Grave

Meir HaKohen ben Yaakov

Maharam Schiff

Rabbi Meir HaKohen ben Yaakov – Maharam Schiff (Moreinu HaRav Meir Schiff) (1605–1641), Talmudist and rabbi. Yahrzeit – 20 Adar Burial place – Frankfurt am Main, Germany He was born in Frankfurt am Main around 1597. The Schiff family was one of the most renowned families in Frankfurt, which for many generations produced outstanding rabbis and communal leaders known both for their scholarship and their wealth, since some of them were also successful financiers and bankers. One of the earliest ancestors of this family was Rabbi Yaakov Kohen-Tzedek Schiff, who was born around 1370 and served as a Dayan (member of the Beit Din) of Frankfurt. His son Uri Feivush Schiff died at a very advanced age in 1481, according to his tombstone in the ancient Jewish cemetery of Frankfurt. A later descendant, Meir Kohen Tzedek, served as Parnas (head) of the community and died in 1626. Rabbi David Tevele HaKohen Schiff, elected Chief Rabbi of London in 1765 (d. 1792), was also a descendant of this family, whose father had been a leader of the community. From his earliest youth, Rav Schiff was considered a scholar of extraordinary ability. Even as a boy, he addressed halachic questions to Rabbi Meir of Lublin. At the age of 17, he was appointed rabbi of the important community of Fulda, where he also headed a renowned Yeshiva. He wrote down the essence of his lectures, novellae, and commentaries covering the entire Talmud, but most of this was destroyed in a fire in 1711. He lived only 36 years – according to tradition, in 1641 he was appointed rabbi of Prague. According to his grandson's account, he lived only 36 years and was destined to die immediately after his appointment. In writing his pilpul, he complains of the "spilled ink and broken quills" spent giving pilpulistic interpretations of Talmudic passages which he could have explained according to their simple meaning. His works are notable for their brevity and clarity of language. He was especially careful to emphasize that he did not intend to issue halachic rulings, each time referring the reader to the appropriate halachic literature. At the end of each tractate, he provides a summary linking the tractate just completed to the tractate to be studied next in the Yeshiva. His novellae demonstrate his intellectual honesty. More than once he writes: "I was mistaken," "Everything I have written here is worthless." He was familiar with the works of his contemporaries, such as Rabbi Shlomo Luria, Rabbi Shmuel Eidels, and Rabbi Meir of Lublin. Many of the sermons appended to his books show that Schiff was a strong personality who did not hesitate to rebuke his community on matters of which he disapproved. He accused many communal leaders of desecrating the Sabbath, of failing to study Torah, of failing to support scholars, and of other sins. He also wrote on kabbalistic subjects. The Schiff family of bankers descends from him. May the merit of this tzadik protect Am Yisrael! (https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/schiff-meir-ben-jacob-ha-kohen)