Rabbi Moshe Leib of Sassov רבי משה לייב מסאסוב
a disciple of Rabbi Shmelke; the "lover of Israel" of the chasidic tales; teacher of Zhidachov and Kosov
He studied under Rabbi Shmelke in Nikolsburg for thirteen years, then under Rabbi Elimelech. He settled in Sassov in Galicia.
What he is remembered for. Tales: how he ransomed Jews from debtors’ prison, how he carried firewood at night to a sick widow, how he danced at an orphans’ wedding. The chasidic phrase ahavas Yisrael, love of Israel, is in the tales most often tied to his name. He himself said he had not learned to love until he heard from a peasant: "if you do not know what I lack, how can you say you love me".
A teacher. With all that he was the teacher of the two most kabbalistic courts of Galicia: Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch of Zhidachov and Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kosov studied under him.
He died on 4 Shevat 1807.
On the timeline
Related
Sources
Acharonim and later rabbinic literature
- The chasidic tales of Rabbi Moshe Leib — what he is remembered for
- The Zhidachov and Kosov traditions on their teacher — two courts name him as teacher
Basis: documents and evidence.