Isaac ben Moses of Vienna
Encyclopedia
Isaac ben Moses of Vienna, also called Isaac Or Zarua or the Riaz, was one of the greatest rabbi
s of the Middle Ages
. He was probably born in Bohemia
and lived between 1200 and 1270. He attained his fame in Vienna
and his major work, the halachic
guide known as the Or Zarua, was very popular among Ashkenazic Jewry. He was a member of the Chassidei Ashkenaz
and studied under many scholars, including the Ra'avyah, Rabbi Yehudah HaChasid, the Sar mi'Kutzi and Rabbi Elazar Rokeach
. He was among the teachers of Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg
.
ic knowledge, he undertook in his youth extensive journeys to the prominent yeshivot
of Germany
and France
. According to Gross he went to Ratisbon first; but S.N. Bernstein conjectures that previously he stopped for a long time at Vienna
, and became closely identified with the city, as he is usually quoted as "Isaac of Vienna." From among the many scholars at Ratisbon he selected for his guide the mystic
Yehuda ben Samuel HaChasid
.
About 1217 he went to Paris
, where the great Talmudist Judah ben Isaac Sir Leon became his chief teacher. He also visited for a short time the yeshiva of Jacob ben Meir in Provins
. Then he returned to Germany, and studied under the mystic Eleazar ben Judah at Worms
, and, at Speyer
, under Simchah ben Samuel, his intimate friend, and Eliezer ben Joel ha-Levi, author of Abi ha-'Ezri and Abi'asaf. At Würzburg
, where Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg was his pupil (c. 1230), he became rosh yeshiva
. Later on Isaac returned to Ratisbon, and then settled for some time in Vienna, where he held the position of Av Beth Din and rosh yeshiva. Finally, he went to Saxony
and Bohemia.
Isaac lived a long but unsteady and troubled life. He saw the law compelling Jews to wear the yellow badge
put into force in France, and he deplored the massacres of the Jews
in Frankfurt-am-Main (1241) and the extortions practised upon them by the nobles of Austria. His son-in-law was Samuel ben Shabbethai of Leipzig
; his son Chaim Eliezer, called Or Zarua, like him a scholar, carried on a comprehensive halachic correspondence, a part of which (251 responsa
) was printed under the title Sefer She'elot u-Teshubot (Leipzig, 1860).
manuscript (incomplete) by Lipa and Höschel in Jitomir, 1862. Other manuscripts are at Oxford and in the Jewish Theological Seminary
in New York City
. In the edition of Lipa and Höschel Seder Nezikin
is wanting; most of the rest of the work was afterward printed at Jerusalem by J.M. Hirschensohn.
The Or Zarua comprises the whole ritual, and is arranged according to the Talmudic tractates
, while at the same time the halachot are kept together. The author, unlike Maimonides
in his Mishneh Torah, does not confine himself to giving the halachic decisions, but gives also the passage of the Talmud, explains the subject matter, and develops the din from it. Thus the Or Zarua is at the same time a ritual code and a Talmudic commentary. As it contains, in addition, explanations of some passages in the Bible
, the author is also quoted as a Bible commentator.
Moreover, the book contains a part of the halachic correspondence which the author carried on with Talmudic scholars of Italy
, France, and Austria
. Older collections of halachic decisions which the author had gathered together during his lifetime seem also to be embodied in the work. Isaac explains unknown words in Bohemian, his mother tongue, and cites the Jerusalem Talmud
, to which he ascribes great authority in halachic decisions. The work is introduced by a treatise couched in words to whose meanings mystical significance is attached. It is an imitation of the Alphabet of Akiba ben Joseph
, and was composed at the order of Isaac's teacher Eleazar ben Judah of Worms. Isaac's son Chaim Eliezer arranged a compendium of this work which exists in several manuscripts.
The Or Zarua succeeded in displacing all the older ritual works. It is very important also for the Culturgeschichte of the German Jews in the Middle Ages.
According to Gross, Isaac's chief importance rests upon the fact that he introduced among the Jewish communities in Slavic lands the study of the Talmud from France and the west of Germany.
