Yom-Tov Lipmann Heller
Encyclopedia
Yom-Tov Lipmann ben Nathan ha-Levi Heller, (b. Wallerstein, Bavaria
, 1578; d. Kraków
, August 19, 1654), was a Bohemia
n rabbi
and Talmudist, best-known for writing a commentary on the Mishnah
called the Tosafot Yom-Tov (1614-7). Heller was one of the major Talmudic scholars in Prague and in Poland during the "Golden Age" before 1648.
, where he studied in the yeshiva
of R. Jacob Günzburg. From there, he moved to Prague
, where he became a disciple of the Maharal, head of the yeshiva
of Prague
. In 1597, when Heller was scarcely 19 years old, he received a semicha
(appointment) as a dayan in that city.
In October 1624, Heller was called to the rabbinate of Mikulov
, Moravia
, and in March 1625, became rabbi of the Vienna
. Leopoldstadt
was then a suburb of Vienna. At his arrival the Jews of Vienna were scattered throughout the city, not having a central community. Heller obtained for the Jews the rights to establish a central Jewish community in Leopoldstadt where he was instrumental in reorganizing the community and drew up its constitution.
From 1627 until 1629, he was chief rabbi of Prague.
In 1631, he moved to the Ukraine, where he served as rabbi of Nemirov for three years. In 1634, he moved to the larger city of Ludmir (Volodymyr
) in Volhynia
. During his years in Volhynia and Poland, Heller was among the rabbinic leaders of the Council of Four Lands
. In 1640, he worked to obtain the renewal of the synod
’s decrees against simony
in the rabbinate.
Finally, in 1643, he was elected head of the rabbinical court of Kraków, one of the two chief rabbis of that community. Joshua Heschel, the author of Maginne Shelomoh, was head of the yeshiva there. Four years later, Heschel died, and R' Heller succeeded him in the direction of the yeshiva as well. Heller was chief rabbi of Kraków during the Chmielnicki uprising of 1648, and until his death in 1654.
. Heller was put in prison in Vienna, and accused of insulting Christianity.
A commission was quickly appointed to inquire into Heller's guilt. Heller defended himself adroitly, but the commission's verdict was that Heller be sentenced to hard labor in prison. It was an influential German baron who appeared before the emperor to plead the rabbi's cause. The Baron paid 12,000 thalers for his release on the condition that R' Heller resign the post of Chief Rabbi of Prague and leave the country.
Legend holds that R' Heller's son was studying under a tree in the forest when his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of an animal chasing its prey. He saw a large bull charging toward a young woman wrapped in a red shawl. The woman was so frightened she froze. The young man raced over to the woman and grabbed the shawl and threw it at the bull, thus saving her from the bull's horns.
The woman was hysterical so the young man took her to his home where he learned that she was a Baroness. Her husband offered a reward but he refused to accept any money. The Baron then said, "I am very grateful to you for saving my wife's life. If you ever need a favor, don't hesitate to approach me. I will be happy to help you, just as you were helpful to my wife.
R' Heller's family remembered the Baron's promise. It was through the Baron, who had influence with the emperor, that arrangements were made for the rabbi's release.
After spending more than a month in prison, Heller was released. He then spent two years paying off the fine. In 1631, Heller left Prague, and spent the second part of his career in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Several factors account for Heller's imprisonment. His arrest marked the beginning of a brief Habsburg anti-Jewish campaign, encouraged by the Papacy. Heller also had enemies within the Prague Jewish community. On account of the Thirty Years' War
, the government had imposed heavy taxes on the Jewish communities of Bohemia
, including that of Prague, which had to pay a yearly tax of 40,000 thaler
s. A commission headed by Chief Rabbi Heller unanimously voted to tax each Jewish family in Prague. The richer the family, the higher the tax. The burden fell mostly upon the rich merchants who could well afford to pay their assessments. However, they complained and demanded a reexamination of the decision. R' Heller and his committee reviewed the problem and concluded that this approach was fair. The committee met with representatives of the merchants' association to explain the sensitive situation facing the Jewish community of Prague. The irate merchants refused to deal with the Kahal which was responsible for delivering the money to the government. Instead, they decided to appeal to the government. In their petition they charged the Chief Rabbi with being an enemy of Christianity. Their proof: "His writings are filled with allegations against the religion of the country. R' Heller was associated with the wealthy leader of the Prague community at that time, Jacob Bassevi
, and bore the brunt of anger against him. Meanwhile, Bassevi, who was an ally of the great general Albrecht von Wallenstein
, also had enemies at the Habsburg court, and the arrest of Heller played a part in larger political machinations there.
