: Francis Drake.]] __NOTOC__ Year 1577 (MDLXXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.

Events of 1577

March 17 – The Cathay Company is formed to send Martin Frobisher back to the New World for more gold.

May 28 – The Bergen Book, better known as the Solid Declaration of the Formula of Concord, one of the Lutheran confessional writings, is published. The earlier version, known as the Torgau Book (1576), had been condensed into an Epitome; both documents are part of the 1580 Book of Concord.

September 17 – The Peace of Bergerac is signed between Henry III of France and the Huguenots.

December 13 – Sir Francis Drake sets out from Plymouth, England, on his round-the-world voyage.

Undated

The church in San Pedro de Atacama is built in the Atacama Desert in Chile .

The Union of Brussels is formed, first without the Protestant counties of Holland and Zeeland (which is accepted by king Philip II of Spain), later with the Protestants, which means open rebellion of the whole of the Netherlands.

Sir Francis Drake sails through the Strait of Magellan.

Births

January 12 – Jan Baptist van Helmont, Flemish chemist (d. 1644)

February 6 – Beatrice Cenci, Italian noblewoman who conspired to kill her father (d. 1599)

February 8 – Robert Burton, English scholar (d. 1640)

April 12 – King Christian IV of Denmark and Norway (d. 1648)

April 16 – Elisabeth of Nassau, regent of Sedan (d. 1642)

June 12 – Paul Guldin, Swiss Jesuit mathematician (d. 1643)

June 28 – Peter Paul Rubens, German painter (d. 1640)

July 9 – Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, English governor of Virginia (d. 1618)

October 17 – Cristofano Allori, Italian portrait painter (d. 1621)

November 10 – Jacob Cats, Dutch poet, jurist and politician (d. 1660)

November 25 – Piet Pieterszoon Hein, Dutch naval officer (d. 1629)

date unknown

* Giacomo Cavedone, Italian painter (d. 1660)

* William Noy, English jurist (d. 1634)

* Barnaby Potter, Bishop of Carlisle (d. 1642)

* Meletius Smotrytsky, Ruthenian religious activist and author, who developed Church Slavonic grammar (d. 1633)

* William Vaughan, Welsh writer and colonial investor (d. 1641)

* Gerhard Johann Vossius, German classical scholar and theologian (d. 1649)

Deaths

February 26 – King Eric XIV of Sweden (b. 1533)

May 5 – Viglius, Dutch statesman (b. 1507)

August 12 – Thomas Smith, English scholar and diplomat (b. 1513)

September 7 – Maria of Portugal (b. 1538)

October 7 – George Gascoigne, English poet (b. c. 1525)

November 19 – Matsunaga Hisahide, Japanese warlord (b. 1510)

November 29 – Cuthbert Mayne, English saint (b. 1543)

December 18 – Anna of Saxony, second wife of William the Silent

date unknown

* Richard Aertsz, Dutch painter (b. 1482)

* Adam of Bodenstein, Swiss alchemist and physician (b. 1528)

* Blaise de Lasseran-Massencôme, seigneur de Montluc, Marshal of France (b. 1502)

Robert W. "Robby" Gordon (born January 2, 1969) is an American racecar driver who currently competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, owning his #7 Toyota Camry, and also competes part-time in the Nationwide Series driving the #55 Toyota Camry. He has also raced in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Champ Car, the IRL, Trans-Am, IMSA, IROC and Dakar Rally. Gordon is regarded as one of the best road course drivers in NASCAR. Along with Tony Stewart, Joe Nemechek and Michael Waltrip, Gordon participates in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series as an owner/driver. He is not related to fellow Sprint Cup driver, Jeff Gordon. Robby and his Robby Gordon Motorsports team are currently the stars of a reality tv series following the daily operations of his organization called SpeedFactory.tv

