Rabbi Shlomo ben Yechiel Luria (1510 – 1574 Lublin, Poland), known as the Maharshal, the Hebrew acronym for “Our Teacher, Rabbi Solomon Luria”,was one of the greatest Torah sages of Poland. His Yahrzeit, the 12th of Kislev, is commemorated beginning this evening. The place of the Maharshal’s birth is a matter of controversy; it is recorded as either Posen or Brisk (Brest-Litovsk). His father was head of the rabbinical court of law in the town of Slutzk in Lithuania. He claimed his family ancestry could be traced back to Rabbeinu Shlomo Yitzchaki (Rashi). He was educated first by his father and then in Posen by his mother’s father, Rabbi Yitzchak Kloiber, whom the Maharshal would later cite in his books. The Maharshal married Lipka, the daughter of Rabbi Klonymus Kalman Haberkasten, Rabbi of Ostrog and Brisk, who left for Jerusalem in 1560, where he gained renown as a miracle worker. The Maharshal also cites his father-in-law in his writings. Even as a young man, halachic queries were sent to the Maharshal from distant lands. He was appointed to the rabbinate of various localities across Poland and Lithuania, including Brisk, Ostrog and Lublin, and in each location he established and headed a yeshiva. Despite being one of the most respected Talmudic scholars in his era, the Maharshal employed a maggid (preacher) whose duty it was to accompany him and reproach him for any wrongdoings. The Maharshal would sit like a child before his master as his maggid lectured him on his ethical lapses and improper behavior. Famous for his unique combination of fiery brilliance and humility, the Maharshal, lived in Europe at the same time Rabbi Yosef Karo was writing his Shulchan Aruch, and the Maharshals own relative, Rabbi Moshe Isserles (the Rema), was writing his own Ashkenazi glosses on the Shulchan Aruch. The Mahafshal was a fiercely independent thinker and did not hesitate to criticize both the decisions of his colleagues and their decision making process. He criticized those who relied on the commentators and codifiers rather than on the actual text of the Talmud and was a severe critic of the Rabbi Yosef Karos landmark work because it relied primarily on the decisions of only three authorities (Rif, Rambam, and Rosh) and did not draw its own conclusions from the text of the Talmud itself. The Maharshal also openly criticized the pilpul method of Talmud study that had become popular at the time. This criticism was leveled at Rabbi Sholom Shachna (father in law of the Rema), his son Yisrael and his Yeshiva in Lublin, the central dissemination point for this methodology. The Maharshal had great respect for his relative, the Rema, but that did not stop him from criticizing the Rema for studying philosophy and secular subjects, as well as for the use of incorrect grammar in his writings. One dispute, apparently provoked by students, resulted in a permanent estrangement between the two legal authorities. The forcefulness with which Rabbi Luria set down responsa, rulings, and rabbinic practices led to controversies with other scholars. He was not one to mince words. Of some of the rabbis of his time he says as: The ordained are many; but those who know something are few. The number of overbearing ones is steadily increasing, none of whom knows his place. As soon as they are ordained they begin to domineer and, by means of their wealth, to gather about themselves disciples, just as lords hire slaves to run before them. They rule over the scholars and the congregation. They excommunicate and anathematize, and they ordain pupils who did not study under them, and receive therefore money and reward. They are always seeking their own interests. The Maharshals two most famous works are: Yam Shel Solomon (Sea of Shlomo), a book on halacha written the way he thought halacha should be written; and Chochmat Shlomo (Wisdom of Shlomo), comments on an edits to the Talmud to correct inaccuracies in the text introduced over the years. The Talmud we have today is in great part thanks to the work of the Maharshal. An abridged version of Chochmat Shlomo appears in nearly all editions of the Talmud today, at the end of each tractate. He also wrote responsa which give valuable insight into the culture of 16th-century Polish Jewry. Many of the leading scholars of the next generation were students of the Maharshal, among them the Rabbis: Avraham HaLevi Horowitz, Binyamin Aharon Slonik, David HaKohen, Ḥayim ben Betzalel (brother of Yehudah Lib, Maharal of Prague), Yehoshua Falk, Mordechai Yaffe, Moshe Margoliot, Moshe ben Avraham Met (who recorded practices accepted by his teacher in his book Mateh Mosheh), and Efrayim Shlomo of Luntshitz. geni/people/Shlomo-Luria-Maharshal/6000000002288008174 geni/projects/THE-RASHI-LEGACY-Kalonymos-Treves-Luria-and-Spira-Families/56 (Posted by Edna Kalka Grossman whose fourth great uncles daughter was married to Rabbi Shlomo Luria’s 10th great-grandson)
Posted on: Wed, 03 Dec 2014 23:31:00 +0000
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