the end of the eighteenth century made him partly change his views, and in 1803 he endorsed Wolf Heidenheim's translation of the Machzor. Nonetheless, his workד are still used in fierce opposition to Progressive Judaism.

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Note; there is a question about his death date in correlation to the written on his grave stone but since they are just about 2 days apart I would leave this to be

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R. Pinchas Horowitz 1730-1805 was born in Czortkow where his father officiated as rabbi. He studied at first under his two brothers, R. Nahum and R. Samuel and later under DovBer the Maggid of Meseritz.

He became the first Rabbi at Witkowo (Poland) and then at Lachowicze (1764). In 1771 he became ABD of Frankfurt-on-Main where he remained until his death having served the community some thirty-four years.

He held a private Minyan (Prayer Quorum) in his own home according to the Sephardic Rite, unlike the rest of the Frankfurt community.

He was also very friendly with the rabbis Nathan Maas and Nathan Adler. He was a strong opponent of the Haskalah Movement and decried Mendelssohn's translation of the Bible into German.

His most prominent pupil was the author of the "Chasam Sofer", R. Moses Sofer.

He was the author of "Hafla'ah" published in Offenbach, 1787. This was in three parts:

1) "Sefer Ketuvah, Offenbach 1787,

2) "Sefer HaMakneh", Offenbach, 1801,

3) "Pamim Yafot Ostrog,", 1824 published by R. Ephraim Z. Margolioth. He also wrote

"Shevet Achim" published 1838.

He married Reche Deborah, daughter of R. Joel Heilprin, ABD of Leshov.

The Maggid taught the two scholarly brothers the Study of the Ethics, which they had given little attention to, and later convinced them of its importance.

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The descendant of a long line of rabbinical ancestors and the son of Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Horowitz of Chortkiv, he received a thorough Talmudic education, chiefly from his older brother, Rabbi Shmelke of Nikolsburg. He married at an early age the daughter of the wealthy Joel Heilpern, who provided for him and permitted him to occupy himself exclusively with his studies. Adverse circumstances then forced him to accept a rabbinical position, and he became rabbi of Witkowo, from which place he was called later on to Lachovice.

A decision rendered in a complicated divorce case attracted attention to him, and in 1771 he was elected chief rabbi of Frankfurt. Although a cabalist, he joined the agitation against Rabbi Nathan Adler, who held separate services in his house according to the cabalistic ritual. When Moses Mendelssohn's Pentateuch appeared, Horowitz denounced it in unmeasured terms, admonishing his hearers to shun the work as unclean, and approving the action of those persons who had publicly burned it in Vilna (1782). Following the same principle, he opposed the establishment of a secular school in 1794. Toward the end of his life he became blind, and his son, Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Horowitz, acted as his substitute in opposition to Reform Judaism and Secular Judaism.

Works

Horowitz's chief work is "Hafla'ah," novellae on the tractate Ketubot, with an appendix, "Kuntres Aharon," or "Shevet Achim," Offenbach, 1786. The second part, containing novellae on the tractate Kiddushin, also with an appendix, appeared under the title "Sefer ha-Mikneh," in 1800. Other-works are: "Nesivos la-Shavet," glosses on sections 1-24 of the Shulchan Aruch, Even HaEzer, Lemberg, 1837; "Giv'as Pinchas," a collection of eighty-four responsa, in 1837; and "Panim Yafos," a cabalistic commentary on the Pentateuch, printed with the Pentateuch, Ostrog, 1824 (separate ed. 1851, n.p.).

Rabbi Horowitz was one of the last pilpulists in Germany, and he therefore represents the developed stage of rabbinical dialectics. It was in keeping with these views that he opposed secular education and even the slightest change of the traditional form of public worship (see his denunciation of a choir in the synagogue, in "Givas Pinchas," No. 45). The progress of modernity toward the end of the eighteenth century made him partly change his views, and in 1803 he endorsed Wolf Heidenheim's translation of the Machzor. Nonetheless, his workד are still used in fierce opposition to Progressive Judaism.

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The young community of Chortkov earned a name for itself when Rabbi Zvi Hirsh Horovitz, who is known even today by the name Rabbi Reb Hirsheli, was hired to be her rabbi and educator. He was considered, together with Rabbi Segal from Lvov ,and the Rabbi from Stanislave, to be the Gaon (genius) from Podolia.

