). He is not to be confused with
Meir Abulafia :''Meir Abulafia is commonly known as "the Ramah" (Hebrew: רמ"ה). He should not be confused with Moses Isserles, known as "the Rema" or "the Rama" (Hebrew: רמ"א).''
Meir ben Todros HaLevi Abulafia ( ; c. 1170 – 1244), also known as the Rama ...
, known as "Ramah" ( he, רמ״ה, italic=no, links=no), nor with
Menahem Azariah da Fano
Menahem Azariah da Fano (also called Immanuel da Fano, and Rema MiPano ( he, רמ״ע מפאנו)) (1548 – 1620) was an Italian rabbi, Talmudist, and Kabbalist.
Life
He was a disciple of Rabbi Moses ben Jacob Cordovero, to whose widow he off ...
, known as "Rema MiPano" ( he, רמ״ע מפאנו, italic=no, links=no).
Rabbi Moses Isserles ( he, משה בן ישראל איסרלישׂ, pl, Mojżesz ben Israel Isserles) (22 February 1530 / 25
Adar I
Adar ( he, אֲדָר ; from Akkadian ''adaru'') is the sixth month of the civil year and the twelfth month of the religious year on the Hebrew calendar, roughly corresponding to the month of March in the Gregorian calendar. It is a month of 29 ...
5290 – 11 May 1572 / 18
Iyar 5332), also known by the
acronym
An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...
Rema, was an eminent
Polish Ashkenazic
rabbi,
talmudist, and ''
posek'' (expert in Jewish law).
Biography
Isserles was born in
Kraków,
Poland. His father,
Israel ben Josef (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
A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor.
Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, al ...
, Isserles.) He studied in
Lublin
Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of ...
under Rabbi
Shalom Shachna
Shalom Shachna ( 1510 – 1558) was a rabbi and Talmudist, and Rosh yeshiva of several great Acharonim including Moses Isserles, who was also his son-in-law.
Biography
Shachna was a pupil of Jacob Pollak, founder of the method of Talmudic study ...
, who would later become his father-in-law. Among his fellow pupils were his relative
Solomon Luria (Maharshal)—later a major disputant of many of Isserles'
halachic
''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...
rulings, and Chayyim b. Bezalel, an older brother of the
Maharal
Judah Loew ben Bezalel (; between 1512 and 1526 – 17 September 1609), also known as Rabbi Loew ( Löw, Loewe, Löwe or Levai), the Maharal of Prague (), or simply the Maharal (the Hebrew acronym of "''Moreinu ha-Rav Loew''", 'Our Teacher, Rabbi ...
. His first wife died young, at the age of 20 and he later established the "
Rema Synagogue
The Remah Synagogue ( pl, Synagoga Remu) is a 16th-century Jewish temple and the smallest of all historic synagogues in the Kazimierz district of Kraków, Poland. The synagogue is named after Rabbi Moses Isserles (c.1525–1572), known by the Hebr ...
" 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
Joseph ben Mordechai Gershon HaKohen Ka"tz (1510 in Cracow – 1591) was a kohen by birth, a rabbi and Talmudist, who began his studies in the Talmud at an early age, and became the dean (rosh yeshivah) at a yeshiva founded for him by his fath ...
Ha-Kohen.
He returned to Kraków about 1550, establishing a large ''
yeshiva'' where as a wealthy man, he supported his pupils. In his teaching, he was opposed to
pilpul and emphasized simple interpretation of the
Talmud. In 1553 he was appointed as
dayan; he also served on the
Council of the Four Lands
The Council of Four Lands ( he, ועד ארבע ארצות, ''Va'ad Arba' Aratzot'') in Lublin, Poland was the central body of Jewish authority in Poland from the second half of the 16th century to 1764. The first known regulation for the Council ...
. 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
The history of the Jews in Europe spans a period of over two thousand years. Some Jews, a Judaean tribe from the Levant, Natural History 102:11 (November 1993): 12–19. migrated to Europe just before the rise of the Roman Empire. A notable ...
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
Bereavement in Judaism () is a combination of ''minhag'' and ''mitzvah'' derived from the Torah and Judaism's classical rabbinic texts. The details of observance and practice vary according to each Jewish community.
Mourners
In Judaism, the p ...
'' (date of death).
Not only was Isserles a renowned Talmudic and
legal scholar, he was also learned in
Kabbalah, and studied
history,
astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galax ...
and
philosophy. He taught that “the aim of man is to search for the cause and the meaning of things”. He also held that "it is permissible to now and then study secular wisdom, provided that this excludes works of heresy... and that one
irst
An infrared search and track (IRST) system (sometimes known as infrared sighting and tracking) is a method for detecting and tracking objects which give off infrared radiation, such as the infrared signatures of jet aircraft and helicopters.
