Bach: Rabbi Joel Sirkes
His Life, Works and Times
(Expanded Edition)
By Elijah J. Schochet
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Excerpt
Chapter Two
Life
There is a dearth of information concerning the birthdates and birthplaces of the majority of medieval Jewish scholars.[1] Such is also the case with Rabbi Joel Sirkes, known to ensuing generations as the "BaH", an appellation stemming from the title of his principal work, Bayit Hadash.[2] Notwithstanding the fact that he was a rabbinic scholar of renown and influence, living but a little over three centuries ago, there is little accurate biographical data available concerning his life.
The only clue as to Sirkes' probable place of birth is found in an incidental reference to his boyhood days, found in one of his reponsa:
When I was a child my father once purchased for me, at a high price, the honor of reading the Haftorah on the last day of Passover. I read this portion in the Synagogue of Rabbi Solomon Luria. I recall the rabbi, of blessed memory, to have been present at the time.[3]
Rabbi Luria's Synagogue was located in Lublin. This childhood home of Sirkes was most likely also his birthplace. In the absence of any direct evidence, we may surmise that he was born sometime about the year 1561.[4]
Rabbi Sirkes lived for approximately eighty years, contemporary with both his familiar world of Karo and Isserles to the East, and with the new and unfamiliar world of Shakespeare and Spinoza to the West. He lived and died a part of his familiar world only, in Cracow, on the twentieth day of Adar, 5400 (1640).[5] There is no evidence that Rabbi Joel ever traveled beyond the borders of Poland or Lithuania, although he expressed a desire to go to the land of Israel.[6]
FAMILY
Rabbi Joel's family was one of name and renown for its scholarship.[7] The authentic family name seems to have been Jaffe; in BH, Yoreh Deah, 24, his grandfather is cited as "Moses Jaffe of blessed memory." The appellation "Sirkes" came into being as a childhood nickname based upon the first name of his mother, "Sarah".[8] His paternal grandfather, Rabbi Moses of Cracow, was referred to with great respect by no less an authority than Solomon Luria himself.[9] Some doubt has been raised, however, as to whether Rabbi Moses was not in reality the father-in-law of Sirkes' father.[10] His father, Rabbi Samuel Jaffe, whose opinions are occasionally cited in Sirkes' works,[11]] was his teacher in younger years. Possibly Rabbi Samuel died when his son was still young. If so, this would account for his not being consulted and quoted with greater frequency by Sirkes.[12] There are no references to any siblings Sirkes may have had.
Rabbi Samuel may have married the sister of Rabbi Mordecai Cohen, thus being related via marriage to the family of Sirkes' wife.[13]
Little information is available concerning Sirkes' family life. His wife is not referred to in any of his writings, and there are but scant references to his children. We may assume, however, that he followed the practice of his time in marrying at an early age.
His bride was Baila, daughter of the wealthy Rabbi Abraham Fum of Lwow, whose family was noted for the possession of learning as well as substance. Rabbi Abraham's father was Rabbi Naftali Hertz; his grandfather was Rabbi Menahem Mendel, Ab Bet Din of Krakavitz. Her maternal grandfather was Rabbi Joel Singer of Cracow, father-in-law of Rabbi Mordecai Jaffe of Posen, author of the Lebushim, and step-father of the author of Shearit Joseph.[14]
Rabbi Joel's wife bore him five children and died in Cracow on the seventh day of Passover, 5398 (1638). Apparently Sirkes remarried subsequently, for documents record the payment of sums of money to the widow of Rabbi Joel Sirkes during a six month period in 1641.[15]
Rabbi Joel had two sons of renown. The older, Judah Leib, functioned as Ab Bet Din in Pinczow.[16] Both studied under their father and in later years frequently addressed to him questions and problems of Jewish law, many of which have been preserved in Rabbi Joel's collections of response.[17] His sons often cite his teachings to others and defend his views.[18] Samuel Tzevi arranged for the publication of Sirkes' commentary on the Turim, the Bayit Hadash. In its introduction, he credits Judah Leib with having been most influential in persuading his father to have this opus magnum published.
