Moses Isserles
| Rabbi Moses Isserles | |
|---|---|
| The Rema | |
Moses Isserles (Artist's rendering)
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| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Mojżesz ben Israel Isserles |
| Born |
February 22, 1520 Kraków, Poland |
| Died | May 11, 1572 (aged 52) Kraków, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth |
| Buried | Kraków, Poland |
| Nationality | Polish |
Moses Isserles (Hebrew: משה בן ישראל איסרלישׂ, Polish: Mojżesz ben Israel Isserles) (February 22, 1520 / Adar I , – May 11, 1572 / Iyar , ), was an eminent Polish Ashkenazic rabbi, talmudist, and posek.
Isserles was born in Kraków, Poland. His father, Israel (known as Isserl), was a prominent talmudist and independently wealthy, who had probably headed the community; his grandfather, Jehiel Luria, was the first rabbi of Brisk. (In an era which preceded the common use of surnames, Moses became known by his patronymic, Isserles.) He studied in Lublin under Rabbi Shalom Shachna, who later became his father-in-law. Among his fellow pupils were his relative Solomon Luria (Maharshal)—later a major disputant of many of Isserles' halachic rulings, and Chayyim b. Bezalel, an older brother of the Maharal. Rema’s first wife died young, at the age of 20 and he later established the "Rema Synagogue" in Kraków in her memory (originally his house, built by his father in his honor—which he gave to the community). He later married the sister of Joseph ben Mordechai Gershon Ha-Kohen.
He returned to Kraków about 1550, when he established a large yeshiva and, being a wealthy man, supported his pupils at his own cost. In his teaching, he was opposed to pilpul and he emphasized simple interpretation of the Talmud. In 1553 he was appointed as dayan; he also served on the Council of the Four Lands. He became a world-renowned scholar and was approached by many other well-known rabbis, including Yosef Karo, for Halachic decisions. He was one of the greatest Jewish scholars of Poland, and was the primary halakhic authority for European Jewry of his day. He died in Kraków and was buried next to his synagogue. On his tombstone is inscribed: "From Moses (Maimonides) to Moses (Isserles) there was none like Moses". Until the Second World War, thousands of pilgrims visited his grave annually on Lag Ba'omer, his Yahrzeit (date of death).
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