IR ...
knows what is permissible and forbidden, and the
rules
Rule or ruling may refer to:
Education
* Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE), a university in Cambodia
Human activity
* The exercise of political or personal control by someone with authority or power
* Business rule, a rule perta ...
and the
mitzvot".
Maharshal
Solomon Luria (1510 – November 7, 1573) ( he, שלמה לוריא) was one of the great Ashkenazic ''poskim'' (decisors of Jewish law) and teachers of his time. He is known for his work of Halakha, ''Yam Shel Shlomo'', and his Talmudic comment ...
reproached him for having based some of his decisions on
Aristotle. His reply was that he studied
Greek philosophy only from
Maimonides’ ''
Guide for the Perplexed'', and then only on
Shabbat and
Yom Tov
Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' ( he, ימים טובים, , Good Days, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed in Judaism and by JewsThis article focuses on practices of mainstre ...
- and furthermore, it is better to occupy oneself with philosophy than to err through
Kabbalah.
Rabbi Isserles had several children: "Drezil (named after his maternal grandmother), wife of R. Bunem Meisels. A daughter whose name is unknown to us.... A son, R. Yehuda.... A third daughter...who is totally unknown to us." He is buried in the eponymous
Remuh Cemetery
The Old Jewish Cemetery of Kraków ( pl, Stary cmentarz żydowski w Krakowie), more commonly known as the Remah Cemetery ( pl, Cmentarz Remuh), is a historic necropolis established in the years 1535–1551, and one of the oldest existing Jewish ...
in Kraków.
Genealogy
A reputed descendant of
King David through
Rashi
Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compre ...
, he has many notable descendants, among which are included members of the
Meisel family, alongside Rabbi Yakov Kuli Slonim, son-in-law of the Mittler Rebbe, the composers
Felix Mendelssohn and
Giacomo Meyerbeer
Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera ''Robert le di ...
, the pianist
Julius Isserlis, the cellist
Steven Isserlis
Steven Isserlis (born 19 December 1958) is a British cellist. He has led a distinguished career as a soloist, chamber musician, educator, author and broadcaster. Acclaimed for his profound musicianship, he is also noted for his diverse repert ...
, the author Inbali Iserles, the mathematician
Arieh Iserles and the statistician
Leon Isserlis.
Approach
Isserles is perhaps best known for his halakhic works, chief among them his notes to the
Shulchan Aruch
The ''Shulchan Aruch'' ( he, שֻׁלְחָן עָרוּך , literally: "Set Table"), sometimes dubbed in English as the Code of Jewish Law, is the most widely consulted of the various legal codes in Judaism. It was authored in Safed (today in Is ...
by
Yosef Karo. He is noted for his approach to customs (minhagim): "it should be remembered that R. Isserles did not regard the Jewish
Minhag
''Minhag'' ( he, מנהג "custom", classical pl. מנהגות, modern pl. , ''minhagim'') is an accepted tradition or group of traditions in Judaism. A related concept, ''Nusach'' (), refers to the traditional order and form of the prayers.
Etym ...
lightly. On the contrary, he too expressed reverence and respect for it, and whenever possible endeavored to uphold it and also to explain its origin. Only, unlike many great Talmudic scholars, he refused to follow it blindly. When convinced of the unsound basis of a Minhag, he was ready to repudiate it regardless of its acceptance by the people."
Furthermore: "The Talmud is, of course, the great reservoir to which R. Isserles turns as the first step in attempting to solve a problem. The question at hand is immediately referred to an identical or similar case in the Talmud. The second step is the weighing of the opinions of the ראשונים, i.e.
Alfasi (רי”ף),
Tosafist
The Tosafot, Tosafos or Tosfot ( he, תוספות) are medieval commentaries on the Talmud. They take the form of critical and explanatory glosses, printed, in almost all Talmud editions, on the outer margin and opposite Rashi's notes.
The auth ...
s,
Nachmanides
Moses ben Nachman ( he, מֹשֶׁה בֶּן־נָחְמָן ''Mōše ben-Nāḥmān'', "Moses son of Nachman"; 1194–1270), commonly known as Nachmanides (; el, Ναχμανίδης ''Nakhmanídēs''), and also referred to by the acronym Ra ...
, etc. expanding and explaining the text. The opinion of the majority is followed by R. Isserles and even Maimonides, whom he respected very highly, is disregarded if he was in the minority. After the Rishonim, R. Isserles proceeds to examine writings of אחרונים, i.e.
Mordechai
Mordecai (; also Mordechai; , IPA: ) is one of the main personalities in the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. He is described as being the son of Jair, of the tribe of Benjamin. He was promoted to Vizier after Haman was killed.