One of the two sons, probably Judah Leib, married the niece of a wealthy resident of Prague, Rabbi Hanokh Hammershlag, in 1621.[19] The identity of the wife of the younger son is unknown.
Of Sirkes' three daughters, Esther, the eldest, married Rabbi Judah Zelkel Ashkenazi, Dayan Hagadol of Cracow and a respected legal authority and Kabbalist. He endorsed two Kabbalistic works: Sefer Emek Hamelekh and Nahalat Tzevi Massekhet Abot, by Rabbi Tzevi Hirsch ben Simon.[20] Rabbi Ashkenazi served as Dayan in Cracow, contemporary with Rabbi Yom-Tob Lipman Heller and Rabbi Joshua ben Joseph.[21] The wedding took place in 1614.[22] One of their sons, who studied under Sirkes and later exchanged correspondence with him, was Rabbi Naftali Hertz who became Ab Bet Din of Lemberg in 1649.[23]
Rabbi Joel established a particularly close relationship with the husband of his second daughter, Rebecca.[24] This man was Rabbi David Halevi, author of the Turei Zahab, an extensive commentary to Karo's Shulhan Arukh, and a scholar of such proportion and influence as to rank among the greatest produced by Eastern European Jewry. They corresponded frequently, and there are extensive references to Rabbi David in Sirkes' response. Occasionally Sirkes would turn to him for advice, often addressing him in the most laudatory terms.[25] Rabbi David, in turn, refers to Sirkes reverently, addressing questions to his father-in-law and teacher, treating his responses respectfully, though never hesitating to disagree with him should he feel Sirkes to be in error.[26]
Rabbi David lived in his father-in-law's house and studied in Sirkes' academy for a substantial period of time following his marriage, supported in the interim by Rabbi Joel. In 1619, when Sirkes observed Rabbi David's impecunious state in the latter's new residence in Potylicz, he promised financial assistance which he was later able to render.[27] Rabbi David subsequently settled with his wife in Cracow where he established a rabbinical academy; however, they apparently departed shortly thereafter when their two young children tragically died.[28] Later they had two sons, both rabbis, and two daughters, both married to rabbinic scholars.[29]
It is believed that Sirkes had a third daughter as well. Cracow cemetery records contain the account of how a son-in-law of his, Jacob ben Elhanan, was accidentally killed in a fall in 1621.[30] Zunz raises the possibility that there may have been in reality only two daughters and that the widow of Jacob later became the wife of Rabbi David Halevi, but this is most improbable. Rabbi Jacob died in 1621, and Rabbi David is already mentioned as Sirkes' son-in-law in Responsa BH, no. 78, dated 1614.
The possibility that Jacob's widow later married Rabbi Judah Zeikel is likewise most improbable.[31] Sirkes addresses a responsum to Rabbi Naftali Hertz, sone of Rabbi Judah, in 1636, Responsa BHH, no. 50. It is highly unlikely that this young man was then under fifteen years of age, which would have to have been the case had his parents married after 1621. There seems, consequently, little doubt that Sirkes did have three daughters, one of whom married the unfortunate Jacob.
