16 Facts About Yechezkel Landau

Yechezkel ben Yehuda HaLevi Landau was an influential authority in halakha.

Yechezkel Landau is best known for the work Noda Biyhudah, by which title he is known.

Yechezkel Landau proposed a compromise, in which all amulets allegedly written by Eybeschuetz would be hidden away, and Eybeschuetz would accept to refrain from producing any amulets in the future.

Yechezkel Landau established a yeshiva there; Avraham Danzig, author of Chayei Adam, is amongst his best known students.

Yechezkel Landau was highly esteemed not only by the community, but by others; and he stood high in favor in government circles.

Yechezkel Landau was the champion of Orthodox Rabbinism, and when, at the end of the eighteenth century, the Austrian emperor planned the establishment of Jewish theological seminaries, Yechezkel Landau was one of the rabbis that objected thereto.

Yechezkel Landau had a controversy on this subject with Baruch Jeiteles, who, under the title of Ha-Oreb, published Landau's letter to him and his own rejoinder.

Yechezkel Landau published his responsa under the title of Shibat Ziyyon.

Yechezkel Landau was disturbed by the increasing influence of non-Talmudic sources on the Jewish community.

Yechezkel Landau believed that many kabbalistic concepts were being understood in a heretical fashion, and was especially concerned with the prospect of the kabbalistic ideology of the Sabbatean movement infiltrating the populace.

Yechezkel Landau frequently spoke against teaching Kabbalah to the masses, and was echoed in this regard by his student, Elazar Fleckeles, who praised the government for instituting laws limiting the study of kabbalah.

Yechezkel Landau responded in such a manner to inquiries about the ethical will of Rabbi Yehuda haChasid, which contains various instructions not found in the Talmud, a question about the proper manner of writing certain letters in the Torah scroll according to kabbalistic literature, and other similar questions.

Yechezkel Landau particularly singled out Hartwig Wessely for criticism after the publication of the latter's Divrei Shalom V'emes, which advocated abandoning the traditional Jewish educational system, in favor of one with an emphasis on secular studies.

Yechezkel Landau was a staunch opponent of the nascent Hasidic movement.

Simultaneously, Yechezkel Landau sought to weaken the appeal of kabbalah.

Besides the specific debate over the status of Jonathan Eybeschuetz, Jacob Emden expressed strong disagreement with Yechezkel Landau's approach, advocating instead for a far more aggressive anti Sabbatean strategy.