Isaac was of a mild and peace-loving character and it was for this reason, perhaps, that he did not participate in the struggle against the study of secular sciences, though an incorrect ritual decision would rouse him to indignant energy. He carried on a controversy with several rabbis concerning the legal status of a betrothed girl who had been forced by circumstances to adopt Christianity
and had afterward returned to Judaism
. His anxiety for correct observance led him to counsel the more difficult rather than the easier ritual practise. His mystical studies account for his belief in miracles. He was held in high regard by his pupils, and, like other teachers of the time, was given the title Ha-Kadosh ("the holy", by the Rosh
). His contemporary Isaiah di Trani
described him as "the wonder of the age".
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
s of the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. He was probably born in Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
and lived between 1200 and 1270. He attained his fame in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and his major work, the halachic
Halakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...
guide known as the Or Zarua, was very popular among Ashkenazic Jewry. He was a member of the Chassidei Ashkenaz
Chassidei Ashkenaz
The Chassidei Ashkenaz was a Jewish movement in the 12th century and 13th century founded by Rabbi Judah the Pious of Regensburg, Germany and several other German Jews members of the Lehr family and the Kalonymus family.Rabbi Judah was born in Speyer, Germany in 1150 during a time of persecution...
and studied under many scholars, including the Ra'avyah, Rabbi Yehudah HaChasid, the Sar mi'Kutzi and Rabbi Elazar Rokeach
Elazar Rokeach
Eleazar Rokeach , also known as Eleazar of Worms or Eleazar ben Judah ben Kalonymus, was a leading Talmudist and mystic, and the last major member of the Chassidei Ashkenaz, a group of German Jewish pietists.- Biography :...
. He was among the teachers of Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg
Meir of Rothenburg
Meir of Rothenburg was a German Rabbi and poet, a major author of the tosafot on Rashi's commentary on the Talmud...
.
Life
In his Or Zarua, the only primary source of information on his life, Isaac ben Moses mentions as his teachers two Bohemian scholars, Jacob ha-Laban and Isaac ben Jacob ha-Laban (author of Arugat ha-Bosem). Led by a thirst for TalmudTalmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
ic knowledge, he undertook in his youth extensive journeys to the prominent yeshivot
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. According to Gross he went to Ratisbon first; but S.N. Bernstein conjectures that previously he stopped for a long time at Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, and became closely identified with the city, as he is usually quoted as "Isaac of Vienna." From among the many scholars at Ratisbon he selected for his guide the mystic
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
Yehuda ben Samuel HaChasid
Judah ben Samuel of Regensburg
Judah ben Samuel of Regensburg , also called HeHasid or 'the Pious' in Hebrew, was the initiator of the Chassidei Ashkenaz, a movement of Jewish mysticism in Germany....
.
About 1217 he went to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, where the great Talmudist Judah ben Isaac Sir Leon became his chief teacher. He also visited for a short time the yeshiva of Jacob ben Meir in Provins
Provins
Provins is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.Provins, a town of medieval fairs, became a UNESCOWorld Heritage Site in 2001.-Administration:...
. Then he returned to Germany, and studied under the mystic Eleazar ben Judah at Worms
Worms, Germany
Worms is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River. At the end of 2004, it had 85,829 inhabitants.Established by the Celts, who called it Borbetomagus, Worms today remains embattled with the cities Trier and Cologne over the title of "Oldest City in Germany." Worms is the only...
, and, at Speyer
Speyer
Speyer is a city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located beside the river Rhine, Speyer is 25 km south of Ludwigshafen and Mannheim. Founded by the Romans, it is one of Germany's oldest cities...
, under Simchah ben Samuel, his intimate friend, and Eliezer ben Joel ha-Levi, author of Abi ha-'Ezri and Abi'asaf. At Würzburg
Würzburg
Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
, where Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg was his pupil (c. 1230), he became rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva, , , is the title given to the dean of a Talmudical academy . It is made up of the Hebrew words rosh — meaning head, and yeshiva — a school of religious Jewish education...
. Later on Isaac returned to Ratisbon, and then settled for some time in Vienna, where he held the position of Av Beth Din and rosh yeshiva. Finally, he went to Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
and Bohemia.
