Judah Leib ben Isaac of Szydà Âów (Szydà Âowski) (Hebrew: ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂàÃÂÃÂÃÂàÃÂàÃÂæÃÂç ÃÂéÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ; d. 1730) was an 18th-century Polish rabbi who served as a representative of Kraków in the Council of Four Lands.He is also known by the Hebrew language acronym Rischak (Rav Judah ben Isaac Krakowi).
Judah Leib was born in Szydà Âów, Poland to an old and distinguished rabbinic family from Przemyà Âl. His birthplace led to his adoption of the surname Szydà Âowski (Yiddish: éÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂâè) to indicate his origin, as surnames were not mandatory at the time. His father, Isaac ben Samuel Zak (Zera Kodesh), was the Chief Rabbi of Przemyà Âl and later Kraków. His mother was the daughter of Joshua Höschel ben Joseph, Meginei Shlomo, and Miryam Hillels thus being a descendant of Rabbi Moses Isserles, Meir Katzenellenbogen, Maharam of Padua, and Rabbi Shimshon Loew the brother of Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the Maharal of Prague. His grandfather, Rabbi Shmuel âÂÂSchmelkeâ Zak (Zera Kodesh), was the chief rabbi of Ostroh and husband of the great-granddaughter of Rabbi Eliezer Hirsch Treves (chief rabbi of Opatów), and thus a descendant of Rashi. JudahâÂÂs great-grandfather, Rabbi Meir Zak, adopted the family name Zak (Zera Kodesh) after his brother Rabbi Mordechai ben Avraham, chief rabbi of Lublin, was martyred. Zak is an abbreviation of the Hebrew expression Zera Kodesh, meaning "holy seed," or âÂÂseed of saintsâ taken from Isaiah 6:13. The family name ZâÂÂK - the initials of Zera Kadosh (seed of saints) - who gave their lives for the sanctification of gods name (Kiddush Hashem). Rabbi Meir ZakâÂÂs mother was Dinah Weil, a descendant of Meir of Rothenburg, the Maharam of Rottenberg. According to family tradition he was a descendant of Rabbeinu Jacob ben Asher, Baal Haturim, Rabbeinu Asher Ben Jehiel, The Rosh, Rabbi Eliezer ben Nathan, RaâÂÂavan, and Rabbeinu Gershom.
In his early years, Judah officiated as rabbi in Szydà Âów, later serving as representative of Kraków in the Council of Four Lands. After 1715, he became rabbi and president of the Yeshiva at Kraków, where he remained until his death in 1730. Judah is known for his many approbations (haskamot) of other rabbinical books and decisions, such as "Panim Me'irot," by Rabbi Meïr Eisenstadt (Amsterdam, 1714), and "Berit Shalom," by Rabbi Pinchas ben Pelta (Frankfurt on the Main, 1718). His son, David Samuel, served as the Av Beit Din of Szydà Âów and Chmielnik until 1731 and was the paternal grandfather of Shmuel of Karov.
JudahâÂÂs wife left a last will and testament that favored her younger son, Rabbi David Samuel, over the oldest son, Rabbi Yehoshua of Szydlow. Rabbi Yehoshua accused Rabbi David Samuel of forging the will, leading to a conflict between the brothers. Rabbi Yehoshua joined a Jesuit monastery and converted to Christianity because of the conflict. The conversion led to Rabbi Yehoshua being knighted by the king of the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth. After engaging in a public debate with his brother Rabbi Josef Szydà Âowski, the chief rabbi of Pinczow, he returned to Judaism. The conflict compromised Rabbi David Samuel so much that he left his position as the chief rabbi of Kraków. JudahâÂÂs son Rabbi Josef Szydà Âowski, the chief rabbi of Pinczow, married Liba Shapiro, a descendant of the chief rabbi of Kraków, Rabbi Nathan Nata Spira, the Megaleh Amukkot. Menachem Mendel of Rimanov the founder of Rimenov hassidim was the son of Rabbi Josef Szydlowski and Liba Shapiro and thus a grandchild of Judah Leib.
All six of Rabbi Judah's sons, who were also rabbis and heads of rabbinical courts in towns in southern Poland, mainly in Województwo à ÂwiÃÂtokrzyskie and surrounding areas, signed the excommunication of the Italian rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato, the Ramchal, in 1734 because of the publication of his Kabbalistic books.
All six sons of Jehuda Leib adopted the surname Szydà Âowski to commemorate their town of origin.