Joseph ben Meir Teomim (1727–1792;

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 ...

: יוסף בן מאיר תאומים) was a Galician rabbi born at

Lemberg Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

. While still young he succeeded his father in the position of preacher and rabbinical instructor in the

yeshivah 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 stud ...

of Lemberg. Later he went to

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

, where he stayed several years in the bet ha-midrash of

Daniel Itzig Daniel Itzig (also known as Daniel Yoffe 18 March 1723 in Berlin – 17 May 1799 in Potsdam) was a Court Jew of Kings Frederick II the Great and Frederick William II of Prussia. Biography Itzig was born in Berlin. His family was mercantile. I ...

. Then he resumed his former position at Lemberg, and in 1782 was appointed rabbi at

Frankfurt an der Oder Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (), is a city in the German state of Brandenburg. It has around 57,000 inhabitants, is one of the easternmost cities in Germany, the fourth-largest city in Brandenburg, and the largest German ...

, where he remained until his death. He was buried in the

Jewish cemetery A Jewish cemetery ( he, בית עלמין ''beit almin'' or ''beit kvarot'') is a cemetery where Jews are buried in keeping with Halakha, Jewish tradition. Cemeteries are referred to in several different ways in Hebrew, including ''beit k ...

at Frankfurt/Oder.

Works

Te'omim, who was one of the foremost rabbis of his time, was a thorough student of rabbinical literature, and was not unlearned in the secular sciences. He wrote: * ''Pri Megadim'' (פרי מגדים), a supercommentary on some of the major commentators on the Shulkhan Aruch: On the '' Orach chayyim'' section, he wrote the ''Mishbetzot Zahav,'' containing a supercommentary on

David ben Samuel David ha-Levi Segal (c. 1586 – 20 February 1667), also known as the Turei Zahav (abbreviated Taz ()) after the title of his significant ''halakhic'' commentary on the '' Shulchan Aruch'', was one of the greatest Polish rabbinical authorities ...

's ''Ṭurei Zahav,'' and the ''Eshel Avraham,'' on Avraham Gombiner's ''Magen Avraham'' (Frankfort-on-the-Oder, 1753). On the

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 ...

section, he wrote the ''Siftei Da'at,'' on Shabbethai Kohen's ''Siftei Kohen'' (ש"ך; Berlin, 1772) as well as continuing the ''Mishbetzot Zahav.'' * ''Porat Yosef,'' novellæ on Yebamot and Ketubot, with rules for halakic decisions (Zolkiev, 1756) * ''Ginnat Vradim,'' seventy rules for the comprehension of the

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 cen ...

(Frankfort-on-the-Oder, 1767) * ''Tebat Gome,'' on the Sabbatical sections (Frankfort-on-the-Oder, 1782) * ''Shoshanat ha-'Amakim,'' a methodology of the Talmud, published together with the preceding * ''No'am Megadim,'' commentaries on the prayers, published with the prayer-book ''Hegyon Leb.'' * ''Rosh Yosef,'' novellæ on Berachos,

Shabbos Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...

, Megillah, and

Chullin Hullin or Chullin (lit. "Ordinary" or "Mundane") is the third tractate of the Mishnah in the Order of Kodashim and deals with the laws of ritual slaughter of animals and birds for meat in ordinary or non-consecrated use (as opposed to sacred us ...

Te'omim left in manuscript ''Sefer ha-Maggid'' (a commentary on the

Torah 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 s ...

and the Haftarot, sermons for Shabbat and festivals, and a twofold commentary on Pirḳe Abot) and ''Em la-Binah'' (a

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated i ...

, and Chaldaic lexicon; Neubauer, ''Cat. Bodl. Hebr. MSS.'' No. 1500). In the introduction to the last-named work Te'omim mentions a great number of writings of his own, on halakot and ethics, which are no longer in existence.

Bibliography and references

The following bibliography is referred to in the Jewish Encyclopedia article: *D. Cassel, in Ersch and Gruber, Encyc. section ii., part 31, p. 97; *Steinschneider, Cat. Bodl. col. 1534; *Neubauer, in Ha-Maggid, xiii. 285; * Fuenn, Keneset Yisrael, p. 514; *Buber, Anshe Shem, p. 95. {{DEFAULTSORT:Teomim 18th-century rabbis from the Russian Empire 1727 births 1793 deaths Rabbis from Galicia (Eastern Europe) Authors of books on Jewish law Rabbis from Lviv People from Frankfurt (Oder)