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The Meisel family (also Meisels and Meizels) is a distinguished
The Meisel family (also Meisels and Meizels) is a distinguished Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...
n rabbinic family originally from Prague
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
, who descend from Yitskhak Eizik Meisels (b. 1425), a paternal 10th generation descendant of the Exilarch
The exilarch was the leader of the Jewish community in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) during the era of the Parthians, Sasanians and Abbasid Caliphate up until the Mongol invasion of Baghdad in 1258, with intermittent gaps due to ongoing polit ...
, Mar Ukba. From the early 16th century and onward, members of the family such as Mordecai Meisel Mordecai Marcus Meisel (; 1528, Prague – 13 March 1601, Prague) was a philanthropist and communal leader in Prague.
Biography
Born to the Meisel family. In 1542 and 1561 his family, with the other Jewish inhabitants, was forced to leave the c ...
achieved great economic prominence in Prague
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
, becoming one of the wealthiest Bohemian Jewish families. It was also during this time that a branch of the family descending from Simcha Bunim Meisels (1545-1624) (the son-in-law of Moses Isserles
Moses Isserles (; ; 22 February 1530 / 25 Adar I 5290 – 11 May 1572 / 18 Iyar 5332), also known by the acronym Rema, was an eminent Polish Ashkenazi rabbi, talmudist, and '' posek'' (expert in Jewish law). He is considered the "Maimonides o ...
) immigrated to Kraków
, officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
, Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
due to rising Antisemitism in Bohemia. In Poland the family produced several rabbinic scholars, such as Dow Ber Meisels and Moses Bonems-Meisels. Among the families descendants are: Shabbatai HaKohen
Shabbatai ben Meir HaKohen (; 1621–1662) was a talmudist and halakhist. He became known as the ''Shakh'' (), which is an abbreviation of his most important work, ''Siftei Kohen'' () (literally ''Lips of the Priest'') on the Shulchan Aruch.
Bi ...
, Yitzchak Yaacov Reines, Alexander Sender Shor, John von Neumann
John von Neumann ( ; ; December 28, 1903 – February 8, 1957) was a Hungarian and American mathematician, physicist, computer scientist and engineer. Von Neumann had perhaps the widest coverage of any mathematician of his time, in ...
, as well as the Peshischa, Sulitza, Ropshitz, Bobov, Biala, Kretshnif, and Kotzk Hasidic dynasties
A Hasidic dynasty or Chassidic dynasty is a dynasty led by Hasidic Jewish spiritual leaders known as rebbes, and usually has some or all of the following characteristics:
* Each leader of the dynasty is referred to as an ''ADMOR'' (abbreviation ...
.
References