a Selection of Famous Rabbinic Portraits and their Origins part III

This is a revised version of an article I originally published in the Jewish Press

Rabbinic portraits have been treasured by generations of Jews, for some,  as a way to remember someone they revered, for others, to be kept as amulets, or as a method to popularize his teachings. The Rabbis in the portraits themselves though, often objected to having their image taken and some took great lengths to prevent their dissemination. In some instances, the portraits were a method used by a publisher to promote the sales of the Rabbi's published work, at times reverting to creating an artist's rendition if no authentic portraits were available. Below is a look in to some portraits of famous Rabbis and their origins. 

Rabbi Raphael Hakohen of Hamburg 1722-1803

Portrait of R. Raphael Cohen from Chronik von Berlin

Rabbi Raphael ben Jekuthiel Susskind Cohen, was Chief Rabbi of the Jewish Communities of Altona-Hamburg-Wandsbek from 1775. During his lifetime, in 1789, a German newspaper, Chronik von Berlin published his portrait.

Portrait of R. Raphael Cohen from Ivah Lemoshav

In a book titled Ivah Lemoshav, first published in 1903, a very different portrait of his appears, alongside of a biography of his.

R. Aryeh Leib Ginsburg, the Sha'agat Aryeh (ca. 1695-1785)

There is one known portrait of the Sha'agat Aryeh, portraying him laying down with his eyes closed, it is uncertain if the portrait was made shortly before or shortly after his death. The portrait appears in Nathan Netter's Vingt Siècles d'Histoire d'une Communauté juive published in 1938, where the author writes how the image was obtained. Rabbi Yoel Leib Herzog, the father of Chief Rabbi Isaac Herzog, served as Rabbi in Paris, where he met Louis Bloch, who was a sixth generation descendant of the Sha'agat Aryeh. Rabbi Herzog asked him if the family had any portrait of him, and to his surprise he was informed by Bloch that his sister owned an oil painting of the Shaagas Aryeh, executed while he lay on his deathbed! Rabbi Herzog paid to have a reproduction made, and this is the one that we have today.

R. David Oppenheim, Chief Rabbi of Prague (1664-1736)

A print published in the late 1700s, popularized the portrait of the Chief Rabbi of Prague, R. David Oppenheim. The portrait is an engraving by the Bohemian engraver Johann Balzer, who based it on an original by Johann Kleinhard (1738-1799), a premier artist in Prague. The portrait depicts Oppenheim looking through a stone window, with a torch over his shoulder.

Menasseh Ben Israel (1604-1657)

Portrait of Menasseh Ben Israel by Salom Italia

R. Menasseh ben Israel was a Rabbi, Kabbalist, writer, diplomat, printer and publisher in Amsterdam. His portrait was made by noted artist Salom Italia in 1642, and subsequently appeared as a frontispiece to printed works authored by R. Menasseh Ben Israel, including in the 1652 printing of his Nishmat Hayyim. For centuries, many believed that a portrait of a Rabbi drawn by Rembrandt depicted Menasseh Ben Israel. 

portrait by Rembrandt, thought to be of Menasseh Ben Israel

Though they both lived in Amsterdam in the same period, and may have known each other, scholars believe that the portrait is not of Menasseh Ben-Israel, despite the similarities. 

Rabbi Shlomo Yehuda Leib Rapoport, known as Shir (1790-1867)

Rabbi Shlomo Yehuda Leib Rapoport, often refereed to by his acronym Shir, was the son in-law of Aryeh Leib HaCohen Heller, author of Ketzot Hachoshen and Avne Miluim. Shir served as Chief Rabbi of Prague from 1840 and his portrait is the work of Anotnín Machek (1775–1844), the leading Czech portrait painter of the first half of the 19th century. The portrait is now owned by the Jewish Museum, Prague.

Rabbi Yeshaya Steiner of Kerestir (1851 – 1925)

Rabbi Yeshaya Steiner was the founder of the Kerestirer Hasidic dynasty and served as Rabbi of the town of Kerestir. Reb Yeshayahle gained fame in his lifetime as a miracle worker and an exceedingly generous man who brought himself into debt to be able to support the needy. In the years since his passing, Reb Yeshayahle 's portrait has come to be attributed with the ability to ward off mice, and is commonly used in certain circles by affixing to a wall in an infested area. There are conflicting stories as to the origin of this belief, the more accepted version is the following: One of his disciples Shloime Engel had a mice infestation in his food warehouse. Consulting with R. Yeshayahle, The Rabbi quoted the Talmud noting that mice came as a punishment to those who did not tithe properly. When R. Yeshaya confirmed that indeed the tithe was being given properly, he formed a Bet Din and decreed that the mice had no case against Shloime Engel and committed his ruling to writing. The written ruling was affixed to the walls of his warehouse, putting an end to the infestation. 

R. Chaim Yosef David Azulai - The Chida (1724-1806)

The familiar portraits of the Chida we have today appear to be based on one singular painting of the Chida, drawn by an Italian artist in the late 18th century. The painting, a miniature, which is in full color was brought to Israel in 1960, alongside the body of the Chida, when it was brought for reburial in Har Hamenuchot in Jerusalem. 

R. Shabbatai HaKohen, the Shach (1621-1662) and the Magen Avraham, R. Abraham Abele Gombiner (1633-1683)

The Magen Avraham

The Shach

In the early 1900s, the Viennese artist Meir Kunstadt worked for the publishing house of Shlesinger-Sinai, which eventually made it's way to Tel Aviv. Kunstadt is credited with popularizing many of the Rabbinic portraits we have today, by creating illustrations for postcards, books and sukkah posters. Though they were intended as artist's renditions and not intended as authentic portraits, the portraits origins are at times forgotten and have been mistaken for the likeness of the Rabbis portrayed. One of Kunstadt's most popular drawings, was his series of postcards of famous Rabbis, including that of the Magen Avraham and the Shach, which have since been republished and today can be found in numerous variations.

R. Menahem Azariah da Fano, the Rema MiPano (1548-1620)

The Rema Mipano was an Italian Rabbi, Kabbalist and author of many sefarim. The one portrait that exists of him, was popularized in an article by David Kaufmann in Revue des études juives 1899. The portrait he printed is said to have come from Mantua, Italy and shows the Rema Mipano with a clean-cut beard, a subject which led to much to discussion. R. Shabbtai Baer in his sefer Be'er Esek published in Venice in 1674, writes that every Friday, the Rema MiPano would trim or shave his beard as was common in Italy at the time. R. Baer inferred from this custom, that Kabbalist teachings allow for the shaving of beards, a conclusion that was challenged shortly after. R. Yosef Ergas took R. Baer to task in Divre Yosef (Siman 25) published in 1742 and writes that the Rema MiPano did not shave his beard and bases his conclusion on a different portrait which he had seen.