20 Adar · Yahrzeit
Rabbi Yoel Sirkis - The Bach
Rabbi Yoel bar Shmuel Yaffe Sirkis - the Bach (Bayit Chadash) (1561—1640) — an outstanding halachic authority.
Yahrzeit - 20 Adar Burial place - Remuh Cemetery, Krakow, Poland Rabbi Yoel Sirkis, known as the Bach - בית חדש) ב"ח) - an acronym of his great work, "Bayit Chadash" - was a prominent Jewish posek and halachist. He lived in Central Europe and held rabbinic positions in Belz, Brisk (Brest-Litovsk), and Krakow. Sirkis was born in Lublin in 1561 . At the age of fourteen he entered the yeshiva of Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Hirsch Shor, the leading student of Rabbi Moshe Isserles - the Rema. After staying there for some time, he went to Brisk (Brest-Litovsk), where he attended the yeshiva of Rabbi Feivush. Still a young man, he was invited to serve as rabbi of Pruzhany, near Slonim. Later he held rabbinic positions in Lukow, Lublin, Medzhibozh, Belz, Shidlowitz, and finally in Brisk and Krakow, succeeding his teacher Rabbi Feivush in each of the last two places. The "Bach" was devoted to Kabbalah and opposed pilpul. He was also critical of those who relied solely on the Shulchan Aruch when making halachic rulings, rather than on the Talmud and the Geonim. He was the father-in-law of Rabbi David HaLevi Segal - the Taz, who frequently cites him in "Turei Zahav," his commentary on the Shulchan Aruch. Rabbi Sirkis passed away in Krakow in 1640. "Bayit Chadash" (בית חדש - "New House"), abbreviated as the Bach - ב"ח, is Rabbi Sirkis's most famous work, a major commentary on the Arba'ah Turim of Yaakov ben Asher. The work presents and clarifies the fundamental principles of Torah recorded in the Mishnah, the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmud, and the major codes of Jewish law. Hagahot HaBach - proposed textual corrections to the Talmud and Rashi, copied from notes the author added to his own copy of the Talmud. Other notable works: "Meshiv Nefesh," a commentary on the Book of Ruth (Lublin, 1616). "Teshuvot HaBach" ("Responsa of the Bach"). "Beurei HaBach le-Pardes Rimmonim," explanations of passages from the great kabbalistic work of Moshe Cordovero - the Ramak. Stories of the Tzadikim When the time came to marry off his daughter, the Bach, following custom, undertook to fully support his future son-in-law during his years of study, providing for all his needs, including a daily meat meal (as recorded in their kest agreement). Over time, however, the Bach's financial situation deteriorated greatly, and his son-in-law began to be served chicken-foot aspic and similar dishes that could only barely be called meat. The Bach's son-in-law was the most gifted rabbi of his generation, Rabbi David HaLevi - the Taz. Rabbi David endured this breach of contract for a long time — and then he took his father-in-law to a rabbinical court. And, believe it or not, the rabbinical court ruled in the Bach's favor. Chicken feet, he stated in his ruling, are also meat! But despite the ruling, the judges were struck by the young scholar's audacity and callousness. Talented as he was, even brilliant, how could he squeeze every last drop from his impoverished father-in-law, who did not have a penny to his name! The Bach, it should be noted, was likewise one of the most renowned scholars of his generation. One of the judges, unable to hold back, told the young man to his face exactly what he thought of him. Rabbi David had to defend himself: "Do you think I don't understand," he said, "how terrible this looks from the outside? But what can I do with my own body — without eating meat, I feel weak, and my mind doesn't work. Toward my father-in-law I feel nothing but love. That is precisely why I did not want him to be blamed for my poor learning. I wanted the court to rule that what I am fed in his house counts as meat! Then the Bach will be cleared both before people, having fulfilled his obligation, and before Heaven." In court, the dispute was resolved by the great Rabbi Netanel Nata Shapiro in a way that satisfied everyone. Some time later the Bach managed to secure a rabbinic post for his son-in-law in a small town, and they parted ways. A letter has survived in which the Bach asks his son-in-law to send him four zlotys so that he could finish having a new suit made; his old one could no longer be worn because of all its patches, but there was no money to finish the new one. Once, the wife of one of the townsmen felt the onset of labor on the night between Friday and Shabbat. A light was urgently needed, but all the candles — lit before Shabbat began — had already burned out. "Where can I get a lit candle at this hour?" the husband wondered, and he set off for the rabbi's house, reasoning that the rabbi was surely up studying at night, and so he would surely be able to borrow a lit candle from him! Imagine his surprise when, approaching the Bach's house, he saw no light in any of the windows. So much for the rabbi! Instead of studying on Shabbat night, he's asleep! The unfortunate townsman did not know that on this very Shabbat, the wind had blown out the candle in the rabbi's room, and since it is forbidden to light a fire on Shabbat, the Bach was sitting in the dark, studying from memory — sitting and reviewing pages of Talmud he had learned in his youth… One way or another, the baby was delivered, and the next day, while receiving congratulations on the birth of his son, the happy father recounted his nighttime adventure, making sure to mention that, if you can believe it, the windows of our town rabbi's house had been dark. The townspeople grew alarmed: did that mean they had made a mistake in choosing this rabbi? They had taken on a learned man, and it turns out he sleeps on Shabbat night! The "town elders" conspired, and immediately, at the close of that very Shabbat, without waiting to clarify the matter and without even speaking to the rabbi, they sent him a letter of dismissal. Upon receiving the letter, the Bach also acted decisively: without any delay, he immediately set off on his way… Some time later, a fire broke out in the town, and it burned almost to the ground. Perhaps it was a coincidence — after all, the town was built of wood, and fires were common. Or perhaps not. In any case, his contemporaries took note of both events… The Segula of the Ga'on Yanuka, associated with the name of Rav Bach https://silatehilim.com/сгула-гаона-янука-для-рефуа-шлема/ May the merit of the Tzadik protect our people! (https://dailyzohar.com/tzadikim/780-Rabbi-Joel-ben-Samuel-Sirkis; Toldot.ru)