16 Iyar · Yahrzeit
Rabbi Meir ben Gedalya - the Maharam of Lublin
Rabbi Meir ben Gedalya - the Maharam of Lublin (1558–1616), Polish Talmudist and halachic authority.
Yahrzeit - 16 Iyar
Resting place - Lublin, Poland
The abbreviation Maharam stands for Moreinu HaRav Meir (our teacher, Rabbi Meir). His primary teacher was his father-in-law, Rabbi Isaac ben David HaKohen Shapiro, Rosh Yeshiva and Dayan of Krakow. Meir's outstanding achievements in learning were such that he became Rosh Yeshiva in Lublin at the age of 24, and before he turned 30 he was appointed Dayan and Rosh Yeshiva in Krakow. He served as rabbi in Lemberg from approximately 1595 to 1613, and also as Rosh Yeshiva in Lublin, where he passed away.
Rabbi Meir of Lublin was one of the greatest teachers of his generation. Wherever he settled, he established a yeshiva to which numerous students flocked from every corner of Poland and beyond.
Rabbis from all over Europe turned to him with halachic questions, matters of public concern, or for advice. He encouraged them, emphasizing his readiness to "answer anyone who brings me a problem, for in this I find pleasure" (Responsum #18).
His father, Gedalya, was an outstanding Talmudist.
His most famous student was Rabbi Yeshayah Horowitz - the Shelah HaKadosh. The Maharam's daughter was married to Benjamin Beinish Gelernter, whose parents were Rabbi Zecharia Mendel Gelernter and the daughter of the Maharal of Prague.
While the Maharam served as Dayan and rabbi in Lemberg, a dispute broke out between him and Rabbi Yehoshua Falk over a matter of divorce. The dispute became ugly, and the Maharam insulted Rabbi Yehoshua Falk's honor. Rabbi Avraham Shrentzel, a student of Yehoshua Falk and an influential scholar, avenged his rabbi's honor in this way, and the Maharam was forced to leave the city by order of the local government.
Rabbi Meir was a sharp polemicist, critical of those around him, and did not refrain from criticizing even the most respected scholars of his generation, including the Rema, the Beit Yosef, the Maharsha, and the Maharshal.
He even disagreed with the Rishonim when he felt they had erred. He firmly maintained his own opinion "without any doubt, and there is no way to resolve [the question] in any other manner." When the Maharsha's commentary on the Talmud was first printed, he rejected it and wrote: "From what I have written, you can see that he cannot find his hands and feet in the study hall, and this is a mistake." Only later, when he realized that the Maharsha was a highly respected scholar, did he acknowledge to him, "What happened, happened, and love covers all sins."
When a rabbi in Worms, whom he considered less authoritative than himself, rejected his opinion, he was deeply offended. He writes that he wanted to embarrass him in the Lublin synagogue and summon the community leaders to remove him from his position, but decided not to do so, because "perhaps it would be an honor for him that someone like me would even bother with someone like him."
While he served as Rosh Yeshiva in Lublin, Rabbi Shimon Wolf Auerbach, the Maharshal's son-in-law, headed another yeshiva in the same city. The two of them had different styles of interpretation, and this usually led to quarrels among the students, since each claimed that their rabbi held the correct approach. Eventually the community leaders decreed that students could not tell each other about the rabbis' new interpretations, and that anyone who violated this ban would be expelled from the yeshiva. However, this did not last very long. When the Maharam once had difficulty explaining a Tosafot, and was very eager to know how Rabbi Shimon Wolf had resolved the problem, he asked his students to find out. When a suitable opportunity presented itself, they seized one of Rabbi Shimon Wolf's students, beat him, and forced him to repeat his rabbi's interpretation. When the Maharam heard of this, he openly declared that only his interpretation was correct. A great dispute broke out between the two yeshivas. The leaders of Lublin decided to send a letter to Rabbi Shlomo Abuav, the Rav of Amsterdam, to determine which interpretation was correct, and whichever interpretation he deemed appropriate, the other rabbi would lose the right to remain Rosh Yeshiva. When the reply came from Amsterdam, it became clear that it favored Rabbi Shimon Wolf. The community leaders decided to remove the Maharam from his position as Rosh Yeshiva. But the humble Rabbi Shimon Wolf refused to accept this decision. Instead, they invited the Maharsha to take up the rabbinate in Lublin. The Maharsha delivered a sermon on Shabbat evening and persuaded the Lublin community to keep both of these giants of Torah, and the disputes ceased. All the disputes of the Sages were for the sake of Heaven!
May the merit of the tzadik protect Am Yisrael!
https://dailyzohar.com/tzadikim/897-Rabbi-Meir-Lublin