Judah Loew ben Bezalel
A pivotal Talmudic scholar, Kabbalist, and philosopher of the late 16th century.
Chronology: 1520 – 1609-09-17
Origins & Early Life
Judah Loew ben Bezalel (Hebrew: יהודה ליווא בן בצלאל; c. 1524 – 17 September 1609), also known as Rabbi Loew (alt. Löw, Loewe, Löwe or Levai), the Maharal of Prague (Hebrew: מהר״ל מפראג), or simply the Maharal (the Hebrew acronym of "Moreinu ha-Rav Loew", "Our Teacher, Rabbi Loew"), was an important Talmudic scholar, Jewish mystic, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who, for most of his life, served as a leading rabbi in the cities of Mikulov in Moravia and Prague in Bohemia. Loew wrote on Jewish philosophy and Jewish mysticism.
Pivotal Works & Achievements
His work Gur Aryeh al HaTorah is a supercommentary on Rashi's Torah commentary. He is also the subject of a later legend that he created the Golem of Prague, an animate being fashioned from clay. == Name == His name "Löw" or "Loew" is derived from the German Löwe, "lion" (cf. the Yiddish Leib of the same origin). It is a kinnui, or substitute name, for the Hebrew name Judah or Yehuda, as the Biblical character Judah was likened to a lion in Genesis 49:9.
Enduring Legacy & Impact
Lavi from that verse on Judah, is a lioness, hence his name Yehudah Lavi. In Jewish naming tradition, the Hebrew name and the substitute name are often combined as a pair, as in this case in which the...
Source: Wikipedia