Rabbi Shimshon of Ostropola

Rabbi Shimshon of Ostropola (1600-1648); Kabbalist from Ostropol, Poland. Murdered by Cossacks during Chmelnitzki Massacres of 1648-49 (Tach ve'Tat). Authored a commentary on the kabalistic work Ḳarnayim, and a commentary on the Zohar titled Machane Dan which was not been preserved. Other works include Dan Yadin, a commentary on an early cryptic kabalistic work called Sefer Karnayim, and a collection of Torah commentaries called Nitzotzay Shimshon. The secrets of Kabbalah were very sacred in the eyes of Rabbi Shimshon, and he was afraid to reveal them. In his writings, he often asks G-d for forgiveness in case he reveals something he was not supposed to. The Ramchal writes that Rabbi Shimshon besworn the Sitra Achra regarding the Decrees of Tach ve'Tat, which answered that only if the Shabbat, Milah, and the Torah should be abolished will the decrees be abolished. Rabbi Shimshon answered that not even one letter in the Torah should be abolished. The Chmelnitzki Massacres saw 100,000 Jews in Poland massacred.