Yearot Devash

Ye’arot Devash - Rav Yonatan Eybeschutz (1690-1764), Hamburg, Prague, Vienna, Lithuania; Decendent from the family of R’ Natan Neta Shapirah, The Megale Amukot. An exceptional Talmudist, Halachist and Kabbalist, he held positions as Dayan of Prague, and later rose to the position of Rabbi of the "Three Communities," Altona, Hamburg and Wandsbek. Fought allegations that he was a secret follower of the Shabbateanism, an outlawed movement centered around the false messiah Shabtai Zvi. This controversy spread to all major Jewish communities, and he was attacked by opponents until his death. A contemporary rabbinic tribunal exonerated him.