Off-road racing

Robby, the son of off-road legend "Baja Bob" Gordon, started out competing in off road racing. He won 5 consecutive SCORE International off-road class championships from 1986–1990, a sixth championship in 1996, and a seventh championship in 2009. Gordon also won two championships in the Mickey Thompson stadium series, and in three Baja 1000’s in 1987, 1989, and 2006. Gordon has continued off-road racing throughout his career in Champ Car and NASCAR. As of 2006, he currently fields a team in SCORE, where he is a part time driver. In 2005 Gordon took part in the famous 16 day Dakar Rally, driving for the Red Bull sponsored Volkswagen team. He became the first American in the history of the rally to win a stage in the car division. He won two stages in total and a 12th place division finish. Gordon also won the 2005 Baja 500 covering the course in 9 hours, 10 minutes, 32 seconds. In 2006, Gordon took part in the Dakar Rally in a Hummer H3. Team Dakar USA did well until stage 9, when a damaged radiator caused late arrival at Atar, Mauritania, and subsequent disqualification. Gordon and co-driver Andy McMillin won the trophy truck class in the 2006 Baja 1000, finishing second overall in the race. After that, Gordon competed in his third Dakar Rally in 2007, driving the Monster Energy Hummer H3 for Team Dakar USA. He finished in the 8th position, his best finish in this race. His current trophy truck sponsor is Monster Energy and drove his Monster Energy truck in the 2007 Baja 500 with a second overall finish. Gordon's sisters Beccy Gordon and Robyn Gordon competed in the 2006 Baja 1000 on the all woman team All-American Girl Racing.

Gordon races in selected Traxxas TORC Series events as his schedule permits, including the 2010 AMSOIL Cup World Championship race at Crandon International Off-Road Raceway. He led the first lap of the race before retiring with mechanical difficulties.

Robby Gordon finished 3rd in the 2009 Dakar Rally in South America (where the event was moved after terrorist threats led the cancellation of the 2008 event). He finished 8th in the 2010 Dakar Rally in South America with his Monster Energy truck.

IMSA

In 1990, Gordon began racing sports cars. He won races in both Trans-Am and IMSA Camel GT, where he had four consecutive class wins in the 24 Hours of Daytona from 1990–1994, and three consecutive 12 Hours of Sebring class wins.

Open Wheel

Last series	CART Championship Car
Years active	1992-1999
Teams	Chip Ganassi RacingA. J. Foyt EnterprisesWalker RacingHogan RacingArciero-Wells RacingGordon Motorsports
Starts	106
Wins	2
Poles	4
Best finish	5th
Year	1994 & 1995

Gordon’s first start in the CART IndyCar series came in 1992. His first full season and Indy 500 start would come in 1993. He raced for Derrick Walker from 1994–96. With Walker, he captured his first career pole in 1994 (Toronto), and both his CART career wins in 1995 (Phoenix and Detroit). For 1998 and 1999, Gordon fielded his own team in the series with little success. Gordon raced 10 times in the Indy 500 from 1993 to 2004 fielding his own team in 1999, 2000 and 2004. He, along with John Andretti and Tony Stewart, are the only three drivers to race in the Coca-Cola 600 and Indy 500 in the same day. In 1999, Gordon came within one lap of winning. He inherited the lead by virtue of not stopping for a final pit stop and tried to conserve enough fuel to last until the end of the race. He ran out on lap 199 (of 200) and had to give up the lead to Sweden's Kenny Bräck.

During his time in open-wheel, Gordon earned a reputation as a tough and sometimes overly aggressive racer. According to Gordon, his decision to leave open wheel was based largely on safety concerns.

Indy 500 results

NASCAR

Cup series

Gordon's Winston Cup debut came in 1991, driving two races, including the Daytona 500 for Junie Donlavey in the #90 Ford. In 1993, Gordon drove the #28 Texaco Ford for Robert Yates Racing at Talladega in the team's first race after the death of driver Davey Allison. In 1994 Gordon drove in one race for Michael Kranefuss starting and finishing 38th at Michigan. In 1996 Gordon raced at Charlotte in what was one of the first starts ever for Dale Earnhardt Inc.. He also raced at Rockingham and Phoenix for Felix Sabates. Gordon's first full time ride came in 1997 with Felix Sabates' Team SABCO. Gordon raced in 22 starts with SABCO, and captured the pole at Atlanta. He also finished 4th at Watkins Glen, his only top-ten finish of the year. He returned to NASCAR full time in 2000, attempting to run his own team. Again, the results were disappointing; he failed to qualify for several races and finished with only 2 top-tens in 17 starts.

Gordon started the 2001 season for driving for Morgan-McClure Motorsports in the #4 Kodak Chevrolet, but was replaced by Kevin Lepage after only five races. Gordon returned to racing in a one-off agreement with Ultra Motorsports, where he replaced the team's regular driver Mike Wallace in the #7 NationsRent Ford for the June race at Sears Point. He was leading near the end of the race, but was passed by Tony Stewart for the win after allowing Stewart to catch up due to a battle to keep Kevin Harvick from gaining a lap back.