Isaac lived a long but unsteady and troubled life. He saw the law compelling Jews to wear the yellow badge
Yellow badge
The yellow badge , also referred to as a Jewish badge, was a cloth patch that Jews were ordered to sew on their outer garments in order to mark them as Jews in public. It is intended to be a badge of shame associated with antisemitism...
put into force in France, and he deplored the massacres of the Jews
Pogrom
A pogrom is a form of violent riot, a mob attack directed against a minority group, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes and properties, businesses, and religious centres...
in Frankfurt-am-Main (1241) and the extortions practised upon them by the nobles of Austria. His son-in-law was Samuel ben Shabbethai of Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
; his son Chaim Eliezer, called Or Zarua, like him a scholar, carried on a comprehensive halachic correspondence, a part of which (251 responsa
Responsa
Responsa comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them.-In the Roman Empire:Roman law recognised responsa prudentium, i.e...
) was printed under the title Sefer She'elot u-Teshubot (Leipzig, 1860).
Work
Toward the end of his life, about 1260, Isaac composed his ritual work Or Zarua. He is usually quoted as "Isaac Or Zarua." It was printed from the AmsterdamAmsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
manuscript (incomplete) by Lipa and Höschel in Jitomir, 1862. Other manuscripts are at Oxford and in the Jewish Theological Seminary
Jewish Theological Seminary of America
The Jewish Theological Seminary of America is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism, and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studies.JTS operates five schools: Albert A...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. In the edition of Lipa and Höschel Seder Nezikin
Nezikin
For Jewish law on damages, see Damages Nezikin or Seder Nezikin is the fourth Order of the Mishna...
is wanting; most of the rest of the work was afterward printed at Jerusalem by J.M. Hirschensohn.
The Or Zarua comprises the whole ritual, and is arranged according to the Talmudic tractates
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
, while at the same time the halachot are kept together. The author, unlike Maimonides
Maimonides
Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
in his Mishneh Torah, does not confine himself to giving the halachic decisions, but gives also the passage of the Talmud, explains the subject matter, and develops the din from it. Thus the Or Zarua is at the same time a ritual code and a Talmudic commentary. As it contains, in addition, explanations of some passages in the Bible
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
, the author is also quoted as a Bible commentator.
Moreover, the book contains a part of the halachic correspondence which the author carried on with Talmudic scholars of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, France, and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. Older collections of halachic decisions which the author had gathered together during his lifetime seem also to be embodied in the work. Isaac explains unknown words in Bohemian, his mother tongue, and cites the Jerusalem Talmud
Jerusalem Talmud
The Jerusalem Talmud, talmud meaning "instruction", "learning", , is a collection of Rabbinic notes on the 2nd-century Mishnah which was compiled in the Land of Israel during the 4th-5th century. The voluminous text is also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud de-Eretz Yisrael...
, to which he ascribes great authority in halachic decisions. The work is introduced by a treatise couched in words to whose meanings mystical significance is attached. It is an imitation of the Alphabet of Akiba ben Joseph
Alphabet of Akiba ben Joseph
Alphabet of Akiba ben Joseph, or Otiot de-Rabbi Akiba , is the title of a Midrash on the names of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet...
, and was composed at the order of Isaac's teacher Eleazar ben Judah of Worms. Isaac's son Chaim Eliezer arranged a compendium of this work which exists in several manuscripts.
The Or Zarua succeeded in displacing all the older ritual works. It is very important also for the Culturgeschichte of the German Jews in the Middle Ages.
According to Gross, Isaac's chief importance rests upon the fact that he introduced among the Jewish communities in Slavic lands the study of the Talmud from France and the west of Germany.
Isaac was of a mild and peace-loving character and it was for this reason, perhaps, that he did not participate in the struggle against the study of secular sciences, though an incorrect ritual decision would rouse him to indignant energy. He carried on a controversy with several rabbis concerning the legal status of a betrothed girl who had been forced by circumstances to adopt Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
and had afterward returned to Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
. His anxiety for correct observance led him to counsel the more difficult rather than the easier ritual practise. His mystical studies account for his belief in miracles. He was held in high regard by his pupils, and, like other teachers of the time, was given the title Ha-Kadosh ("the holy", by the Rosh
Asher ben Jehiel
Asher ben Jehiel- Ashkenazi was an eminent rabbi and Talmudist best known for his abstract of Talmudic law. He is often referred to as Rabbenu Asher, “our Rabbi Asher” or by the Hebrew acronym for this title, the ROSH...
). His contemporary Isaiah di Trani
Isaiah di Trani
Isaiah di Trani ben Mali , better known as the RID, was a prominent Italian Talmudist.- Biography:...
described him as "the wonder of the age".