Jehiel ben Solomon Heilprin

Who was Jehiel ben Solomon Heilprin?

Jehiel ben Solomon Heilprin was a Lithuanian rabbi, kabalist, and chronicler. He was a descendant of Solomon Luria, and traced his genealogy back through Rashi to the tanna Johanan ha-Sandlar. He was rabbi of Glusk, government of Minsk, until 1711, when he was called to the rabbinate of Minsk, where he officiated also as head of the yeshibah until his death. Heilprin was one of the most eminent Talmudists of his time. He was opposed to casuistry, and on this account succeeded in grouping around him a great number of liberal-minded pupils. For a long time he had to sustain a hard struggle with Aryeh Löb ben Asher, who, while still a young man, had founded a yeshibah at Minsk, which at first was very flourishing. Aryeh Löb attacked Heilprin's method of teaching, and the antagonism between them spread to their pupils. Later, Aryeh Löb, being obliged to assist his father in the district rabbinate, neglected his yeshibah, which was ultimately closed, and Heilprin was no longer molested.

Heilprin devoted a part of his time to the study of Kabala, on which subject he wrote a work. He was opposed to giving approbations to new books, deviating, as he himself says, only twice from his general principle in this regard. The two works so favored were the Ir Ḥomah of Abraham Judah Elijah and the Magen ha-Elef of Aryeh Löb of Plock.