Later in the same season, he joined Richard Childress Racing as a replacement for the injured Mike Skinner. Gordon won the final race of the season at New Hampshire after a controversial incident resulting in the race leader, Jeff Gordon spinning after contact in the closing stages of the race. (Jeff, who thought Robby had spun him and had been running second at the time, rammed him during the caution flag and got a black flag, clinching the win for the other Gordon. The race, which had originally been scheduled for September, was postponed after 9/11, and after the event Robby announced he would donate all his winnings to the victims of the 9/11 attacks.) Gordon continued to race for Richard Childress through the 2004 season, staying in the headlines through many controversial incidents. In 2003, he earned his first road course win at Sears Point, after a controversial but legal pass under caution of his then teammate, Kevin Harvick. Gordon took his third career win later in the year at Watkins Glen. He, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch are the only drivers to win both road course events (at Infineon Raceway and Watkins Glen) in one season since the two became part of the current Sprint Cup schedule.

In 2004, at the first stop for the Chase at New Hampshire, Robby Gordon and Greg Biffle made contact early in the race. Later, Robby intentionally wrecked Biffle, whose spinning car also took out Chase contenders Tony Stewart and Jeremy Mayfield. As a result of their DNF's, neither Stewart nor Mayfield were serious contenders in the 2004 Chase after that point. Though team owner Richard Childress asked Robby to stay, Robby announced in late 2004 that he would be operating his own NEXTEL Cup team.

For 2005, Gordon moved his Busch Series team up to the Nextel Cup, and was the only owner/driver left. Robby’s primary sponsor was Jim Beam Bourbon; his crew chief was Greg Erwin. Fruit of the Loom had the temporary privilege of playing primary sponsor for 9 races in the 2005 season. Menards was also the primary sponsor in some select races, as well as Harrah's. Gordon again struggled as an owner/driver, finishing with only two-top tens in 29 starts and failing to qualify for several races. In 2006, Gordon's team used engines from Dale Earnhardt, Inc., and showed considerable improvement over the previous year's performance over the first few races. He dominated the first quarter of the first Atlanta race in the season, and performed well at Sonoma and Watkins Glen, qualifying and finishing in the top 10 in both races. For the 2007 season, Gordon switched to the Ford Fusion, with engines supplied from Roush-Yates. He had two top-tens and finished 26th in points.

On February 1, 2008, Robby Gordon said he would go to Dodge in 2008. He also announced a technical, manufacturing and marketing services agreement with Gillett Evernham Motorsports. After dropping to 33rd in points, Gordon announced he would be running Toyotas in 2009. Today, he, Michael Waltrip, and now Tony Stewart are the only owner/drivers on the circuit. However, unlike Waltrip (co-owns team with Robert Kauffman) and Stewart (partnered with Gene Haas), Gordon has no ownership partner.

Gordon will compete in fewer races for 2010, as Jim Beam did not renew its contract and due to scheduling conflicts. The team finished 34th in 2009 owner's standings. In January 2010, Gordon formed an alliance with BAM Racing. In 2010, with Ted Musgrave driving, his team failed to qualify at Pocono, the first time since the 2005 race at Texas. A penalty involving another team moved the #7 back into the Top 35. Due to a commitment in Argentina, Bobby Labonte drove the #7 at Loudon. P. J. Jones and Kevin Conway have also shared the #7; Gordon entered a #07 car for a number of races.

Nationwide Series

Gordon's first Nationwide Series experience came in 2001 when he ran 3 races for Richard Childress Racing in the #21 Rockwell Automation Chevrolet. His best finish was 5th at Watkins Glen International

In 2004 Gordon started his own then Busch Series team (Now known as the Nationwide Series), driving in 25 races and earning one win which came at Richmond.

He participated in several Nationwide races in 2006, including a few for Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Nationwide team (JR Motorsports). The most notable highlight of his season was a second place finish at Watkins Glen on August 12. Driving his own #7 Chevy, Gordon went door-to-door with Kurt Busch, driver of the #39 car for Penske South Racing, for the final few laps. Gordon gained ground in the chicane, almost catching Busch. The two cars went wildly into the grass and dirt, almost wrecking each other. Gordon was able to save his car, as Busch went down the final straightaway to win the race. While being interviewed in victory lane Busch gave Gordon praise for a great race and said it reminded him of his race with Ricky Craven at Darlington in 2003.

On March 28, 2008 Robby Gordon and the #22 Supercuts Dodge Team of Fitz Motorsports joined forces for a part time schedule in the NASCAR Nationwide Series after driver Mike Bliss left the team to drive the #1 Chevrolet owned by James Finch. As of the press release Robby is slated to drive both the Phoenix and Texas Nationwide Series events in the #22 car.