family. On his mother's side, he was related to the Günzburg
family; on his father side, to the Frankel family of Vienna. Yom-Tov and Rachel had four sons and at least six daughters. The sons, whom he mentions in his works, were: Moses of Prague, Samuel of Nemirow, Abraham of Lublin, and Leb of Brest-Litovsk. The daughters of whom we know were: Nechle, Nisel, Doberish, Esther, Rebecca, and Reizel.
Probably his most famous descendants was Aryeh Leib Heller (b.1745), known as the K'tzos (after his greatest work, K'tzos Hachoshen). And his brother Yehuda Heller Kahana
(b. 1738), known as the Kuntras Ha'Sfeikos often appearing with the K'tzos Hachoshen. The current Toldos Aharon
Rebbe is a descendent too and the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine, Rabbi Azrael Chaikin.
Among Heller's lesser known descendants are Yisroel Ya'akov Yoikel Halevi Gottesman (d. 1992) and his children and grandchildren. They are all currently residing in the United States.
In commemoration of his imprisonment and his release from prison, Heller established two special days of remembrance for his family and descendants. He established the 5th of Tammuz, the day on which his troubles began, as an annual fast-day, and the 1st of Adar
as a day of celebration on the anniversary of his nomination to the rabbinate of Kraków. The reading of the Megillah that Heller wrote, called Megillat Eivah (Scroll of Hostility), that tells the story of his imprisonment and release, became a tradition for the descendants of Rabbi Heller. To this day, they celebrate the story of his life in a special Purim
celebration.
In 1984 on the 330th anniversary "Yahrzeit" of Rabbi Heller death the story of rabbi Heller Megillat Eivah and a detailed family tree was published in English by Rabbi C.U.Lipschitz and Dr. Neil Rosenstein under the title, "The Feast and The Fast" by Maznaim Publishing Corporation New York and Jerusalem. The book contains 40 pages of charts detailing the family tree and the hundreds of families descended from Rabbi Heller.
commentary, Tosafot Yom Tov, in three volumes. The commentary quickly became established as one of the standard commentaries to the Mishnah, and is studied to this day. His commentary in an important complement to the commentary of Bartenura (Tosafot
to Bartenura’s Rashi
, as it were – hence the title.)
Heller’s major halakhic work was Ma`adanei Yom Tov, a commentary to the summary of the Babylonian Talmud by Rabbi Asher ben Jehiel
. Rabbi Asher’s summary was often taken by German Jews of Heller’s day to be the most authoritative statement of Jewish law, even in preference to the Shulhan Arukh. Heller’s introduction to the work endorses that view. Heller’s halakhic views, mainly on matters of ritual, are quoted by many later rabbis, especially the later rabbis of Prague.
Heller also authored a memoir called Megilat Eivah, as we have mentioned.
Among Heller’s many minor works are sermons and responsa
. He also wrote two sets of piyyut
im. The first set, from 1621, commemorates the Defenestration of Prague and the beginning of the Thirty Years War; and the escape of the Prague Jews from the sack of Prague by Habsburg troops after the Battle of White Mountain
in 1620. The second set of poems, written in 1650, commemorate the Cossack massacres of 1648-1649.
Heller was a kabbalist, and even authored himself a Kabbalistic
work, a commentary on Rabenu Bahya ben Asher
, based on the kabbalistic views of Moses Cordovero
. But throughout most of his life, Heller was opposed to the popularization of kabbalah, and the use of kabbalistic reasoning in matters of Jewish law.
