Yom-Tov Lipmann Heller facts for kids
Rabbi Gershon Shaul Yom-Tov Lipmann ben Nathan ha-Levi Heller (born around 1579 – died August 19, 1654) was an important rabbi and scholar from Bohemia. He is most famous for writing a commentary on the Mishnah called the Tosefet Yom-Tov. Rabbi Heller was one of the leading Jewish scholars in Prague and Poland during a time often called the "Golden Age" before 1648.
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Early Life and Education
Rabbi Heller was born in Wallerstein, Bavaria. His father passed away before he was born, so his grandfather, Rabbi Moses Ha-Levi Heller, raised him. As a teenager, he studied at a Yeshiva (a Jewish school for religious studies) in Friedberg.
Later, he moved to Prague and became a student of the famous Rabbi Maharal. In 1597, when he was just 18 years old, Rabbi Heller became a Dayan (rabbinic judge) in Prague. This meant he was appointed to help make decisions on Jewish law.
Rabbinic Career and Leadership
In 1624, Rabbi Heller became the rabbi of Mikulov, Moravia. The next year, in 1625, he became the rabbi of Vienna. At that time, Jewish people in Vienna were spread out. Rabbi Heller worked hard to help them create a central Jewish community in Leopoldstadt, a part of Vienna. He helped organize the community and set up its rules.
From 1627 to 1629, he served as the Chief Rabbi of Prague.
In 1631, he moved to Ukraine and served as the rabbi of Nemirov for three years. In 1634, he moved to a larger city called Ludmir (now Volodymyr) in Volhynia. During his years in Volhynia and Poland, Rabbi Heller was one of the main leaders of the Council of Four Lands. This was a special council that represented Jewish communities in Poland. In 1640, he worked to make sure that rabbinic positions were given fairly, without people buying their way into them.
Finally, in 1643, he was chosen to lead the rabbinical court in Kraków. He was one of the two chief rabbis there. He also became the head of the Yeshiva in Kraków after Rabbi Yehoshua Heschel passed away. Rabbi Heller was the chief rabbi of Kraków during the difficult time of the Chmielnicki uprising in 1648, and he remained in this role until his death in 1654.
Challenges and Imprisonment
In the summer of 1629, Rabbi Heller faced a difficult time. He was arrested by order of the emperor's court and held in Vienna. He was accused of saying things that were disrespectful to the main religion of the country.
A group was quickly formed to look into the accusations. Rabbi Heller defended himself well. However, the group decided he was guilty and gave him a very harsh sentence. After some people spoke up for him, the king agreed to change the sentence to a very large fine of 12,000 thalers. After more talks, the fine was lowered to 10,000 thalers, which was still a huge amount of money. The king also said Rabbi Heller could no longer serve as a rabbi.
After spending over a month in prison, Rabbi Heller was released. He then spent two years working to pay off the large fine. In 1631, he left Prague and continued his rabbinic career in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
There were several reasons for Rabbi Heller's arrest. The government was starting a campaign against Jewish people. Also, Rabbi Heller had some enemies within the Jewish community in Prague. Because of the Thirty Years' War, the government had placed very high taxes on Jewish communities. Rabbi Heller and his committee decided to tax richer Jewish families more to help pay this large sum. Some wealthy merchants complained about this. They went to the government and accused Rabbi Heller of being an enemy of Christianity. Rabbi Heller was also connected to a powerful Jewish leader named Jacob Bassevi, who had enemies in the emperor's court. So, Rabbi Heller's arrest was part of bigger political events happening at the time.
Family and Legacy
Rabbi Yom-Tov Heller started a long line of rabbis. His father, Nathan, passed away before he was born. Rabbi Heller married Rachel, who came from a wealthy family in Prague. They likely had 16 children, including at least six sons and eight daughters. Some of his sons were Moses, Samuel, Abraham, and Leb. His daughters included Nechle, Nisel, Doberish, Esther, Rebecca, and Reizel.
One of his most famous descendants was Aryeh Leib Heller (born 1745), known for his work K'tzos Hachoshen. Other notable relatives include the scholar Solomon Judah Loeb Rapoport.
To remember his imprisonment and release, Rabbi Heller set up two special days for his family. He made the 5th of Tammuz a yearly fast-day, as that was when his troubles began. He made the 1st of Adar a day of celebration, marking the anniversary of his appointment as rabbi of Kraków. He also wrote a special scroll called Megilat Eivah (Scroll of Hostility), which tells the story of his imprisonment and release. To this day, his descendants celebrate this story with a special Purim celebration.
In 1984, a book called The Feast and The Fast was published. It included Rabbi Heller's Megillat Eivah and a detailed family tree, showing hundreds of families descended from him.
Works and Ideas
Between 1614 and 1617, Rabbi Heller published a commentary on the Mishnah in three volumes. It was first called Tosefet Yom Tov, but is now known as Tosfot Yom Tov. This commentary quickly became one of the most important and widely studied commentaries on the Mishnah. It adds important explanations to the earlier commentary by Rabbi Bartenura.
Rabbi Heller's main work on Jewish law (called Halakha) was Ma'adanei Yom Tov. This was a commentary on a summary of the Babylonian Talmud written by Rabbi Asher ben Jehiel. In Rabbi Heller's time, many German Jews considered Rabbi Asher's summary to be the most important guide for Jewish law.
Rabbi Heller also wrote many other works, including sermons and answers to questions about Jewish law. He wrote two sets of special poems (called piyyutim). The first set, from 1621, remembered the start of the Thirty Years' War and how the Jews of Prague escaped danger. The second set, from 1650, remembered the terrible massacres that happened in 1648-1649.
Rabbi Heller was also interested in Kabbalah, which is a mystical part of Jewish tradition. He even wrote a Kabbalistic work. However, for most of his life, he believed that Kabbalah should not be used to decide matters of Jewish law.
Rabbi Heller was very knowledgeable in many areas, including science. His writings show he was interested in math, astronomy, and nature. He also studied Jewish philosophy. He even praised a book by Azariah dei Rossi, even though his own teacher, the Maharal, had strongly disagreed with it. Rabbi Heller believed in the dignity of all people and was open to studying works by non-Jews. In one of his sermons, he even mentioned the new ideas about astronomy from Copernicus and Tycho Brahe.
Stories and Legends
Since 1881, Rabbi Heller's Megilat Eivah has often been published with a second part. This part is said to be written by his son, Samuel. Samuel tells the story of his father's imprisonment from his own point of view. In his version, a French general named Turenne helped Rabbi Heller. This happened after Samuel supposedly saved Turenne's wife and daughter from a wild bull in Vienna. This story is based on an older tale.
Rabbi Heller is also a character in the novel Satan in Goray by Isaac Bashevis Singer, though he is changed for the story.
Many folktales and legends are told about Rabbi Heller. One famous story is about a man named Yossele the Holy Miser, who died in Kraków. The town leaders thought Yossele was selfish because he never gave to charity, so they wanted to bury him in a far corner of the cemetery. A few days later, the poor people of the town cried out because they had lost Yossele's secret help. It turned out that Yossele had been giving charity in a very special way: he secretly gave money to merchants, who then gave food and clothing to the poor. When Rabbi Heller learned this, he was very moved. He asked to be buried next to Yossele when he died. This is why Rabbi Heller, a very great scholar, is buried in a less important part of the cemetery.
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See also
In Spanish: Yom Tov Lippmann para niños