Robby drove his #55 Mapei/Menards Dodge in the Chicagoland Race in July. He also started the Watkins Glen race in his #55 Jim Beam Dodge in 2nd place and finished in 19th position.

Controversies

During the 2005 running of the Sylvania 300, Gordon was involved in a wreck with Michael Waltrip, the driver of the #15 NAPA Chevrolet. The angered Gordon got out of his totaled car and threw his helmet at the #15 car as it was passing by. Tony Stewart's #20 missed the helmet just seconds after it hit Waltrip's car. When TNT interviewed him about the crash, he stated "People think Michael is a good guy, but he's not the good guy. The caution came out and he wrecked me; and he's a piece of shit." TNT apologized for his language, and Gordon apologized after the race, but Gordon was fined $50,000 and docked 50 drivers points. When asked by some people for the helmet, Gordon decided to auction it for the benefit of the Harrah's Employee Relief Fund, a fund that provides aid to Harrah's employees displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The helmet fetched $51,100, and was purchased by GoldenPalace.com.

During the 2006 Bass Pro Shops 500, he brought controversy by throwing roll bar padding onto the track at Atlanta Motor Speedway, drawing a caution flag that had a significant impact for the end of the race, especially drivers in pit road, most notably NEXTEL Cup contender Jeff Burton who wound up finishing 13th. Video from the race was not conclusive as to if he did in fact put debris on the track but NASCAR reacted by docking Gordon 50 points (each in the Driver and Car Owner categories) and a $15,000 fine. Gordon has denied he intentionally threw the debris.

During the inaugural NAPA Auto Parts 200 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in 2007, Gordon was involved in an on-circuit altercation with fellow driver Marcos Ambrose. Gordon passed Ambrose to take the lead at the same time as a multi-car wreck was unfolding behind them; Ambrose spun him, under a yellow flag, to reclaim it seconds later. After an unusually long delay in sorting out the field for the restart, NASCAR eventually determined that Gordon would restart in 13th position. Gordon, who had a strong race all day, refused to go to that position, and was black flagged after the restart, and after spinning out Ambrose. Gordon did not come in for his penalty and was then given the black flag with diagonal white cross, meaning that his subsequent laps were no longer being scored. As a result, he finished 18th. Following the race, Gordon proceeded to do burnouts on the front straightaway as if celebrating his victory, alongside race winner Kevin Harvick. He announced in a post-race interview that he would appeal the result of the race. However, NASCAR suspended Gordon for the following day's race at Pocono. In a statement released soon after the NASCAR announcement, Gordon apologized for his actions but maintained that NASCAR made a mistake in telling him to line up in the 13th position.

Gordon was docked 100 driver and owner points as a result of rule infractions during Speedweeks of 2008 at Daytona. Gordon's car was found with an unapproved front bumper cover. His crew chief Frank Kerr was suspended for 6 weeks until April 9, 2008, was fined $100,000, and placed on probation until December 31, 2008. Gordon was not fined. Gordon appealed the penalty issued by NASCAR in of February, 2008. Gordon issued a press statement. "This was an innocent mistake made by someone not even on our race team. They accidentally sent us the new Dodge noses that haven't yet been approved by NASCAR." According to NASCAR Robby Gordon's Dodge nose says Charger, but it is actually an Avenger and it had the approved nose's part number. On March 5, 2008, the penalty against him was rescinded by NASCAR following the appeal, and he gained back his 100 driver points and the suspension was lifted. Despite this, the fine was increased to $150,000.

Gordon's off-road finishes have also been the source of controversy. His second place finish in the San Felipe 250, March 2009, was overshadowed by allegations, supported by, that in a very remote area he verred off course and drove down a cliff. The maneuver let him bypass a difficult section of the course, get ahead of another competitor without having to pass, and was a four mile shortcut. Trophy Truck competitor Ed Herbst filed a protest, which was supported by evidence from a pit crew known as the Baja Fools who had set up a pit stop in that section of the course. On investigation, two sets of Toyo tire tracks (identical to those on Gordon's truck) were found which established the four-mile shortcut. The protest was denied based on the fact that given Gordon's average speed, the four-mile shortcut would not have changed the results. After initially filing an appeal of the decision, Herbst, who shares a sponsor with Gordon, elected to withdraw the appeal and the results were deemed final.