Among rabbis of his generation, Heller was exceptionally well versed in the secular sciences. His Talmudic works and his sermons show that he was interested in questions of arithmetic, astronomy, and natural science. His notes on the Giv'at ha Moreh of Joseph ben Isaac ha-Levi prove that he occupied himself with philosophy
. He praised the Me'or 'Enayim of Azariah dei Rossi
in spite of the anathema that his master, Judah ben Bezalel, whom he held in great esteem, had launched against the book and its author. His statement on the universal dignity of humanity is also notable, as is his openness to study of works by non-Jews. One of his sermons alludes to the “new astronomy” of Copernicus and Tycho Brahe
.
.
Benish Ashkenazi, one of the major characters in the novel Satan in Goray
by Isaac Bashevis Singer
, is a fictionalized version of R' Heller.
Heller is also the subject of a number of folktales and legends. One well-known story about R' Heller concerns Yossele the Holy Miser
, who died in Kraków. R' Heller was asked where to bury him. The town leaders were disgusted by this man's lack of charity, and directed that his body be buried in a far corner of the cemetery. A few days after the miser's death, a great cry was heard in the town, for the poor and hungry were bereft of the miser's secret generosity. The "miser" had been giving charity in the most noble fashion – secretly giving money to the local merchants, who in turn had given food, clothing and money to the poor. When this came to R' Heller's attention, he was visibly shaken. He instructed the town to bury him next to the Yossele upon his own death. This explains why R' Heller, one of the greatest of Talmudic scholars, is buried in such an undistinguished section of the cemetery.
Wallerstein, Bavaria
Wallerstein is a municipality in the district of Donau-Ries in Bavaria in Germany. It was first mentioned 1238 as Steinheim. In 1806 Wallerstein became a part of Bavaria.- Culture and Sights:* castle Wallerstein* castle rock* old Jewish burial ground...
, 1578; d. Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
, August 19, 1654), was a 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...
n rabbi
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...
and Talmudist, best-known for writing a commentary on the Mishnah
Mishnah
The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
called the Tosafot Yom-Tov (1614-7). Heller was one of the major Talmudic scholars in Prague and in Poland during the "Golden Age" before 1648.
Education and rabbinic career
Heller was brought up by his grandfather, Rabbi Moses Wallerstein. As a teenager, Heller was sent to FriedbergFriedberg
- Places :* Friedberg, Bavaria, Germany* Friedberg, Hesse, Germany** University of Applied Sciences Giessen-Friedberg* Aichach-Friedberg, Bavaria, Germany* Friedberg, Bad Saulgau, a district of Bad Saulgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany* Friedberg, Styria, Austria...
, where he studied in the yeshiva
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 R. Jacob Günzburg. From there, he moved to Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, where he became a disciple of the Maharal, head of the yeshiva
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 Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
. In 1597, when Heller was scarcely 19 years old, he received a semicha
Semicha
, also , or is derived from a Hebrew word which means to "rely on" or "to be authorized". It generally refers to the ordination of a rabbi within Judaism. In this sense it is the "transmission" of rabbinic authority to give advice or judgment in Jewish law...
(appointment) as a dayan in that city.
In October 1624, Heller was called to the rabbinate of Mikulov
Mikulov
Mikulov is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic with a population of 7,608 . It is located directly on the border with Lower Austria. Mikulov is located at the edge of a hilly area and the three Nové Mlýny reservoirs...
, Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
, and in March 1625, became rabbi of the 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...
. Leopoldstadt
Leopoldstadt
Leopoldstadt is the 2nd municipal District of Vienna . There are inhabitants over . It is situated in the heart of the city and, together with Brigittenau , forms a large island surrounded by the Danube Canal and, to the north, the Danube. It is named after Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor...
was then a suburb of Vienna. At his arrival the Jews of Vienna were scattered throughout the city, not having a central community. Heller obtained for the Jews the rights to establish a central Jewish community in Leopoldstadt where he was instrumental in reorganizing the community and drew up its constitution.
