Elijah ben Moses Ashkenazi Loans also known as Elijah Baal Shem of

Worms Worms may refer to: *Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs Places *Worms, Germany, a city ** Worms (electoral district) * Worms, Nebraska, U.S. *Worms im Veltlintal, the German name for Bormio, Italy Arts and entertai ...

(1555 – July 1636) was a German

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 ...

and Kabbalist. He was born in

Frankfurt-am-Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its nam ...

. He belonged to the family of

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 compr ...

, on his mother's side was the grandson of Johanan Luria, and on his father's of Josel of Rosheim. After studying in his native city under the direction of Jacob Ginzburg and Akiba Frankfort, Loans went to Cracow, where he attended the lectures of Rabbi Menahem Mendel Avigdors. He also studied in the Yeshivah of the Maharal. While there he prepared for publication the "''Darke Mosheh''" of

Moses Isserles ). He is not to be confused with Meir Abulafia, known as "Ramah" ( he, רמ״ה, italic=no, links=no), nor with Menahem Azariah da Fano, known as "Rema MiPano" ( he, רמ״ע מפאנו, italic=no, links=no). Rabbi Moses Isserles ( he, משה ...

. At the beginning of the seventeenth century Loans was called to the rabbinate of

Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a town in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the town hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. Histor ...

, which he left in 1612, occupying successively the rabbinates of

Hanau Hanau () is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt am Main and is part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its station is a major railway junction and it has a port on the rive ...

, Friedberg (1620), and Worms (1630), in which last-named city he remained until his death. Loans was a diligent student of Kabbalah, and for this reason was surnamed "Ba'al Shem." He was also accomplished in music and calligraphy, and various legends circulated regarding his personality. He was the author of the following works: ''Rinnat Dodim'' (

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS) ...

, 1600), a commentary on Song of Songs; ''Miklol Yofi'' (Amsterdam, 1695), a commentary on

Ecclesiastes Ecclesiastes (; hbo, קֹהֶלֶת, Qōheleṯ, grc, Ἐκκλησιαστής, Ekklēsiastēs) is one of the Ketuvim ("Writings") of the Hebrew Bible and part of the Wisdom literature of the Christian Old Testament. The title commonly ...

; ''Wikkuaḥ Yayin 'im ha-Mayim'' (Amsterdam, 1757), a poem with a commentary; ''Ma'agle Ẓedeḳ'' (Neubauer, "''Catalogue of the Hebrew MSS. in the Bodleian Library''" No. 1832), a commentary on Baḥya's "''Ḥobot ha-Lebabot''"; ''Ẓofnat Pa'aneaḥ'' (Neubauer, "''Catalogue of the Hebrew MSS. in the Bodleian Library''" No. 1830), a commentary on the "''Tiḳḳune Zohar''"; a commentary on ''Genesis Rabbah'' (Neubauer, "''Catalogue of the Hebrew MSS. in the Bodleian Library''" No. 149); and ''Adderet Eliyahu'' (Neubauer, "''Catalogue of the Hebrew MSS. in the Bodleian Library''" No. 1829), a commentary on the ''

Zohar The ''Zohar'' ( he, , ''Zōhar'', lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is a foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah (the five ...

''. Loans also edited the "'''Ammude Shelomoh''" of

Solomon Luria 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 ...

on the "'' Semag''" (Basel, 1599), and the "''Sha'are Dura''" of

Isaac ben Meïr of Dueren Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He wa ...

, to which he wrote a preface (Neubauer, "''Catalogue of the Hebrew MSS. in the Bodleian Library''" No. 1600).
Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography: * Moses Mannheimer, ''Die Juden in Worms'', p. 61, Frankfurt-am-Main, 1842 * L. Lewysohn, ''Nafshot Ẓaddiḳim'', p. 59, ib. 1855 * Carmoly, in ', i. 94 *

Steinschneider Moritz Steinschneider (30 March 1816, Prostějov, Moravia, Austrian Empire – 24 January 1907, Berlin) was a Moravian bibliographer and Orientalist. He received his early instruction in Hebrew from his father, Jacob Steinschneider ( 1782; ...

, ' col. 942 *

Zunz Zunz ( he, צוּנְץ, yi, צונץ) is a Yiddish surname: * (1874–1939), Belgian pharmacologist * Sir Gerhard Jack Zunz (1923–2018), British civil engineer * Leopold Zunz (Yom Tov Lipmann Tzuntz) (1794–1886), German Reform rabbi and ...

, ' p. 402 * Michael, ''Or ha-Ḥayyim'', No. 401.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loans, Elijah 1555 births 1636 deaths 17th-century German rabbis 16th-century German rabbis Baal Shem Kabbalists Rabbis from Frankfurt