Moses Leib of Sasov
MOSES LEIB OF SASOV
MOSES LEIB OF SASOV (1745–1807), ḥasidic rabbi. He was a pupil of Samuel Shmelke *Horowitz of Nikolsburg, *Dov Baer the Maggid of Mezhirech, and *Elimelech of Lyzhansk. He spent 13 years studying both Torah and Kabbalah under Samuel Shmelke who was then rabbi in Rychwal and Sieniawa. Moses wrote novellae on several tractates of the Talmud, parts of which were published in the pamphlets Likkutei ha-ReMaL (1856), Torat ha-ReMaL ha-Shalem (1903), and Ḥiddushei ha-ReMaL (1921). For several years he lived in Opatov. When he moved to Sasov, he attracted many followers and the town became a great ḥasidic center. His disciples included Jacob Isaac of *Przysucha (Peshiskhah), Ẓevi Hirsch of *Zhidachov, Menahem Mendel of Kosov, and others. Moses was known for his abounding love for all Jews and for his charity, on account of which he was called "father of widows and orphans." He composed many ḥasidic melodies and dances. His successor was his only son, jekuthiel shmelke, who was seven years old when his father died. Jekuthiel grew up in the homes of Abraham Ḥayyim of Zloczow, Menahem Mendel of Kosov, and Israel of *Ruzhin in Sadagora (Sadgora), and returned to Sasov in 1849.
bibliography:
Y. Raphael, Sefer ha-Ḥasidut (1956); idem, Sasov (1946); M. Buber, Tales of the Ḥasidim, The Later Masters (1966), 81–95.
[Yitzchak Raphael]