- Joshua Zeitlin
Joshua Zeitlin, ( _he. יהושע צייטלין), (1742,
Shklov ,Belarus -August 18 ,1822 ,Kherson ,Novorossiya ), was aRussia nrabbinical scholar andphilanthropist . He was a pupil of theTalmud ist RabbiAryeh Leib ben Asher Gunzberg who was the author of "Sha'agat Aryeh"; and, being an expert in political economy, he stood in close relations with Prince Potemkin, the favorite ofCatherine II . During theTurko-Russian war Zeitlin furnished theRussian army with various supplies, and managed that business so cleverly that he was afterward appointed imperial court councilor.On retiring from business in civil rank of Court Counsellor, Zeitlin resided on his estate "Ustzia", where he was consulted by the rabbis with regard to rabbinical questions. He rendered pecuniary assistance to many Talmudists and scholars, and supported a magnificent
beit midrash , in which many Jewish scholars were provided with all the necessaries of life, so that they could pursue their vocations without worries of any kind. Among the scholars who benefited by his generosity: Rabbi Nahum, author of "TosafotBikkurim ";Mendel Lepin , author of "Cheshbon ha-Nefesh"; and the physicianBaruch Schick . Zeitlin was the author of annotations to the "Sefer Mitzwot Katan", printed with the text (Kopys, 1820), and supplemented by some of his "responsa".References
*JewishEncyclopedia |url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=88&letter=Z |article=Zeitlin, Joshua
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