From Chortkov's religious school, came many genius rabbis who serve many large communities in the west. Among them were the two brothers, Rabbi Smuelike and Rabbi Pinchas, sons of the righteous rabbi, Rabbi Hirsheli from Chortkov. His students worked as teachers and instructors in the important communities of Nikelshborg in Moravia, and Frankfurt on Main, which was a very important and large Ashcenazi community of that time.

http://www.hebrewbooks.org/9350

Source: Wiki

The descendant of a long line of rabbinical ancestors and the son of Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Horowitz of Chortkiv, he received a thorough Talmudic education, chiefly from his older brother, Rabbi Shmelke of Nikolsburg, together with whom he was a follower of Rabbi Dov Ber of Mezeritch, the Maggid of Mezeritch. He married at an early age the daughter of the wealthy Joel Heilpern, who provided for him and permitted him to occupy himself exclusively with his studies. Adverse circumstances then forced him to accept a rabbinical position, and he became rabbi of Witkowo, from which place he was called later on to Lachovice.

He was involved in the controversial "Get of Cleves" case and wrote a responsum to validate the divorce. However, according to tradition, before he was able to publish the responsa his ink bottle spilled over the paper. His students convinced him that enough rabbis had written on this case and it was not necessary to rewrite it. Rabbi Avraham Abish, then the Rabbi of Frankfurt, had fought to invalidate the divorce; in response, when he died in 1769 the rabbinical court in Frankfurt vowed not to hire for the position of Chief Rabbi anyone who had wriiten a responsum validating the divorce. Since Rabbi Horowitz's responsum had never been published he was able to become the rabbi in the very prestigious community.

Although a cabalist, he disagreed with Rabbi Nathan Adler, who held separate services in his house according to the cabalistic ritual. When Moses Mendelssohn's Pentateuch appeared, Horowitz denounced it in unmeasured terms, admonishing his hearers to shun the work as unclean, and approving the action of those persons who had publicly burned it in Vilna (1782). Following the same principle, he opposed the establishment of a secular school in 1794. Toward the end of his life he became blind, and his son, Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Horowitz, acted as his substitute in opposition to Reform Judaism and Secular Judaism.

[edit]Works

Horowitz's chief work is "Hafla'ah," novellae on the tractate Ketubot, with an appendix, "Kuntres Aharon," or "Shevet Achim," Offenbach, 1786. The second part, containing novellae on the tractate Kiddushin, also with an appendix, appeared under the title "Sefer ha-Makneh," in 1800. Other-works are: "Nesivos la-Shavet," glosses on sections 1-24 of the Shulchan Aruch, Even HaEzer, Lemberg, 1837; "Giv'as Pinchas," a collection of eighty-four responsa, in 1837; and "Panim Yafos," a cabalistic commentary on the Pentateuch, printed with the Pentateuch, Ostrog, 1824 (separate ed. 1851, n.p.).

Rabbi Horowitz was one of the last pilpulists in Germany, and he therefore represents the developed stage of rabbinical dialectics. It was in keeping with these views that he opposed secular education and even the slightest change of the traditional form of public worship (see his denunciation of a choir in the synagogue, in "Givas Pinchas," No. 45). His works are still used in fierce opposition to Progressive Judaism.

GEDCOM Note

<p>מחבר: ההפלאה" המקנה" נתיבות לשבת שו"ת גבעת פנחס" פנים יפות"</p><p>מתלמידיו הגדולים של המגיד ממזריטש</p>

פנחס הלוי הורביץ

מגדולי רבני החסידות - 1730 - 1805

אחיו הצעיר של רבי שמואל שמלקה הורביץ. נולד בטשורטקוב בשנת ת"ץ (1730) והתחנך בבית אביו הרב יחד עם אחיו. יחד אתו הגיע לחצר המגיד במזריטש ודבק בתנועה החסידית.

בעודנו צעיר לימים שימש רבי פנחס ברבנות בקהילות וויטקאווא ולחוויץ, עד שבשנת תקל"ב נתקבל כרב וראש ישיבה בפרנקפורט ענ"מ. היה אהוב מאוד על בני קהילתו, ובשל מעשי הצדקה המרובים היה נערץ גם על האוכלוסייה הנוצרית. רבי פנחס השתתף בחיים הציבוריים.