Biblical acco ...
,
Ashri and
Tur, and the latter is followed especially when the Tosafists agree with him. At this point, the Responsa of still later authorities are cited extensively in accordance with the well-established priniciple of הלכה כבתרא, paying due attention even to the opinions of contemporaries and to customs of Polish Jewry which the ב”י omitted. Thus, Isserles, in his responsa as well as in the ד”מ and his commentary on the Shulchan Aruch, served as a supplement and offered his community the code of Law adjusted to its authorities, customs, and needs. He spread the “cloth” over the table prepared by his contemporary, the ב”י."
Isserles, like
Yosef Karo in the
Shulchan Aruch
The ''Shulchan Aruch'' ( he, שֻׁלְחָן עָרוּך , literally: "Set Table"), sometimes dubbed in English as the Code of Jewish Law, is the most widely consulted of the various legal codes in Judaism. It was authored in Safed (today in Is ...
, often quotes Kabbalistic sources and opinions in his various works, and writes of his great joy upon finding that his ruling concurred with what he later found written in the "words of the
Zohar which were given at
Sinai...".
Writing to a friend who had become a rabbi in Germany, Moses Isserles expressed his preference for living in Poland over Germany: "You would be better off living with us in Poland on stale bread if need be, but safe".
Works
Isserles is renowned for his fundamental work of ''
Halakha'' (Jewish law), entitled ''ha-Mapah'' (lit., "the tablecloth"), an inline commentary on the ''
Shulchan Aruch
The ''Shulchan Aruch'' ( he, שֻׁלְחָן עָרוּך , literally: "Set Table"), sometimes dubbed in English as the Code of Jewish Law, is the most widely consulted of the various legal codes in Judaism. It was authored in Safed (today in Is ...
'' (lit. "the set table"), upon which his "great reputation as a halakist and codifier rests chiefly."
Darkhei Moshe
''
Darkhei Moshe'' (דרכי משה) is a commentary on the ''
Tur'' as well as on the ''
Beth Yosef'', which is Yosef Karo's commentary on the ''Tur'' and the work underlying the ''Shulkhan Aruch''. Isserles had originally intended the ''Darkhei Moshe'' to serve as a basis for subsequent ''halakhic'' decisions. As such, in this work he evaluates the rulings of the ''Tur''—which was widely accepted among the
Ashkenazim and
Sephardim—comparing these with rulings of other
''halakhic'' authorities. The ''Beth Yosef'' was published while Isserles was at work on the ''Darkhei Moshe''. Recognizing that Karo's commentary largely met his objectives, Isserles published the ''Darkhei Moshe'' in a modified form. "In publishing the דרכי משה, R. Isserles rendered a great service to Ashkenazic Jewry, for he reestablished its Talmudic authorities as the deciding factor in determining a law." An abridgement of the original work is published with the ''Tur''; the complete version of the ''Darkhei Moshe'' is published separately.
HaMapah
''HaMapah'' (המפה) is written as a
gloss to the ''
Shulchan Aruch
The ''Shulchan Aruch'' ( he, שֻׁלְחָן עָרוּך , literally: "Set Table"), sometimes dubbed in English as the Code of Jewish Law, is the most widely consulted of the various legal codes in Judaism. It was authored in Safed (today in Is ...
'' of
Yosef Karo, discussing cases where
Sephardi and
Ashkenazi customs differ. Hamapah is the "tablecloth" for the ''Shulkhan Aruch'', the "set table". Karo had based his
normative positions on three authorities:
Maimonides,
Asher ben Jehiel
Asher ben Jehiel ( he, אשר בן יחיאל, or Asher ben Yechiel, sometimes Asheri) (1250 or 1259 – 1327) was an eminent rabbi and Talmudist best known for his abstract of Talmudic law. He is often referred to as Rabbenu Asher, “our Rabb ...
(the Rosh), and
Isaac Alfasi
Isaac ben Jacob Alfasi ha-Cohen (1013–1103) ( ar, إسحاق الفاسي, he, ר' יצחק אלפסי) - also known as the Alfasi or by his Hebrew acronym Rif (Rabbi Isaac al-Fasi), was a Maghrebi Talmudist and posek (decider in matters of hal ...
(the Rif). Of these, only Asher ben Jehiel had non-
Sephardic roots, having lived most of his life in
Germany before moving to
Spain, but even so, his work is largely Sephardic in orientation. Isserles thus created a series of glosses, in which he supplemented Karo with material drawn from the laws and customs (
''Minhagim'') of
Ashkenazi Jewry, chiefly based on the works of
Yaakov Moelin
Yaakov ben Moshe Levi Moelin ( he, יעקב בן משה מולין) (c. 1365 – September 14, 1427) was a Talmudist and ''posek'' (authority on Jewish law) best known for his codification of the customs (''minhagim'') of the German Jews. He is ...
