HART, AARON. (Chief Rabbi of England)

(ANGLO-JUDAICA)

G. Pulley

London

1751

Three-quarter length portrait engraving, standing with right arm on book inscribed Beth Shmuel. In his left hand is a document marked “Get.” Lower register reads, “The Most Learned Aaron Hart RabbI Aged 81. Done from an original painting of B. Dandridge by H. James McArdell

Rubens 1527

An imposing figure, Aaron Hart (1670-1756), was appointed Chief Rabbi of the Great Synagogue of London in 1722 and filled that position until his death. Hart was a central figure in the controversy surrounding his decision to grant a divorce to one of his congregants in London who subsequently absconded to the Caribbean due to financial deceit. Rabbi Hart is portrayed in this engraving with the Get in hand and leaning upon a copy of a legal text written by his his grandfather, Shmuel b. Uri Shrage Feivish, upon whose opinion Hart based his decision. Hart’s legal ruling was set out in his booklet Urim Vetumim. See JHSET, Vol. III pp.102-25 and Journal of Jewish Bibliography (1939) pp. 83-5