From 1627 until 1629, he was chief rabbi of Prague.
In 1631, he moved to the Ukraine, where he served as rabbi of Nemirov for three years. In 1634, he moved to the larger city of Ludmir (Volodymyr
Volodymyr-Volynskyi
Volodymyr-Volynsky is a city located in Volyn Oblast, in north-western Ukraine. Serving as the administrative centre of the Volodymyr-Volynsky District, the city itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast...
) in Volhynia
Volhynia
Volhynia, Volynia, or Volyn is a historic region in western Ukraine located between the rivers Prypiat and Southern Bug River, to the north of Galicia and Podolia; the region is named for the former city of Volyn or Velyn, said to have been located on the Southern Bug River, whose name may come...
. During his years in Volhynia and Poland, Heller was among the rabbinic leaders of the Council of Four Lands
Council of Four Lands
The Council of Four Lands in Lublin, Poland was the central body of Jewish authority in Poland from 1580 to 1764. Seventy delegates from local kehillot met to discuss taxation and other issues important to the Jewish community...
. In 1640, he worked to obtain the renewal of the synod
Synod
A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
’s decrees against simony
Simony
Simony is the act of paying for sacraments and consequently for holy offices or for positions in the hierarchy of a church, named after Simon Magus , who appears in the Acts of the Apostles 8:9-24...
in the rabbinate.
Finally, in 1643, he was elected head of the rabbinical court of Kraków, one of the two chief rabbis of that community. Joshua Heschel, the author of Maginne Shelomoh, was head of the yeshiva there. Four years later, Heschel died, and R' Heller succeeded him in the direction of the yeshiva as well. Heller was chief rabbi of Kraków during the Chmielnicki uprising of 1648, and until his death in 1654.
Imprisonment
In the summer of 1629, Heller was arrested at the order of the imperial court of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand IIFerdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand II , a member of the House of Habsburg, was Holy Roman Emperor , King of Bohemia , and King of Hungary . His rule coincided with the Thirty Years' War.- Life :...
. Heller was put in prison in Vienna, and accused of insulting Christianity.
A commission was quickly appointed to inquire into Heller's guilt. Heller defended himself adroitly, but the commission's verdict was that Heller be sentenced to hard labor in prison. It was an influential German baron who appeared before the emperor to plead the rabbi's cause. The Baron paid 12,000 thalers for his release on the condition that R' Heller resign the post of Chief Rabbi of Prague and leave the country.
Legend holds that R' Heller's son was studying under a tree in the forest when his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of an animal chasing its prey. He saw a large bull charging toward a young woman wrapped in a red shawl. The woman was so frightened she froze. The young man raced over to the woman and grabbed the shawl and threw it at the bull, thus saving her from the bull's horns.
The woman was hysterical so the young man took her to his home where he learned that she was a Baroness. Her husband offered a reward but he refused to accept any money. The Baron then said, "I am very grateful to you for saving my wife's life. If you ever need a favor, don't hesitate to approach me. I will be happy to help you, just as you were helpful to my wife.
R' Heller's family remembered the Baron's promise. It was through the Baron, who had influence with the emperor, that arrangements were made for the rabbi's release.
After spending more than a month in prison, Heller was released. He then spent two years paying off the fine. In 1631, Heller left Prague, and spent the second part of his career in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Several factors account for Heller's imprisonment. His arrest marked the beginning of a brief Habsburg anti-Jewish campaign, encouraged by the Papacy. Heller also had enemies within the Prague Jewish community. On account of the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
, the government had imposed heavy taxes on the Jewish communities of 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...
