Gravestone in the Old Jewish Cemetery, Eisenstadt, July 2022

Meir ben Izsak Eisenstadt ( he, מאיר איזנשטט, ''also'' Meir Ash, c. 1670 in

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...

– 1744 in Eisenstadt) was the author of responsa and other works of

rabbinic literature Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, is the entire spectrum of rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history. However, the term often refers specifically to literature from the Talmudic era, as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic writ ...

. An authority on

Halakha ''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 ...

, he was consulted by

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

s from Turkey, Germany and Italy. He is known as the Panim Me'irot (or ''Punim Meirois'' in Yiddish) after his major work called ''Shu"t Panim Me'irot''. He is also known as the Maharam Ash (or Maharam Esh) the

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 ...

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 ...

for "Our Teacher, Rabbi Meir EisenStadt".

Biography

After serving as a dayan in Posen and rabbi in Szydłowiec,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, he went to Germany and settled in

Worms Worms may refer to: *Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs Places *Worms, Germany Worms () is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, situated on the Upper Rhine about south-southwest of Frankfurt am Main. It had ...

where he

headed Headed may refer to: *A headed phrase, in linguistics * Headed notepaper See also * * Head (disambiguation) The head is the part of an animal or human that usually includes the brain, eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Head or Heads may also refer to: ...

the

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are st ...

. When Worms was taken by the French in 1701 he moved to

Prostějov Prostějov (; german: Proßnitz) is a city in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 43,000 inhabitants. The city is known for its fashion industry. The historical city centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an Cultural ...

(german: Prossnitz) as rabbi. From 1711 to 1714 he returned to Szydłowiec but then moved to Eisenstadt (now in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

) (adopting the name of the town) serving as rabbi of the Seven Communities. Eisenstadt greatly influenced the nature of the community and his yeshiva attracted students from far and near. His best known students are probably

Jonathan Eybeschutz Rav Yonatan Eybeschütz (רבי יהונתן אייבשיץ) (also Eibeschutz or Eibeschitz; 1690 1764) was a Talmudist, Halachist, Kabbalist, holding positions as Dayan of Prague, and later as Rabbi of the "Three Communities": Altona, Hambur ...

and Jeremiah Mattersdorf.

Works

Maharam Esh was the author of: * ''"Or ha-Ganuz"'', novellae on marriage law (

Ketubot A ketubah (; he, כְּתוּבָּה) is a Jewish marriage contract. It is considered an integral part of a traditional Jewish marriage, and outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom, in relation to the bride. In modern practice, ...

) and notes on ''

Yoreh De'ah Yoreh De'ah ( he, יורה דעה) is a section of Rabbi Jacob ben Asher's compilation of halakha (Jewish law), Arba'ah Turim around 1300. This section treats all aspects of Jewish law not pertinent to the Hebrew calendar, finance, torts, marriage, ...

''. * ''"Panim Me'irot"'', responsa and novellae on various

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

ic treatises. * ''"Kotnot Or"'',

homiletic In religious studies, homiletics ( grc, ὁμιλητικός ''homilētikós'', from ''homilos'', "assembled crowd, throng") is the application of the general principles of rhetoric to the specific art of public preaching. One who practices o ...

commentary on the

Pentateuch The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

and the

Five Scrolls The Five Scrolls or The Five Megillot ( he, חמש מגילות , ''Hamesh Megillot'' or ''Chomeish Megillos'') are parts of the Ketuvim ("Writings"), the third major section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). The Five Scrolls are the Song of Songs, ...

, (published, with the ''"Or Chadash"'' of his grandson, Eliezer Kalir, under the title "Meore Esh" the latter word being an abbreviation of "Eisenstadt").

References

Meir ben Izsak Eisenstadt (Maharam Esh)
bh.org.il
Meïr ben Isaac Eisenstadt
jewishencyclopedia.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Eisenstadt, Meir 18th-century Polish rabbis Polish Orthodox rabbis German Orthodox rabbis Czech Orthodox rabbis Hungarian Orthodox rabbis Czech people of Polish-Jewish descent Hungarian people of Polish descent Clergy from Poznań Rabbis from Worms, Germany People from Eisenstadt 1670s births 1744 deaths Year of birth uncertain 18th-century German rabbis