6 Elul · Yahrzeit
Yahrzeit/Hillula of Rabbi Gershon Shaul Yom-Tov Lipman Heller
Rabbi Gershon Shaul Yom-Tov Lipman HaLevi Heller Wallerstein (1579-1654).
Yahrzeit - 6 Elul
Burial place - Krakow, Poland
He became famous not only for his numerous works on philosophy, astronomy, halacha, belles-lettres and other fields of knowledge, but also for his difficult character.
Yom-Tov Lipman Heller was born in the town of Wallerstein, in Bavaria.
He received his education in Prague under the guidance of one of the most renowned rabbis of that era - the Maharal of Prague, Rabbi Yehuda Loew ben Betzalel.
Lipman was considered the most brilliant and talented of the Maharal's students.
Already at the age of 18 he became a judge in his teacher's rabbinical court. Living in one of the centers of European scholarship of that period, Lipman actively studied mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, grammar, and Kabbalah.
In 1625 he was appointed rabbi of the city of Nikolsburg, and within half a year became head of the rabbinical court in Vienna.
But a denunciation put an end to Lipman Heller's brilliant career. He was arrested for allegedly insulting the state and the Pope, and sentenced to death. His family managed, at great expense, to obtain his pardon and release from prison.
In 1631 Lipman Heller moved to Poland. He served successively as rabbi in Lublin, Ludmir, Nemirov, and Brisk. Yet even there Lipman found no peace.
Thus, while in Lublin, he sought to renew and strengthen the enforcement of an ordinance forbidding the purchase of rabbinic positions for money. Those displeased with his activity denounced Lipman, and he was expelled from the city.
In 1643 Lipman Heller became rabbi of Krakow, where he lived until his death in 1654.
Among the dozens of books he wrote and published, a special place is held by his commentary on the Mishnah (the 2nd-century code of laws on which both Talmuds are based) titled "Tosafot Yom-Tov." Lipman Heller is also considered the author of the prayer "Av HaRachamim" in memory of the Jewish communities that perished during the Chmielnicki Uprising.
This prayer, along with other memorial prayers composed by Lipman, is still recited in synagogues around the world to this day.
May the merit of the tzadik protect Am Yisrael!
(from a trip with Yeshiva "Yodei Bina" to the graves of tzadikim in Poland)