Sources also make mention of the following as being among Sirkes' relations, probably through marriage: Rabbi Abraham ben Benjamin Aaron of Lwow, Rabbi Joseph Katz of Cracow, Rabbi Samuel Ladino, Rabbi Tzevi Hirsch ben Ozer, Rabbi Yom Tob Lipman Heller, Rabbi Aaron Samuel Kaidanower, and Rabbi Gershon Ashkenazi.[32]
TEACHERS
Little is known of Sirkes' formal education. His father was undoubtedly his first teacher, having introduced him to the study of Torah in childhood years. At the age of fourteen he studied in Posen under Rabbi Solomon ben Judah of Lublin. Rabbi Solomon's influence is vividly reflected in Sirkes' writings half a century later, when his decisions are quoted by Sirkes as authoritative.[33] Rabbi Solomon died in 1591, mourned over by all of Polish Jewry.[34]
Other teachers to whom Sirkes refers in his writings are Rabbi Tzevi Hrisch Shor, a pupil of Isserles, and Rabbi Phoebus of Brest-Litovsk.[35] The latter was a relative of Sirkes' and his immediate predecessor as Ab Bet Din of Cracow until the year 1618. It is possible that Sirkes also succeeded him earlier at Brest-Litovsk. However, none of these men would seem to have had an overwhelming and lasting influence upon Sirkes. They surely do not appear as final authorities in his writings. Considering the sheer volume and magnitude of his literary output, they are infrequently quoted. When one considers the vast number of authorities repeatedly cited by Sirkes, his own teachers remain conspicuous by their relative absence. However, occasionally Sirkes fails to specify their names when quoting them.[36]
Sirkes appears to have had no formal secular education; apparently he did nto know any languages other than Hebrew, Aramaic and Judeo-German. It is evident however, that he did possess some rudimentary knowledge of mathematics, particularly algebra.[37]
In tracing the rabbinic career of Joel Sirkes from community to community, it is obvious that his concern for the education of Jewish youth was paramount. The highest praise that his son, Samuel Tzevi, can bestow upon him is found in the former's introduction to his father's commentary on the Turim, Orah Hayim.
... all his years, sleep hardly came to his eyes, nor rest to his eyelids... for he would occupy himself in gathering assemblies for the purpose of instructing them in God's Laws and teachings... young students would always be found dining at his table, lodging in his rooms.
Apparently Sirkes' home served as more than an occasional gathering site for students and aspiring scholars. It was a college for rabbinic studies, continually in session, with room and board supplied by the teacher. Indeed, it was the "endowed hospice or hall of residence" which led to the origin of the "college" in the medieval world.[38] However, Sirkes was not unique in supporting his schools and students with his personal funds.[39]
It is impossible to compile a complete list of the pupils of Joel Sirkes. During well over forty years spent in seven communities, he undoubtedly instructed two generations of rabbinic scholars, including his own sons, his renowned son-in-law, Rabbi David Halevi, and several grandchildren.
A few of Sirkes' more prominent students were Menahem Mendel Krochmal, author of Tzemah Tzedek, a collection of response, Ab Bet Din in Kremzier, Nikolsburg, and the province of Moravia; Rabbi Menahem Mendel, known as Rabbi Menahem Bass, Ab Bet Din in Frankfort-am-Main; Rabbi Tzevi Hirsch Katz, author of the Ateret Tzevi and Nahalat Tzevi, rabbi in Lityn, Podolitz; Rabbi Samson ben Rabbi Jonah Reb Abelis of Prague, Ab Bet Din of Shnaituch; Rabbi Gershon Ashkenazi, known as Reb Gershon Pass, author of Abodat Ha-Gershuni; Rabbi Menahem Mendel Auerbach, author of Ateret Zekeinim; Rabbi Tzevi Hirsch, known as Rabbi Hirsch Rab Mendles, Ab Bet Din in Lwow and Lublin.
Rabbi Joshua ben Joseph, who address Sirkes as "my teacher" in Respona BHH, no. 3, and later refers to himself as "his student", may also have been a disciple of Sirkes. However, it is possible that these expressions are merely designations of reverence and humility. Rabbi Joshua disagrees with Sirkes in too violent and, at times, even insulting a manner for him to have been Sirkes' student.[40]
NOTES
[1] See H. Malter, Saadiah Gaon, 16 ff.
[2] ב"ח ... בית חדש. Jewish scholars were commonly known to successive generations by the titles of their books, e.g. Tur, Beth Joseph, Magen Abraham, Taz, etc.
[4] See I. Zinberg, Toledot Sifrut Yisrael, Vol. 3, 191, H. Tchernowitz, Toledot HaPoskim, Vol. 2 234. However, J. M. Zunz, Ir HaTzedek, considers the year of birth to have been 1565, and Meyer Waxma, History of Jewish Literature, Vol. 2, 157, places it as late as 1570. These later dates are most improbable for several reasons:
a. Rabbi Solomon Luria died in 1572. Assuming that he was present when young Sirkes read the haftorah, the boy could hardly have been younger than seven, not to mention two years of age! He was probably close to twelve at the time.
b. In Responsa BH, no. 86, dated 1629, Sirkes refers to an event which transpired fifty years earlier, in 1579. At the time he was studying in Posen under Rabbi Solomon. He was most likely a good deal over nine years of age.