בשנת תקמ"ב הוציא חוברת "תוכחת מוסר" ודרש ברבים נגד תרגום התורה לגרמנית של מנדלסון, בשנים תק"נ-תקנ"ב חיבר לכבוד מושלי מדינתו שירי תהילה והודיה, שעשו רושם רב וניתרגמו לגרמנית.

היה מפורסם כפוסק. מקרוב ומרחוק פנו אליו בשאלות הלכותיות, כפי שמעיד ספרו "גבעת פנחס" (לבוב תקצ"ח).

גדלותו בתורה וחריפותו העצומה באות לידי ביטוי בספריו "הפלאה" ו"המקנה".

פירושו על התורה "פנים יפות" כתוב ברוח החסידות ומורגשת בו השפעת רבו המגיד ממזריטש.

ר' פנחס היה גדול בתורה, אך גם במעשים והתערב בנעשה בקהילתו. חיבוריו הם חידושים למסכת כתובות בשם "ספר ההפלאה", למסכת קידושין בשם "ספר המקנה" ולמסכת שבת בשם "נתיבות שבת". חידושיו הכתובים בתמציתיות ובבהירות נפוצו מאד בחוגי הישיבות.

כן כתב שו"ת "גבעת פנחס". בתשובותיו יש התייחסות גם לבעיות שנבעו מן החיים המודרניים, כגון: האם אפשר לתת גט לאישה שנישאה גם בנישואים אזרחיים לפני שהותרו נישואיה אלו. לפי שהבעל אומר בגט "הרי את מותרת לכל אדם", והיא אינה מותרת מפני נישואיה האזרחיים.

בנו צבי הירש הלוי מילא את מקומו כאב"ד בפרנקפורט הבן כתב ספר דרשות בשם "לחמי תודה" על דרך הפלפול, וחידושים על כמה מסכתות בשם "מחנה לוי".

רבי פנחס נפטר בפרנקפורט ביום ד' תמוז תקס"ה (1805) ואת מקומו ברבנות פרנקפורט ירש בנו רבי צבי, בעל "לחמי תודה" ו"מחנה לוי".

פטירתו

בד' בתמוז תקס"ה (1805) נפטר הרב פנחס הורוביץ ונטמן בבית הקברות בפרנקפורט. על מצבתו נכתב: "פה נטמן הגאון הגדול המפורסם יחד בדורו רשכבה"ג החסיד ועניו ראש גולת אריאל נפטר ונקבר ביום ב' ד' תמוז תקס"ה, רב פעלים מקבציאל, העמיד תלמידים הרבה והרביץ תורה בישראל, כבוד מוהר"ר פנחס הלוי איש הורוויץ זצ"ל, ה"ה אב"ד דקהילתנו, אשר האיר כל פני הגולה בחיבוריו הקדושים, ספרי הפלאה, ספר כתובה וספר המקנה חכמתם בחוץ תרונה, תהלתו מלאה הארץ, גודר גדר ועומד בפרץ...". בפנקס הקהילה של פרנקפורט נכתב עליו: "בשלושים ושלוש שנות כהונתו שאף ללא לאות להיות לברכה ושלום לסביבתו ככל אשר השיגה ידו". בספר הזיכרון של הקהילה הופיעו הדברים הבאים: "על זאת דוה לבנו, עינינו יורדים דמעה מאין הפוגות שנלקח ארון אלקים ארון הקודש... הרב הגאון הגדול המפורסם בכל קצות הארץ בחסידות בחריפות ובבקיאות נר ישראל מהור"ר פנחס בן מוהר"ר צבי הלוי איש הורוויץ... ומי שאמר למלאך הרף ידיך יסיר מעלינו ומעל כל בית ישראל חרון אפו ובילע המות לנצח אמן".

לרב הורוביץ היו ארבעה ילדים: הרב צבי הירש, מאיר יעקב (נפטר בצעירותו), מרים ומלכה (נפטרה בצעירותה).

את מקומו ברבנות העיר מילא בנו, רבי צבי הירש הלוי הורוויץ, מחבר הספרים "מחנה לוי" ו"לחמי תודה" שהמשיך את מלחמתו של אביו בתנועת ההשכלה.‏