,
Israel Isserlein
Israel Isserlin (ישראל איסרלן; Israel Isserlein ben Petachia; 1390 in Maribor, Duchy of Styria – 1460 in Wiener Neustadt, Lower Austria) was a Talmudist, and Halakhist, best known for his ''Terumat HaDeshen'', which served as one sou ...
and
Israel Bruna
Rabbi Israel of Bruna (ישראל ברונא; 1480–1400) was a Moravian- German rabbi and ''Posek'' (decisor on Jewish Law). He is also known as Mahari Bruna, the Hebrew acronym for "Our Teacher, the Rabbi, Israel Bruna". Rabbi Bruna is best know ...
.
All editions of the ''Shulchan Aruch'' since 1578 include ''HaMapah'' embedded in the text (introduced by the word: הגה ''Hagahah'', meaning "gloss"), and distinguished by a semi-cursive "
Rashi script". Rabbi Isserles' HaMapah was "considered to be an interpretation and supplement to Karo’s work, while also challenging its claim to universal authority by introducing Ashkenazic traditions and customs that differed from the Sephardic ones. Rather than challenge the status of the Shulhan ‘Arukh, however, Isserles established the status of the Shulhan ‘Arukh as the authoritative text. In most of the editions since 1574, the Shulhan ‘Arukh was printed with HaMapah, thus creating an interesting tension that was realized on the printed page. It was an act of integrating the Sephardic tradition and its accommodation into the Ashkenazi world, the confirmation of the authority and its undermining appearing on the same page."
The citations "indicating the sources in earlier authorities of the decisions in the annotations to the Shulchan Aruch, were not placed by Isserles. This may be seen from the fact that many times incorrect references are given. An anonymous scholar placed them at the end of each comment and gradually they have been mistaken as being indications of the author himself."
Rabbi Isserles' weaving "his comments into the main text as glosses, indicates, besides upholding the traditional Ashkenazi attitude to a text, that the work itself, meant to serve as a textbook for laymen, had been accepted in Rema’s yeshivah at Krakow as a students’ reference book. Instead of the Arba‘ah Turim, the main text for the study of posekim in the Ashkenazi yeshivah up to Rema's day, he chose to use the new book, which was free of accumulated layers of glosses and emendations, up-to-date and lucid, and arranged along the same lines as the old Turim so that it could easily be introduced into the yeshivah curriculum. This was the crucial step in altering the canonical status of the Shulhan Arukh."
[Reiner, 1997, p. 97.]
Today, the term "''Shulchan Aruch''" refers to the combined work of Karo and Isserles. This consolidation of the two works strengthened the underlying unity of the
Sephardi and
Ashkenazi communities. It is through this unification that the ''Shulkhan Aruch'' became the universally accepted
Code of Law for the entire
Jewish people
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
, with the notable exception of
Yemenite Jews who still follow the ''Rambam'' (
Maimonides).
Other works
Rabbi Isserles also wrote:
*''Torath ha-Chatath'', a
legal guidebook focusing primarily on
Jewish dietary laws
(also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), from ...
*''Torath ha-Olah'', an in-depth philosophical explanation of the significance of the
Temple in Jerusalem and of its
rites
*''
Mechir Yayin'', a commentary on the
Book of Esther
The Book of Esther ( he, מְגִלַּת אֶסְתֵּר, Megillat Esther), also known in Hebrew as "the Scroll" ("the Megillah"), is a book in the third section (, "Writings") of the Jewish ''Tanakh'' (the Hebrew Bible). It is one of the f ...
*''Teshuvot Rema'', a collection of
responsa
''Responsa'' (plural of Latin , 'answer') comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them. In the modern era, the term is used to describe decisions and rulings made by scholars i ...
- see
History of Responsa: Sixteenth century
Published works
Shulchan Aruch Archives - Orach Chayim Torah.org
Torah.org
Torath ha-Olah fulltext(
PDF
Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems ...
,
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
)
Notes
References
*
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*
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*
External links
Isserles, Moses Ben Israel (ReMA) jewishencyclopedia.com
jewishvirtuallibrary.org
jewishvirtuallibrary.org
yarzheit.com
Moshe Isserles (REMA) The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot
Prof. Eliezer Segal
Prof. Eliezer Segal
The Remo (5280 - 5332) chabad.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Isserles, Moses
1530 births
1572 deaths
16th-century Polish rabbis
Rabbis from Kraków
Polish Orthodox rabbis
Authors of books on Jewish law