, including that of Prague, which had to pay a yearly tax of 40,000 thaler
Thaler
The Thaler was a silver coin used throughout Europe for almost four hundred years. Its name lives on in various currencies as the dollar or tolar. Etymologically, "Thaler" is an abbreviation of "Joachimsthaler", a coin type from the city of Joachimsthal in Bohemia, where some of the first such...
s. A commission headed by Chief Rabbi Heller unanimously voted to tax each Jewish family in Prague. The richer the family, the higher the tax. The burden fell mostly upon the rich merchants who could well afford to pay their assessments. However, they complained and demanded a reexamination of the decision. R' Heller and his committee reviewed the problem and concluded that this approach was fair. The committee met with representatives of the merchants' association to explain the sensitive situation facing the Jewish community of Prague. The irate merchants refused to deal with the Kahal which was responsible for delivering the money to the government. Instead, they decided to appeal to the government. In their petition they charged the Chief Rabbi with being an enemy of Christianity. Their proof: "His writings are filled with allegations against the religion of the country. R' Heller was associated with the wealthy leader of the Prague community at that time, Jacob Bassevi
Jacob Bassevi
Jacob Bassevi von Treuenberg was a Bohemian Court Jew and financier. He entered business early in life, ultimately became very wealthy, and stood in high favor with the emperors Rudolph II, Matthias, and Ferdinand II, to whom he, with other Jewish capitalists, frequently rendered financial...
, and bore the brunt of anger against him. Meanwhile, Bassevi, who was an ally of the great general Albrecht von Wallenstein
Albrecht von Wallenstein
Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein , actually von Waldstein, was a Bohemian soldier and politician, who offered his services, and an army of 30,000 to 100,000 men during the Danish period of the Thirty Years' War , to the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II...
, also had enemies at the Habsburg court, and the arrest of Heller played a part in larger political machinations there.
Family
Heller founded a long line of rabbis. He was the son of R' Nathan, who was the son of Rabbi Moses Franklin. Heller was married to Rachel, the daughter of a wealthy Prague merchant, Aaron Moses Ashkenazi (Munk). Through Rachel, he was related to the HorowitzHorowitz
Horowitz , also transcripted as Horovitz/Hurwitz/Gurvich/Gurevich, is a surname that has its origin in the Yiddish name for the town of Hořovice in Bohemia, near Prague...
family. On his mother's side, he was related to the Günzburg
Günzburg
Günzburg is a Große Kreisstadt and capital of the district of Günzburg in Swabia, Bavaria. This district was constituted in 1972 by combining the city of Günzburg—which had not previously been assigned to a Kreis —with the district of Günzburg and the district of Krumbach.Günzburg lies...
family; on his father side, to the Frankel family of Vienna. Yom-Tov and Rachel had four sons and at least six daughters. The sons, whom he mentions in his works, were: Moses of Prague, Samuel of Nemirow, Abraham of Lublin, and Leb of Brest-Litovsk. The daughters of whom we know were: Nechle, Nisel, Doberish, Esther, Rebecca, and Reizel.
Probably his most famous descendants was Aryeh Leib Heller (b.1745), known as the K'tzos (after his greatest work, K'tzos Hachoshen). And his brother Yehuda Heller Kahana
Yehuda Heller Kahana
Yehuda Heller-Kahane was a Rabbi, Talmudist, and Halachist in Galicia. He was known as "the Kuntras HaSfeikos" based on his work, Kuntras HaSfeikos, קונטרס הספיקות. He was a descendent of the Tosafos Yom Tov.-Life and works:...
(b. 1738), known as the Kuntras Ha'Sfeikos often appearing with the K'tzos Hachoshen. The current Toldos Aharon
Toldos Aharon (Hasidic dynasty)
Toldos Aharon is a strongly anti-Zionist Hasidic movement, headquartered in Jerusalem's Meah Shearim neighborhood. Significant concentrations of Hasidim are also located in Ramat Beit Shemesh, London and New York. Toldos Aharon is a split-off from Shomer Emunim...
Rebbe is a descendent too and the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine, Rabbi Azrael Chaikin.
Among Heller's lesser known descendants are Yisroel Ya'akov Yoikel Halevi Gottesman (d. 1992) and his children and grandchildren. They are all currently residing in the United States.
