Yaakov Yitzchak of Lublin
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Yaakov Yitzchak HaLevi Horowitz (Template:Langx), known as "the Seer of Lublin" (Template:Script/Hebrew), ha-Chozeh MiLublin; (c. 1745 - August 15, 1815)<ref name=YIVO>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> was a Hasidic rebbe from Poland.<ref name=Had>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} "Rabbi Yaacov Yitzchak, the Chozeh of Lublin, is one of the truly beloved figures of Chassidism. He merited the title of Chozeh, which means seer or visionary ..."</ref><ref name=HiD>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
He was a disciple of the Maggid of Mezritch. He continued his studies under Shmelke of Nilkolsburg and Elimelech of Lizhensk. He lived for a while in Lantzut before moving to Lublin.<ref name=Dark>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
After Horowitz moved to Lublin, thousands of Hasidim flocked to learn from him.<ref name=JP>Template:Cite news</ref> Among his disciples were such Hasidic luminaries as Yaakov Yitzchak Rabinowicz ("the Holy Jew"), Simcha Bunim of Peshischa, Meir of Apta, David of Lelov, Moshe Teitelbaum, Tzvi Elimelech of Dinov, Naftali Zvi of Ropshitz, and Shalom Rokeach of Belz. Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak was known as the "Seer of Lublin" (Chozeh MiLublin) due to his reputed prophetic insight and spiritual vision. His disciples, followers, and contemporaries testified that he possessed the ability to perceive realities beyond the physical realm — across spatial dimensions such as distance, height, and depth, as well as temporal dimensions, including past and future events. Witnesses also attributed to him the capacity to discern people's innermost thoughts, words, and hidden actions. He was further described as having visions of spiritual worlds, including Heaven, Hell, reincarnated souls, and angels.<ref>Yisrael Aharon Walden, Niflaot HaRebbe (Warsaw, 1911, Hebrew); idem, Ohel HaRebbe (Warsaw, 1913, Hebrew). These two books were compiled nearly a century after the passing of the Chozeh of Lublin. Rabbi Walden gathered Torah teachings and stories, including testimonies from individuals whose parents had personal acquaintance with the Chozeh or who themselves knew people who had visited him. Although many books about early Hasidic leaders were published in that era, these are among the first volumes dedicated solely to the life and legacy of the Chozeh of Lublin.</ref> His students regarded him as a figure akin to a biblical prophet.<ref>Yerucham Fishel Hager, Avnei Zikaron (Jerusalem: 2009, Hebrew). This work compiles material from older Hasidic sources written by disciples of the Chozeh of Lublin. It includes quotations, praises, and stories about the Chozeh, many of them drawn from first-hand accounts or testimonies preserved through direct oral transmission. The book serves as a curated anthology of early Hasidic memory and reverence toward the Chozeh.</ref> During his stay in Lublin, Horowitz was opposed by a prominent mitnaged rabbi, Azriel Horowitz.<ref name=JP/> He established his synagogue there at Szeroka 28 in the Jewish Quarter of Lublin.<ref>https://teatrnn.pl/leksykon/artykuly/szeroka-28-w-lublinie-nie-istnieje/ from the "Grodzka Gate - NN Theatre" Center in Lublin, https://ia903205.us.archive.org/BookReader/BookReaderImages.php?zip=/21/items/nybc313868/nybc313868_jp2.zip&file=nybc313868_jp2/nybc313868_0125.jp2&id=nybc313868&scale=4&rotate=0 Lublin Yizkor (memorial) book 1967, page 244</ref> Even after Horowitz's death the synagogue remained the heart and soul for the scholars of the city.<ref>https://ia902907.us.archive.org/BookReader/BookReaderImages.php?zip=/6/items/nybc313867/nybc313867_jp2.zip&file=nybc313867_jp2/nybc313867_0178.jp2&id=nybc313867&scale=4&rotate=0, https://ia902907.us.archive.org/BookReader/BookReaderImages.php?zip=/6/items/nybc313867/nybc313867_jp2.zip&file=nybc313867_jp2/nybc313867_0156.jp2&id=nybc313867&scale=4&rotate=0 Dos bukh fun Lublin (Lublin memorial book in Yiddish, 1952 page 153, 175</ref> During the war the building was demolished to the ground, and was never rebuilt.<ref>https://teatrnn.pl/leksykon/artykuly/szeroka-28-w-lublinie-nie-istnieje/ from the "Grodzka Gate - NN Theatre" Center in Lublin</ref> Lately the Lublin Organization in New York<ref>The Lublin Organization was established to preserve the memory of the great Rabbis of Lublin</ref> made an attempt to restitute the property in order to rebuild the synagogue in remembrance of Rabbi Horowitz, but their efforts were unsuccessful.<ref>https://my-property-story.wjro.org.il/2023/02/08/on-the-land-of-28-szeroka/ testimony by the WJRO (World Jewish Restitution Organization)</ref>
Horowitz was a descendant of Isaiah Horowitz, a prominent rabbi and mystic,<ref name=YIVO/> and his maternal grandfather, Yaakov Koppel Likover, also a prominent rabbi and scholar, as well as a contemporary of the Ba'al Shem Tov.
He was injured in a fall from a window on Simchat Torah night, following the ritual hakafos dancing, and died almost a year later on Tisha B'av<ref>'Codex Judaica' M.Kantor, p.261</ref> from injuries relating to this fall. He is buried in the Old Jewish Cemetery, Lublin. His great grandson was Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira of Piaseczna.
Works
His writings are contained in four books:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Dead link</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Divrei Emet
- Zot Zikaron
- Zikaron Zot
- Zikaron Tov
In a compilation of these works, entitled Torat HaChozeh MiLublin, his commentaries are arranged alphabetically according to topics and according to the weekly Torah portion.