Lion and Cub: A Messianic Mission and a Printed Pride |
Hebrew is rich with names for lions. The Talmud points out that there are six names used in the Bible for the king of beasts: ari (or aryeh), kfir, lavi, layish, shahal, and shahatz (Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 95a). Lavi also appears once in the Bible in a feminine form: leviya (Ezekiel 19:2). The distinction between the terms is a mystery: are they referring to different stages in the lion’s life, or perhaps the terms reflect different etymological origins?
During the second week of Operation Sha’agat Ha-ari [The Lion’s Roar], the local council of Zur Hadassa posted an infographic noting that there are 114 residents with lion-related names: 26 named Aryeh, 25 Ari, 46 Lavi, 2 Leviyah, and 15 Kfir. The image noted that there was not a single resident named Sha’agah [Roar]. I might add: at least not yet…
Given the prominence of lions in Hebrew Scriptures, in nature, and in collective consciousness, it is not surprising that many people bear these powerful names. Nor is it unusual that authors with such names would use lion imagery for the titles of their responsa collections.
The most famous example was Rabbi Aryeh Leib Ginzburg (ca. 1695-1785), who published his Sha’agat Aryeh (Frankfurt an der Oder 1756), which was later supplemented by She’elot U-teshuvot Sha’agat Aryeh Ha-hadashot (Vilna 1873) – both discussed in previous posts. But while he is the most famous Sha’agat Aryeh, he was not the first.
The first respondent to use the title Sha’agat Aryeh was a Polish rabbi, Rabbi Aryeh Yehuda Leib (ca. 1630-1714), the stepson of Rabbi David Ha-levi Segal (1586-1667; known as the Taz, an acronym of his work Turei Zahav) and the grandson of Rabbi Yoel Sirkis (1561-1640; known as the Bah, an acronym of his work Bayit Hadash). His collection was first published in Neuwied in 1736 (two decades before Rabbi Aryeh Leib Ginzburg printed his volume). Despite the pioneering use of the name, this first lion remains........