Eybeschütz, Jonathan

Eybeschütz, Jonathan

(born c. 1690, Kraków, Pol.—died 1764, Altona, Den.) Polish rabbi and Talmudic scholar. He served as rabbi in a number of European towns, and his scholarship gained him a loyal following. He was reputed to have mystic powers; when the women of his congregation asked him to give them protection from death in childbirth, he offered them amulets that contained a prayer to the false messiah Shabbetai Tzevi. A prominent German rabbi, Jacob Emden (1697–1776), denounced the amulets. The dispute that ensued between Emden and Eybeschütz divided the European Jewish community.