It would be wrong to push back the date of Rabbi Joel's birth on the basis of Responsa BH, no. 96, dated 1568. This is obviously a scribal error. Its correct date should be 1618, for Responsa BH, no. 97, which is dated 1630, refers to Responsa BH, no. 96 as having been written twelve years earlier.
[5] There is some degree of controversy surrounding attempts to determine the precise year of Sirkes' death. Although the Pinkas of the Cracow Hebra Kadisha cites the exact date as 1640 -יום ד' כ' אדר שנת ת'ת both Zunz, Ir HaTzedek, 7-8, and H. N. Horodetsky, Lekorot HaRabanut, regard 1641 as the year of death. Dembitzer, Mapalat Ir HaTzedek, 3, explains the confusion as stemming from the fact that one of the letters of the Pinkas, date, written in full (1640), had become obliterated, resulting in the erroneous (1641) תא. Additional evidence also warrants the selection of 1640, for in that year Rabbi Joshua ben Joseph of Cracow refers to Rabbi Sirkes as being "of blessed memory" in Responsa GB, no. 19. The last dated responsum of Sirkes is signed (1638) כ"ח חשון שצ"ט.
[6] While Samuel Tzevi refers to his father's desire to be in the land of Israel in the introduction to BH, Orah Hayyim כשהיה בדעתו לילך לארץ הקדושה והטהורה, there is no evidence of Rabbi Joel ever having realized his dream.
[7] See Zunz, Ir HaTzedek, 72-73.
[9] Yam Shel Shelomo, Gittin IV, 32. See also BH, Yoreh Deah, 24: שראה מעשה בבית זקני מהר"ר משה יפה ז"ל.
[10] Anaf Etz Abot by S. Z. Cahana.
[11] BH, Orah Hayyim, 605: קבלתי מאדוני אבי מורי ז"ל הרב החסיד מ'ר'...ר
[12] Interestingly, the scholar Maimon is quoted only twice by his son, Maimonides, in the Mishneh Torah (I. Twersky, Rabad of Posquieres, p. 6) There is no information as to the date of death of Sirkes' father. The earliest reference to his being no longer alive is in Responsa BHH, no. 23, datd 1612.
[13] E. Gartenaus, Eshel HaGedolim, 146.
[15] Ibid., 146 and Dembitzer, Kellilat Yofi, Vol. 2, 51b.
[17] Responsa BH, nos. 61, 62; Responsa BHH, nos. 16b, 18, 19, 22 and Responsa GB, no. 14 were written by Judah Leib. Responsa GB, no. 30 and Responsa BHH, nos. 16a, 22 and 44 were written by Samuel Tzevi.
[18] In Responsa GB, no. 19, Samuel Tzevi defends his father's views against Rabbi Joshua ben Joseph of Cracow.
[19] Rabbi Hanokh refers to his niece's impending marriage in a letter to his son Aaron written in 1619. אך זיי ווישן דז ריקל בת אחי מהר"ר זנויל איז במ"ט איין כלה מיט אב"ד מהר"ר יואל מקראקא... ריקליש חתונה זאל אי"ה זיין טבת שפ"א פר האפן האבן וואל גיהאנדלט דער בחור זאל איין חידוש לערנען.
[20] Rabbi Ashkenazi's endorsement of Sefer Emek Hamelekh reads in part: הסכמת הגאון מר' יהודה זאקלה אשכנזי חתן הגאון הגדול מה' יואל ז"ל אשר מנוחתו כבוד פה ק"ק קראקא.
[21] Dembitzer, Vol. 1, p. 46-47.
[22] In Responsa BH, no. 78, Sirkes writes: ואם היות כי כעת אנכי טרוד תהלה ושבח לאל ית' שזכני לנשואי בתי שתי' לזווגה עם תלמיד חכם יהי רצון מלפני אבינו שבשמים שזיווגם יעלה יפה.