Likewise, Robby was initially declared the winner of the 2009 Baja 500 on June 6, 2009. However, he was stripped of the title and moved to seventh place after it was determined that he violated two rules: one a fueling violation, the other a highway speed violation. A total of 100 minutes in penalties were assessed: 90 minutes for the more serious fueling violation where an amateur video proved that he illegally received fuel on the highway, and 10 minutes for the speed violation.

Gordon's troubles with NASCAR rules continued in 2009. He was caught with excessive rear toe (angle of the wheels to the car) after the May 27, 2009 Coca-Cola 600 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. This illegal adjustment permits the car to carry more speed into the corner. Gordon was docked 50 points and his crew chief was fined $50,000. Gordon elected not to appeal the infraction.

In 2010, the car Gordon owns and drives was found to have illegal parts during inspection on May 7, 2010 before a race at Darlington Raceway. Gordon was docked 25 owner points and 25 driver points. His crew chief, Samuel Stanley was fined $25,000 and placed on NASCAR probation for the rest of the year. This fine brought Gordon's five year total to a $290,000 paid to NASCAR.

Nationwide Series Wins

Emerson Radio 250 at Richmond International Raceway on September 10, 2004

Craftsman Truck Series

Gordon has run 4 career Truck Series races with one top-5 and 2 top-10 finishes. He has run for Team SABCO, Bobby Hamilton Racing, and Morgan-Dollar Motorsports.

Significant Victories

7 SCORE International championships (1986–90, 1996, 2009)

3 time Baja 1000 winner

4 Dakar Rally stage victories

3 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins (New Hampshire '01, Infineon 03', Watkins Glen 03')

1 NASCAR Sprint Cup Gatorade 125 Win (2003)

1 NASCAR Nationwide Series win (Richmond '04)

2 CART wins (Phoenix and Detroit '95)

1 Central Europe Rally Special wins (2008 CER Stage 5 Scratch 1 winner (1/2 stage) Hummer)

References

External links

Robby Gordon's personal and RGM team site

Racing-Reference Stats

Category:1969 births Category:American racecar drivers Category:American rally drivers Category:American sportspeople of Scottish descent Category:Dakar Rally drivers Category:Indianapolis 500 drivers Category:International Race of Champions drivers Category:Indy Racing League drivers Category:Living people Category:NASCAR drivers Category:NASCAR owners Category:Sportspeople from California Category:Trans-Am drivers

's statue popularly ascribed to Loew at the new town hall of Prague in the Czech Republic.]] Judah Loew ben Bezalel, alt. Loewe, Löwe, or Levai, (c. 1520 – 17 September 1609) widely known to scholars of Judaism as the Maharal of Prague, or simply The MaHaRaL, the Hebrew acronym of "Moreinu ha-Rav Loew," ("Our Teacher, Rabbi Loew") was an important Talmudic scholar, Jewish mystic, and philosopher who served as a leading rabbi in the city of Prague in Bohemia for most of his life.

Within the world of Torah and Talmudic scholarship, he is known for his works on Jewish philosophy and Jewish mysticism and his work Gur Aryeh al HaTorah, a supercommentary on Rashi's Torah commentary.

The Maharal is particularly known for the legend that he created The Golem of Prague, an animate being fashioned from clay, using mystical powers based on the esoteric knowledge of how God created Adam. This legend, which first appeared in print nearly 200 years after the Maharal's death, states he created the golem to defend the Jews of the Prague Ghetto from antisemitic attacks; particularly blood libels emanating from certain prejudiced quarters. There are no contemporary accounts of this occurring.

Rabbi Loew is buried at the Old Jewish Cemetery, Prague in Josefov, where his grave and intact tombstone can still be visited. His descendants' surnames include Loewy, Loeb, Lowy, Oppenheimer, Pfaelzer, and Keim.

Biography

where he officiated.]] .]] The Maharal was probably born in Poznań (Poland, though Perels lists the birth town - mistakenly and 1526. His uncle Jacob was Reichsrabbiner ("Rabbi of the Empire") of the Holy Roman Empire, his brother Chaim of Friedberg a famous rabbinical scholar. Traditionally it is believed that the Maharal's family descended from the Babylonian Exilarchs (during the era of the geonim) and therefore also from the Davidic dynasty. He received his formal education in various yeshivas (Talmudical schools).

