Betzalel HaLevi of Zhovkva
Betzalel HaLevi Sirkin of Zhovkva (Hebrew: רבי בצלא הלוי סירקין מזאלקוו; c. 1710 - June 1802) 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.
Biography
Betzalel Sirkin was born around 1710 in Zhovkva, Ukraine. His father Ariah Judah Leib Sirkin was the author of Leviat Chen and the paternal great-grandson of Joel Sirkis. His mother was the daughter of Chanokh Heynekh Ashkenazi. In his early years, he possibly studied abroad in Poland. In 1781 he published his magnum opus Beshem Betzalel (lit. 'In the name of Betzalel') in Padua, Italy. The halachic work was widely received and demonstrates Sirkin'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 Sirkin from surrounding areas. Sirkin died in June of 1802 in Zhovkva. He had one daughter, Sarah, the wife of Tzvi Hersh Bonhart, and mother of Simcha Bunim of Peshischa.[1][2][3]
References
- Sirkin, 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.