[23] See Responsa BHH, no. 50 for correspondence between Sirkes and Hertz. See Dembitzer, Vol. 1, p. 45-47.
[24] See Responsa of R. Isaac Halevi, no. 48.
[25] Responsa BHH, no. 79, Responsa BH, no. 113: עוקר הרים וטוחנן זו בזו בפלפולא בהיכל אומר כבוד כלו קול לו וקול אליו קדוש יאמר לו הוא חתני ר"מ ואב"ד כמוהר"ר דוד סג"ל נרו ונר זרעו יאיר עד ביאת הגואל.
[26] Responsa BHH, no. 54. In Responsa BH, no. 78, Rabbi David concurs with a decision of Sirkes'. In Responsa BHH, no. 79, he questions Sirkes' reasoning: ודבריו תמוהין בעיני תמהני על פה קדוש יאמר כן. In commentary of Taz on Shulhan Arukh, Yoreh Deah, 331:17. Other Sirkes responsa in which Rabbi David is referred to are Responsa BH, nos. 74, 93, 94; Responsa BHH, nos. 17, 54, and Responsa GB, no. 56.
[27] Dembitzer, Vol. 1, 55-56.
[28] See commentary of Taz on Shulhan Arukh, Orah Hayyim 151: ואני בילדותי הייתי דר בק"ק קראקא עם ביתי בבית מדרשי שהיה למעלה מן בה"כ ונענשתי הרבה במיתת בני וחליתי בזה.
[29] Dembitzer, Vol. 1, p. 51.
[30] Pinkas of Hebra Kadisha of Cracow, 76b: ונשמת בר חכים כה"ר יעקב איש תם ואיש חלק בלי חתימת זקן בן להראש ומנהג כ"ה אלחנן י"ץ וחתן המלך הגאון החסיד ר"מ ואב"ד כמור"ר יואל י"ץ בא ליפול ממעלת העליה אחורנית וישבר מפרקתו וימת בליל ה' כ"ג אלול שפ"א.
[31] Max Routenberg suggests this possibility in an unpublished manuscript in the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.
[32] See Responsa BH, no. 74, Responsa BHH, no. 3, Responsa BHH, nos. 65 and 66, Responsa Shearit Joseph, no. 47, Zunz, p. 72, Responsa GB, no. 12, Responsa BHH, no. 28, Responsa Emunat Samuel, no. 8, Dembitzer, Vol. 2, p. 97.
[33] See Responsa BH, no. 80, BH, Orah Hayyim, 1, 7, 25, 63 and 451; BH Yoreh Deah, 181; notably Responsa BH, no. 86, wherein he cites approvingly a stringent ruling by his teacher in a case involving an aguna.
[34] Menahem Mendel Krochmal, as quoted by Mirsky, "Rab Joel Sirkes Baal ha-Bah" Horeb, vol. 6, 45.
[35] Tzevi Hirsch Shor is cited in BH, Orah Hayyim, 174, 431, 447, 498. Rabbi Phoebus is referred to in Responsa BH, no. 102, in a flowery introduction, and in BH, Orah Hayyim, 38 and 276. In Responsa BHH, no. 87 לייביש is a misprint, which should be corrected to read וייביש.
[36] Responsa BH, no. 119, 124: כן ראיתי מגדולי עולם רבותי נוחי נפש.
[37] See BH, Orah Hayyim, Hilkhot Erubin, and Sirkes' critical notes to the Talmud, which contain many diagrams and schematic drawings.
[38] C. H. Haskins, The Rise of Universities, 26, as quoted by Twersky, Rabad of Posquieres, 33.
[39] See Responsa of Jacob Weil, nos. 106, 107, 118, 147; Responsa of Meir Lublin, no. 108.
[40] Such is the view of Dembitzer, Vol. 1, p. 51-52, Vol. 2, 82-107. C. B. Friedberg, Toledot Hadefus HaIvri BePolania, p. 32.