He was independently wealthy, probably as a result of his father's successful business enterprises. He accepted a rabbinical position in 1553 as Landesrabbiner of Moravia at Mikulov (Nikolsburg), directing community affairs but also determining which tractate of the Talmud was to be studied in the communities in that province. He also revised the community statutes on the election and taxation process. Although he retired from Moravia in 1588 at age 60, the communities still considered him an authority long after that.

One of his activities in Moravia was the rallying against slanderous slurs on legitimacy (Nadler) that were spread in the community against certain families and could ruin the finding of a marriage partner for the children of those families. This phenomenon even affected his own family. He used one of the two yearly grand sermons (between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur 1583) to denounce the phenomenon.

He moved back to Prague in 1588, where he again accepted a rabbinical position, replacing the retired Isaac Hayoth. He immediately reiterated his views on Nadler. On 23 February 1592, he had an audience with Emperor Rudolf II, which he attended together with his brother Sinai and his son-in-law Isaac Cohen; Prince Bertier was present with the emperor. The conversation seems to have been related to Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) a subject which held much fascination for the emperor.

In 1592, the Maharal moved to Poznań, where he had been elected as Chief Rabbi of Poland. In Poznań he composed Netivoth Olam and part of Derech Chaim (see below). Towards the end of his life he moved back to Prague, where he died in 1609. He is buried there; his tomb is a famous tourist attraction. A daughter of the Maharal, born c 1565, married Rabbi Zachariah Mendel Gelernter d ? Poznan.

His name

His name "Löw" or "Loew", derived from the German Löwe, "lion" (cf. the Yiddish Leib of the same origin), is a kinnuy or substitute name for the Hebrew Judah or Yehuda, as this name - originally of the tribe of Judah - is traditionally associated with a lion. In the Book of Genesis, the patriarch Jacob refers to his son Judah as a Gur Aryeh, a "Young Lion" (Genesis 49:9) when blessing him . In Jewish naming tradition the Hebrew name and the substitute name are often combined as a pair, as in this case. The Maharal's classic work on the Rashi commentary of the Pentateuch is called the Gur Aryeh al HaTorah, in Hebrew: "Young Lion [commenting] upon the Torah". The Maharal's tomb in Prague is decorated with a heraldic shield with a lion with two intertwined tails (queue fourchee), alluding both to his first name and to Bohemia, the arms of which has a two-tailed lion.

Influence

Disciples

It is unknown how many Talmudic rabbinical scholars the Maharal taught in Moravia, but the main disciples from the Prague period include Rabbis Yom Tov Lipmann Heller and David Ganz. The former promoted his teacher's program of regular Mishnah study by the masses, and composed his Tosefoth Yom Tov (a Mishnah commentary incorporated into almost all published editions of the Mishnah over the past few hundred years) with this goal in mind. David Ganz died young, but produced the work Tzemach David, a work of Jewish and general history, as well as writing on astronomy; both the MaHaRal and Ganz were in contact with Tycho Brahe, the famous astronomer.

Jewish philosophy

In the words of a modern writer, the Maharal "prevented the Balkanization of Jewish thought" (Rabbi Yitzchak Adlerstein 2000, citing Rabbi Nachman Bulman).

His works inspired the Polish branch of Hasidism, as well as a more recent wave of Torah scholars originating from Lithuania and Latvia, most markedly Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler (1892–1953) as well as Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook (1864–1935). A more recent authority who had roots in both traditions was Rabbi Isaac Hutner (1906–1980). Rabbi Hutner succinctly defined the ethos of the Maharal's teachings as being Nistar BeLashon Nigleh, meaning (in Hebrew): "The Hidden in the language of the Revealed". That is, the Maharal couched kabbalistic ideas in non-kabbalistic language. As a mark of his devotion to the ways of the Maharal, Rabbi Hutner bestowed the name of the Maharal's key work the Gur Aryeh upon a branch of the yeshiva he headed when he established its kollel (a yeshiva for post-graduate Talmud scholars) which then became a division of the Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin in New York during the 1950s, known as Kollel Gur Aryeh. Both of these institutions, and the graduates they produce, continue to emphasize the serious teachings of the Maharal. Rabbi Hutner in turn also maintained that Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808–1888) (Germany, 19th century) must also have been influenced by the Maharal's ideas basing his seemingly rationalistic Weltanschauung on the more abstract and abstruse teachings of the hard-to-understand Jewish Kabbalah.

