FLECKELES, ELEAZAR BEN DAVID

FLECKELES, ELEAZAR BEN DAVID
FLECKELES, ELEAZAR BEN DAVID (1754–1826), rabbi and author. Born in Prague, Fleckeles studied under Meir Fischeles (Bumsla), Moses Cohen-Rofe, and ezekiel landau , In 1779 he was appointed rabbi of Kojetin in Moravia, but in 1783 returned to Prague, where he served as a member of the bet din of Ezekiel Landau and also headed a large yeshivah. After Landau's death, Fleckeles was appointed Oberjurist ("president") of the three-man rabbinate council which also included Samuel Landau, the son of Ezekiel. When the Frankists made their appearance in the city in 1800, Fleckeles headed the opposition to them. He was denounced by an informer and imprisoned, and on his release he wrote a pamphlet of thanksgiving entitled Azkir Tehillot. Fleckeles' fame rests on his volume of collected sermons, Olat Hodesh (4 parts, Prague, 1785–1800). It contains both halakhic and aggadic themes. Part II, Olat Ẓibbur. includes a sermon attacking Moses Mendelssohn's German translation of the Bible. In Part IV, Ahavat David, there are also included sermons against the Shabbateans and the Frankists. In these sermons, that reflect his outstanding ability as a preacher, Fleckeles expressed his vigorous opposition to various reforms resulting from the spread of the haskalah movement, warning on the one hand against excessive pursuit of secular studies and on the other concurring in the study of Kabbalah, but only on the basis of a sound knowledge of Talmud. Of his other books the following are noteworthy: Teshuvah me-Ahavah, a collection of 450 responsa (3 parts, Prague, 1809–21), in which he employed a new method of arranging the responsa according to the order of the Shulhan Arukh, and at the same time adding his own comments on, and supplements to, other responsa; Melekhet ha-Kodesh (ibid., 1812), a guide for scribes of Sifrei Torah, tefillin, and mezuzot; and Hazon la-Mo'ed (ibid., 1824), 14 sermons for the month of Tishri. In the introductions to his works, he emphasizes the brotherhood of man and the duty of the Jews toward the Gentiles. In connection with the question put by the censor Karl Fischer, "whether there is any distinction between an Israelite swearing to his fellow Israelite and swearing to a Gentile," Fleckeles replied "that the force of an oath is great, and no distinction can be made between taking an oath to an Israelite and to a non-Jew" (Teshuvah me-Ahavah, pt. 1, no. 26). He was opposed to the hairsplitting methods of pilpul and to "labored solutions," and emphasized that he was not prone to stringency in his rulings (ibid., pt. 3, no. 325), He was careful to make allowance for traditional customs and gave information in his responsa about special customs that existed in various communities (ibid., pt. 1, no. 90; pt. 2, no. 229). -BIBLIOGRAPHY: D. Kaufmann, in: MGWJ, 37 (1893), 378–92; G. Klemperer, in: HJ, 13 (1951), 76–80; S.H. Lieben, in: JJLG, 10 (1912), 1–33; Michael, Or, no. 485; J. Spitz, Zikhron Eleazar (1827); Zinberg, Sifrut, 5 (1959), 151, 156f., 356. (Yehoshua Horowitz)

Encyclopedia Judaica. 1971.

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  • Fleckeles, Eleazar ben David — (1754 1826)    Bohemian rabbi and author. He was born in Prague and served as a rabbi there; he was also head of a large yeshivah and president of a three man rabbinate council. When the Frankists made their appearance in the city in 1800, he led …   Dictionary of Jewish Biography

  • Eleasar Fleckeles — Eleasar b. David Fleckeles (auch Elieser b. David Fleckeles; * 26. August 1754 in Prag; † 27. April 1826 ebenda) war ein Rabbiner, bedeutender Prediger und Talmudist. Fleckeles war ein Schüler von Ezechiel Landau, den er lebenslang als Meister… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • LANDAU, EZEKIEL BEN JUDAH — (1713–1793), halakhic authority of the 18th century, known as the Noda bi Yehudah, after one of his works (see below). Landau was born in Opatow, Poland, and received his talmudic education first in his hometown until the age of 13 and… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Elieser — (hebräisch אֱלִיעֶזֶר, zur Verdeutlichung der Aussprache auch Eliëser bzw. Eliéser) ist ein hebräischer männlicher Vorname. Bedeutung und Varianten Der Name bedeutet ‚mein Gott ist Hilfe‘. deutsche Übertragung der Romantik ist Gotthilf Eliezer,… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • RESPONSA — (Heb. שְׁאֵלוֹת וּתְשׁוּבוֹת; lit. queries and replies ), a rabbinic term denoting an exchange of letters in which one party consults another on a halakhic matter. Such responsa   are already mentioned in the Talmud, which tells of an inquiry… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • BOHEMIA — (Cz. Čecny, Česko, Tschechien; Ger. Boehmen; Heb. פעהם, פיהם, כנען, בהם), independent kingdom in Central Europe, until the beginning of the 14th century, affiliated later in the Middle Ages with the Holy Roman Empire. In 1526 it became part of… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

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