Rabbi Isaac Tyrnau (יצחק אייזיק מטירנא or יצחק טירנאו; also Isaak Tyrnau) was an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

(or Hungarian)

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 t ...

, born in the late 14th century and active in the 15th century; he is most famous for his ''Sefer haMinhagim'' (Book of Customs).

Biography

Little is known about his life. He was born in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

and later moved to Tyrnau in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, although some suggest ''

Trnava Trnava (, , ; , also known by other #Names and etymology, alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, to the northeast of Bratislava, on the Trnávka river. It is the capital of the Trnava Region and the Trnava District. It is the seat o ...

'' (), in modern-day

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. He studied under Rabbis Abraham Klausner of

and of Neustadt. It is possible that he later served as rabbi in

Pressburg Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

, although this is debated by scholars. His correspondence with the Maharil regarding a

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

(1420) is recorded. Gabriel Polak and

Israel Böhmer Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. It occupies the Pale ...

published (

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

, 1857) an anonymous story entitled "''Etzba Elohim''," the heroes of which are Isaac Tyrnau and his beautiful daughter. Its bibliography: * Grätz, ' 3d ed., viii. 11, 12; * Azulai, ''Shem ha-Gedolim'', i.; *

Wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...

, ' i., Nos. 214, 1194; *

David Gans David Gans (; ‎1541–1613), also known as Rabbi Dovid Solomon Ganz, was a German-Jewish chronicler, mathematician, historian, astronomer and astrologer. He is the author of "Tzemach David" (1592) and therefore also known by this title, the ...

, ''Ẓemaḥ Dawid'', p. 65, Warsaw, 1890; *

Steinschneider Moritz Steinschneider (; 30 March 1816 – 24 January 1907) was a Moravian bibliographer and Orientalist, and an important figure in Jewish studies and Jewish history. He is credited as having invented the term ''antisemitism.'' Education Mo ...

, ' col. 909; *

Fürst ' (, female form ', plural '; from Old High German ', "the first", a translation of the Latin ') is a German language, German word for a ruler as well as a princely title. ' were, starting in the Middle Ages, members of the highest nobility who ...

, ' iii. 456. According to legend, a Hungarian prince fell in love with Tyrnau's daughter, converted to Judaism, renounced the throne and married Tyrnau's daughter.

Works

The ''Sefer haMinhagim'' (Book of Customs) is a compendium of '' halachot'' ("Jewish laws") and ''

minhag ''Minhag'' ( "custom", classical pl. מנהגות, modern pl. מנהגים, ''minhagim'') is an accepted tradition or group of traditions in Judaism. A related concept, '' Nusach'' (נוסח), refers to the traditional order and form of the pra ...

im'' ("customs") of various groups of

Ashkenazi Jews Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium CE. They traditionally speak Yiddish, a language ...

, arranged according to the calendar. The work is significantly influenced by those of Tyrnau's teachers. It also contains notes from a Hungarian rabbi, which were already attached with the first printed edition of Tyrnau's work (1566). It is quoted by Mordechai Jaffe at the end of his "''Lebush''" on '' Orah Hayyim''. As Tyrnau states in the foreword of the book, his intention was to unify the customs. The

Black Death The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...

around 1348 had almost completely destroyed the German Jewish communities. The number of scholars had diminished so much that in some places "there were only two or three persons who had a real knowledge of local customs". Tyrnau's work is noted as the first to discuss in detail the idea of the ''

Yahrzeit Yahrzeit (, plural , ) is the anniversary of a death in Judaism. It is traditionally commemorated by reciting the Kaddish in synagogue and by lighting a long-burning candle. Name The word ''Yahrzeit'' is a borrowing from the Yiddish (), ul ...

'' (the commemoration of the anniversary of a death). It was translated into Yiddish in 1590, and often reprinted. It also contains a treatise on morals entitled "''Orhot Hayyim''," in 132 sections, which is appended to the ''Sefer haMinhagim''. This work was to some extent superseded by ''Minhagei Maharil'' by Rabbi

Yaakov ben Moshe Levi Moelin Yaakov ben Moshe Levi Moelin () (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 also known as Maharil () - the H ...

(Maharil), 1556.

References

*
Sefer HaMinhagim
' (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

Fulltext,

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) 14th-century Austrian rabbis 15th-century Austrian writers 14th-century Hungarian writers Rabbis from Vienna People from Trnava Rabbis from Bratislava 15th-century Austrian rabbis {{Austria-rabbi-stub