Rabbi Judah Loew was not a champion of the open study of Kabbalah as such, and none of his works are in any way openly devoted to it. According to him, only the greatest of Torah scholars are able to discern his true original inspirations and the intellectual framework for his ideas in their complex entirety. Nevertheless, kabbalistic ideas permeate his writings in a rational and philosophic tone. His main kabbalistic influences appear to have been the Zohar, Sefer Yetzirah, and traditions of the Chassidei Ashkenaz, as Lurianic Kabbalah had not by that time reached Europe.

Although he could not reconcile himself to the investigations of Azariah di Rossi, he defused the tension between the Aggada (narrative, non-legal parts of the Talmud) and rationalism by his allegorical interpretations of difficult passages. He was entirely in favor of scientific research insofar as the latter did not contradict divine revelation, all the while insisting on finding deep meaning in all the contributions of Talmudic teachers.

Descendants

Among his many descendants were Schneur Zalman of Liadi, founder of Chabad Hasidism. Through him, he is the ancestor of many prominent later Jewish individuals, including Menachem Mendel Schneerson, seventh Rebbe of Lubavitch, and Yehudi Menuhin, the famous violinist.

Literature

The legend of his creation of a golem inspired Gustav Meyrink's 1915 novel Der Golem. Various other books have been inspired by this legend, the authenticity of which has been doubted; although the Golem motif is old, the connection between the Golem on the one hand and the Maharal and Prague on the other is known only from circa 1837 The famous story of the Golem of Prague created by the Maharal, which is usually considered to be a Jewish folk story from the 18th century at the latest, is considered by literary resercher Eli Eshed, who had published research on the subject in Hebrew ( http://www.notes.co.il/eshed/60482.asp), to be a later literary invention. According to Eshed , the story was created by Jewish German writer Berthold Auerbach for his 1837 novel Spinoza. Eshed suppose that the story of the Golem of Prague is the original creation of Auerbach which served as a "trigger " to almost immediate explosion in publication for various poems, stories, plays, novels and such and so created a false impression that it is an "ancient folk story" when in reality it was a completely modern invention by a well known writer . Maharal is featured in the book He, She and It and the Dutch work De Procedure ("The Procedure", Harry Mulisch, 1999), both retellings of the Golem legend. A poem by Jorge Luis Borges, entitled El Golem also tells the story of Judah Loew (Judá León) and his giving birth to the Golem. In that poem, Borges quotes the works of German Jewish philosopher Gershom Scholem. "The Maharal" by Yaakov Dovid Shulman (in English) questions if the stories about the golem are true. Even a Caldecott Medal winner (Golem by David Wisniewski) mentions Loew as Rabbi Loew. The fictional book Iron Council by China Miéville has a character named Judah Low who creates golems. In Leo Perutz' historical novel Nachts unter der steinernen Brücke (By Night Under the Stone Bridge) Loew appears as a key figure.

Rabbi Loew (spelled as 'Low') is also a major character in Abraham Rothberg's 1970 "The Sword of the Golem." Rabbi Loew and his descendants figure prominently in 2002's "Sword of The Golem" and 2004's "The Council of Eleven: Shall We Not Revenge" both by Jeff Minde and Ken Tucker.

The Golem of Prague is a major plot device in Michael Chabon's 2000 The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay.

Works

Gur Aryeh ("Young Lion", see above), a supercommentary on Rashi's Pentateuch commentary

Netivoth Olam ("Pathways of the World"), a work of ethics

Tif'ereth Yisrael ("The Glory of Israel"), philosophical exposition on the Torah, intended for the holiday of Shavuot

Gevuroth Hashem ("God's Might[y Acts]"), for the holiday of Passover

Netzach Yisrael ("The Eternity of Israel"; Netzach "eternity", has the same root as the word for victory), on Tisha B'Av (an annual day of mourning about the destruction of the Temples and the Jewish exile) and the final deliverance

Ner Mitzvah ("The Candle of the Commandment"), on Hanukkah

Or Chadash ("A New Light"), on Purim

Derech Chaim ("Way of Life"), a commentary on the Mishnah tractate Avoth

Be'er ha-Golah ("The Well of the Diaspora"), an explanatory work on the Talmudic and Midrashic Aggadah, mainly responding to interpretations by the Italian scholar Azariah di Rossi (min ha-Adumim)

Chiddushei Aggadot ("Novellae on the Aggada", the narrative portions of the Talmud), discovered in the 20th century

Derashot (collected "Sermons")

Divrei Negidim ("Words of Rectors"), a commentary on the Seder of Pesach, published by a descendant

Chiddushei al Ha-Shas, a commentary on Talmud, recently published for the first time from a manuscript by Machon Yerushalyim on Bava Metzia, others may be forthcoming.