In commemoration of his imprisonment and his release from prison, Heller established two special days of remembrance for his family and descendants. He established the 5th of Tammuz, the day on which his troubles began, as an annual fast-day, and the 1st of Adar
Adar
Adar is the sixth month of the civil year and the twelfth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. It is a winter month of 29 days...
as a day of celebration on the anniversary of his nomination to the rabbinate of Kraków. The reading of the Megillah that Heller wrote, called Megillat Eivah (Scroll of Hostility), that tells the story of his imprisonment and release, became a tradition for the descendants of Rabbi Heller. To this day, they celebrate the story of his life in a special Purim
Purim
Purim is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people in the ancient Persian Empire from destruction in the wake of a plot by Haman, a story recorded in the Biblical Book of Esther .Purim is celebrated annually according to the Hebrew calendar on the 14th...
celebration.
In 1984 on the 330th anniversary "Yahrzeit" of Rabbi Heller death the story of rabbi Heller Megillat Eivah and a detailed family tree was published in English by Rabbi C.U.Lipschitz and Dr. Neil Rosenstein under the title, "The Feast and The Fast" by Maznaim Publishing Corporation New York and Jerusalem. The book contains 40 pages of charts detailing the family tree and the hundreds of families descended from Rabbi Heller.
Works and opinions
Between 1614 and 1617, R' Heller published a MishnahMishnah
The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
commentary, Tosafot Yom Tov, in three volumes. The commentary quickly became established as one of the standard commentaries to the Mishnah, and is studied to this day. His commentary in an important complement to the commentary of Bartenura (Tosafot
Tosafot
The Tosafot or Tosafos are medieval commentaries on the Talmud. They take the form of critical and explanatory glosses, printed, in almost all Talmud editions, on the outer margin and opposite Rashi's notes...
to Bartenura’s Rashi
Rashi
Shlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...
, as it were – hence the title.)
Heller’s major halakhic work was Ma`adanei Yom Tov, a commentary to the summary of the Babylonian Talmud by Rabbi Asher ben Jehiel
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...
. Rabbi Asher’s summary was often taken by German Jews of Heller’s day to be the most authoritative statement of Jewish law, even in preference to the Shulhan Arukh. Heller’s introduction to the work endorses that view. Heller’s halakhic views, mainly on matters of ritual, are quoted by many later rabbis, especially the later rabbis of Prague.
Heller also authored a memoir called Megilat Eivah, as we have mentioned.
Among Heller’s many minor works are sermons and 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...
. He also wrote two sets of piyyut
Piyyut
A piyyut or piyut is a Jewish liturgical poem, usually designated to be sung, chanted, or recited during religious services. Piyyutim have been written since Temple times...
im. The first set, from 1621, commemorates the Defenestration of Prague and the beginning of the Thirty Years War; and the escape of the Prague Jews from the sack of Prague by Habsburg troops after the Battle of White Mountain
Battle of White Mountain
The Battle of White Mountain, 8 November 1620 was an early battle in the Thirty Years' War in which an army of 30,000 Bohemians and mercenaries under Christian of Anhalt were routed by 27,000 men of the combined armies of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor under Charles Bonaventure de Longueval,...
in 1620. The second set of poems, written in 1650, commemorate the Cossack massacres of 1648-1649.
Heller was a kabbalist, and even authored himself a Kabbalistic
Kabbalah
Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...
work, a commentary on Rabenu Bahya ben Asher
Bahya ben Asher
Bahye ben Asher ibn Halawa also known as Rabbeinu Behaye was a rabbi and scholar of Judaism. He was a commentator on the Hebrew Bible and is noted for introducing Kabbalah into study of the Torah.He is considered by Jewish scholars to be one of the most distinguished of the Biblical exegetes of...
, based on the kabbalistic views of Moses Cordovero
Moses Cordovero
Moses Cordovero was a physician who lived at Leghorn , Tuscany in the seventeenth century. David Conforte praises him as a good physician, and also on account of his scholarship and philanthropy. He was always eager to secure the release of prisoners through his personal influence as well as by...
