Shmelke of Nikolsburg

Shmelke of Nikolsburg
Shmelke of Nikolsburg
The tombstone of Shmelke on the Rabbinic Hill at the Jewish cemetery in Nikolsburg.
Full name	Shmuel Horowitz
Main work	Divre Shmuel
Born	1726 Chortkiv, Galicia
Died	April 28, 1778 Nikolsburg, Moravia
Buried	Nikolsburg, Moravia
Dynasty	Nikolsburg
Father	Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Horowitz

Shmelke of Nikolsburg (1726 Chortkiv, Galicia – April 28, 1778 Nikolsburg, Moravia) was one of the great early Chasidic Rebbes. Born Shmuel Horowitz (but commonly known by the diminutive "Shmelke"), he was the oldest son of Rabbi Tzvi Hirsh Horowitz of Chortkiv. A Levite, he traced his lineage back directly to the prophet Samuel who was also a Levite. In their early years, Shmelke and his brother Pinchas - who would also become a famous rabbi - studied Torah together. After traveling to Mezritch and meeting the great chasidic master Dovber of Mezeritch, they became his ardent followers.

After serving as rabbi in Ryczywół and Shineva, Shmelke was invited, in 1773, to become the rabbi of Nikolsburg in Moravia, where he served until 1778. On the first day of his being rabbi of Nikolsburg, Abraham Trebitsch a native of Nikolsburg reports him performing a miracle and bringing rain. It is told that his strong attachment to Chasidus angered many members of the community, which led to bitter quarrels that were quelled as a result of the personal intervention of Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk.

Shmelke established a major yeshiva that attracted numerous outstanding students. Among these were such luminaries as Rabbis Yaakov Yitzchak of Lublin, Menachem Mendel of Rimanov, Yisroel Hopsztajn, Mordecai Benet and Moshe Leib of Sassov.