Yom-Tov Lipmann Heller

Yom-Tov Lipmann ben Nathan ben Moses ha-Levi Heller (b. Wallerstein, Bavaria, 1579; d. Kraków, September 7, 1654) was a Bohemian rabbi and liturgical poet, best-known for writing a commentary on the Mishnah called the Tosefot Yom-Tov (1614-7).

Education

Heller was brought up by his grandfather, Moses Heller, chief rabbi of the German communities. He was sent to Friedburg, where he studied under Jacob Günzburg. Thence he was invited to Prague by a rich merchant, Aaron Ashkenazi, who later became his father-in-law. There he studied under Judah Löw ben Bezaleel, head of the yeshiva of Prague. Heller's second master was Solomon Ephraim Lenczyza, chief rabbi of Prague. At Prague, Heller perfected his rabbinical studies. In 1597, when he was scarcely eighteen years old, he was appointed dayan in that city.

In October 1624, Heller was called to the rabbinate of Nikolsburg, Moravia, and in March 1625, became rabbi of Vienna. There he reorganized the community and drew up its constitution. Heller obtained for the Viennese Jews the privilege of having their ghetto located in Leopoldstadt.

Chief Rabbi of Prague

In 1627 Heller was called to the chief rabbinate of Prague. On account of the Thirty Years' War the government imposed heavy taxes on the Jewish communities of Bohemia, including that of Prague, which had to pay a yearly tax of 40,000 thalers. As Heller was the chief rabbi he was compelled, against his will, to preside over the commission which had the task of apportioning that sum among the members of his communities. Although he acted with the greatest conscientiousness, some complained of unfair allotment. They accused Heller and the elders of the commission before the civil authorities of having spared the rich and laid the burden of the tax on the poorer people.

In response, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II addressed a severe censure to Heller, warning him not to repeat such proceedings. Heller's enemies, not satisfied, accused him before the emperor of having written against Christianity. The emperor commanded the governor of Prague to send Heller in chains to Vienna, but the supplications of the leading Jews of Prague combined with the esteem which the Christian officials had for Heller spared him that indignity. The Jews pledged themselves that he would present himself before his judges even if allowed to go alone. Heller accordingly set out for Vienna on Tuesday, Tammuz 5, 5389 (June 25, 1629), and arrived there on the following Sunday.

Imprisonment

On Tammuz 17, the Jewish fast-day, he was imprisoned together with common criminals. The Jews of Vienna, however, obtained his transfer to another prison.

A clerical commission was appointed to inquire into Heller's guilt. It met on July 15, and among other questions Heller was asked how he dared to eulogize the Talmud after it had been burned by papal order. Heller justified himself very adroitly but the verdict was that Heller properly deserved death. The emperor, however, commuted the punishment to a fine of 12,000 thalers, to be paid immediately, the incriminated writings to be destroyed. The fine was far beyond Heller's means; but the order was explicit that in default of payment Heller was to be stripped and flogged in the public squares of Vienna and Prague. The Jews again intervened in his behalf, and the fine was reduced to 10,000 florins, to be paid in installments. By the help of generous Jews, Heller was enabled to pay the first installment of 2,000 florins. Finally, after a confinement of forty days, he was released on August 14, but was deprived of his office and left without means. His enemies, in addition, obtained an imperial decision to the effect that Heller might not officiate as rabbi in any town of the Holy Roman Empire. He returned to Prague on September 26, and was confined to his bed for three months. In the meantime, his friends secured a partial withdrawal of the decision regarding the rabbinate.

Helped by friends, Heller was able to wait for better times and to pay the remaining instalments of his fine. In 1632 he was called to the rabbinate of Nemirow, government of Podolsk, Russia, and three years later he became rabbi of Vladimir, Volhynia. He attended the fairs of Yaroslavl and Kremenets', where the Council of Four Lands met, and obtained the renewal of the synodal decrees against simony in the rabbinate. But he thereby made for himself many enemies, who calumniated him before the governor of Volhynia. The latter directed Heller to quit the town, but the more influential Jews of Warsaw succeeded in having the order withdrawn.

Rabbi at Kraków

In the autumn of 1643 Heller received an invitation to the rabbinate of Kraków, which he gladly accepted. Joshua Heschel, the author of Maginne Shelomoh, was head of the yeshiva there. Four years later Heschel died, and Heller succeeded him in the direction of the yeshiva. At Kraków Heller relaxed the Jewish marriage laws, because, owing to the persecutions which the Jews had suffered at the hands of the Cossacks, many women did not know whether their husbands were still alive or not. He established the 5th of Tammuz, the day on which his troubles began, as a perpetual fast-day in his family, and the 1st of Adar as a day of mirth to commemorate his nomination to the rabbinate of Kraków.

Heller was twice married and had four sons and five daughters. The sons, whom he mentions in his works, were: Moses of Prague, Samuel of Nemirow, Abraham of Lublin, and Löb of Brest-Litovsk. Moses Zacuto wrote an elegy on Heller's death in 1654.

Knowledge and Works

Heller was a recognized authority in matters of ritual. He explained the Talmud without recourse to casuistry. Although he appreciated the Zohar and other Kabbalistic works, he never deviated from plain interpretation as regards the Halakha. He was also versed in the secular sciences. His commentary on the Mishnah shows that he was a good mathematician and his notes on the Gib'at ha Moreh of Joseph ben Isaac ha-Levi prove that he occupied himself with philosophy. His judgment was impartial; he praised the Me'or 'Enayim of Azariah dei Rossi in spite of the anathema that his master, Löw ben Bezaleel, whom he held in great esteem, had launched against the book and its author. He was also a good linguist and a Hebrew stylist; his authority as such was recognized by Samuel Archevolti, who sent Heller his Arugat ha-Bosem for examination.

Article References

Jewish Encyclopedia

By : Richard Gottheil and M. Seligsohn