Various other works, such as his responsa and works on the Jewish Sabbath and the holidays of Sukkot, Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, have not been preserved.

His works on the holidays bear titles that were inspired by the Biblical verse in I Chronicles 29:11: "Yours, O Lord, are the greatness, and the might, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and on the earth [is Yours]; Yours is the kingdom and [You are He] Who is exalted over everything as the Leader." The book of "greatness" (gedula) on the Sabbath was not preserved, but the book of "power" (gevurah) is Gevurath Hashem, the book of glory is Tif'ereth Yisrael, and the book of "eternity" or "victory" (netzach) is Netzach Yisrael.

Commemoration

In April 1997 Czech Republic and Israel issued a joint set of stamps, one of which featured the tombstone of Loew. In May 2009 the Czech Post issued a stamp commemorating the 400th anniversary of Loew’s death. In June 2009 the Czech Mint issued a commemorative coin marking the same milestone.

See also

André Neher

Kerem Maharal, a moshav in northern Israel name in his honour

Notes and references

Articles and books

Byron L. Sherwin, Mystical Theology and Social Dissent: The Life and Works of Judah Loew of Prague (Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1982)

Rivka Schatz, "Maharal's Conception of Law- Antithesis to Natural Law" Jewish Law Annual Vol. VI.

Rivka Schatz, "Existence and Eschatology in the Teachings of the Maharal" Immanuel 14 (Spring 1982) 66-97; Immanuel 15 (Winter 1982-3) 62-72.

Moshe Zuriel "Numbers: Their meaning and Symbolism According to Maharal" [Hebrew] HaMaayan 18:3 (1978) 14-23; 18:4 (1978) 30-41, reprinted in Sefer Ozrot Gedolei Yisroel (Jerusalem:2000) volume 1, pp. 204–228.

Martin Buber, "The Beginning of the National Idea" On Zion: The History of an Idea. (New York, Schocken Books, 1973).

Otto Dov Kulka, "The Historical Background of the National and Educational Teachings of the Maharal of Prague" [Hebrew] Zion 50 (1985) 277-320.

Benjamin Gross, Netzah Yisrael (Tel Aviv: Devir, 1974)

Mordechai Breuer, "The Maharal of Prague's Disputation with Christians: A Reappraisal of Be'er Ha-Golah" in Tarbiz (1986) 253-260

Adlerstein Y. Be'er Hagolah: The Classic Defense of Rabbinic Judaism Through the Profundity of the Aggadah. New York, NY: Mesorah Publications, 2000. ISBN 1-57819-463-6.

Aharon Kleinberger, The Educational Theory of the Maharal of Prague [Hebrew] (Magnes: 1962).

Andre Neher, Jewish Thought and the Scientific Revolution: David Gans (1541–1613) and his times (Oxford-New York: Littman Library, 1986)

Neher, Faust et le Maharal de Prague: le Mythe et le Reel (Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1987);

Neher, Le Puits de l'Exil: la Theologie Dialectique du Maharal de Prague (Paris: A. Michel, 1996)

Neher, Mishnato shel ha-Maharal mi-Prague, Reʾuven Mass,c2003.

Gross, Benjamin, Yehi Or (Reʾuven Mass, 1995).

Gross, Benjamin, Netsah Yiśraʾel Tel Aviv : Devir, 1974.

Eliyahu Yaakov Deutsch, Shabbos Insights Of The Maharal Jerusalem: Targum, 2009.

External links

Articles

Maharal Conference Prague, 18-20 Elul 5769 / 7-9 September 2009, organized by Jewish Community of Prague maharal.name

Short biography of The Maharal of Prague chabad.org

Rabbi Judah Loew, The Maharal of Prague ou.org

Yehuda Loew — The Maharal jewishvirtuallibrary.org

Family tree

The Seder Plate of the Maharal from The Maharal Haggadah by Shlomo Mallin

Resources

Tiferet Yisrael, Hebrew Full-text

Gevurot HaShem, Hebrew Full-text

Ner Mitzvah, Hebrew Full-text

Netzach Israel Chapters 11-13, Hebrew Full-text

; Derech Chaim (Discussion):

and

Category:1525 births Category:1609 deaths Category:Early Acharonim Category:16th-century rabbis Category:17th-century rabbis Category:Kabbalists Category:Philosophers of Judaism Category:Religion in Prague Category:Czech folklore Category:Czech people of Polish descent Category:Czech Orthodox rabbis