. But throughout most of his life, Heller was opposed to the popularization of kabbalah, and the use of kabbalistic reasoning in matters of Jewish law.
Among rabbis of his generation, Heller was exceptionally well versed in the secular sciences. His Talmudic works and his sermons show that he was interested in questions of arithmetic, astronomy, and natural science. His notes on the Giv'at ha Moreh of Joseph ben Isaac ha-Levi prove that he occupied himself with philosophy
Jewish philosophy
Jewish philosophy , includes all philosophy carried out by Jews, or, in relation to the religion of Judaism. Jewish philosophy, until modern Enlightenment and Emancipation, was pre-occupied with attempts to reconcile coherent new ideas into the tradition of Rabbinic Judaism; thus organizing...
. He praised the Me'or 'Enayim of Azariah dei Rossi
Azariah dei Rossi
Azariah ben Moses dei Rossi was an Italian-Jewish physician and scholar. He was born at Mantua in 1513 or 1514; and died in 1578. He was descended from an old Jewish family which, according to a tradition, was brought by Titus from Jerusalem...
in spite of the anathema that his master, Judah ben Bezalel, whom he held in great esteem, had launched against the book and its author. His statement on the universal dignity of humanity is also notable, as is his openness to study of works by non-Jews. One of his sermons alludes to the “new astronomy” of Copernicus and Tycho Brahe
Tycho Brahe
Tycho Brahe , born Tyge Ottesen Brahe, was a Danish nobleman known for his accurate and comprehensive astronomical and planetary observations...
.
Folktales and fictions
Since 1881, Heller’s Megilat Eivah has typically been published with a second section that is attributed to his son Samuel. Samuel relates the story of Heller’s imprisonment and trial from his own point of view. In his version, the Rabbi was helped by the French general Turenne, ambassador of the court of King Louis XIV of France, after Samuel's dramatic life-saving of Turenne's wife and daughter at a park in Vienna, when they were attacked by a raging bull. The anecdote is based on a story by Ludwig PhilippsonLudwig Philippson
Ludwig Philippson was a German rabbi and author, the son of Moses Philippson.He was educated at the gymanasium of Halle and at the University of Berlin, and maintained himself by tutoring and by doing literary work...
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Benish Ashkenazi, one of the major characters in the novel Satan in Goray
Satan in Goray
Satan in Goray is a novel by Isaac Bashevis Singer . It was originally published in installments in a literary magazine called Globus and was Singer's first published work. It is set in the years following 1648, when the Chmelnicki massacres, considered one of the greatest Jewish catastrophes,...
by Isaac Bashevis Singer
Isaac Bashevis Singer
Isaac Bashevis Singer – July 24, 1991) was a Polish Jewish American author noted for his short stories. He was one of the leading figures in the Yiddish literary movement, and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1978...
, is a fictionalized version of R' Heller.
Heller is also the subject of a number of folktales and legends. One well-known story about R' Heller concerns Yossele the Holy Miser
Yossele the Holy Miser
Yossele the Holy Miser was a Jew who lived in medieval Poland in the Kazimierz Jewish quarter of Kraków. His apparent stinginess and hidden generosity is at the center of a well-known tale of Jewish folklore that speaks to one of the highest levels of tzedakah in the Jewish tradition: giving...
, who died in Kraków. R' Heller was asked where to bury him. The town leaders were disgusted by this man's lack of charity, and directed that his body be buried in a far corner of the cemetery. A few days after the miser's death, a great cry was heard in the town, for the poor and hungry were bereft of the miser's secret generosity. The "miser" had been giving charity in the most noble fashion – secretly giving money to the local merchants, who in turn had given food, clothing and money to the poor. When this came to R' Heller's attention, he was visibly shaken. He instructed the town to bury him next to the Yossele upon his own death. This explains why R' Heller, one of the greatest of Talmudic scholars, is buried in such an undistinguished section of the cemetery.