Grave

Rema

Rabbi Moshe Isserles

Rabbi Moshe Isserles - the Rema - Shulchan Aruch (Ashkenaz) Yahrzeit - 18 Iyar (Lag BaOmer) Burial place - Remuh Cemetery, Krakow, Poland He was a descendant of a well-known and wealthy family. His father and grandfather were leaders of the Jewish community. The famous Remuh Shul, the synagogue in Krakow built by his father, survived the Holocaust. As a child he was known as an illui (child prodigy). He studied in Lublin at the famous yeshiva of Rabbi Shalom Shachna, where he met his first wife, Shachna's daughter. The Rema later remarried the sister of Yosef ben Mordechai Gershon HaKohen. As the rabbi of Krakow, he was extremely active in spreading the knowledge of Torah and founded a prestigious yeshiva. The Rema was one of the first Torah figures to establish the spiritual eminence of Polish Jewry. It is said that the Rema is the Maimonides of Polish Jewry. He lived in the era of the codification of the Talmud and corresponded with Rabbi Yosef Karo, author of the Shulchan Aruch, the most influential work in this field. The Rema was both an admirer and a critic of the Shulchan Aruch, disapproving of the fact that its rulings were based primarily on the decisions of Sephardic authorities, excluding Ashkenazic customs and traditions. He composed a commentary on those passages of the Shulchan Aruch where he differed with the author, presenting the halacha as it was accepted by Ashkenazic authorities, which is binding for Ashkenazic Jews. It should be noted that these halachic differences concern only secondary matters of custom and tradition. The Rema called his work the "Mapah" (Tablecloth), as a "covering" for the Shulchan Aruch ("Set Table"). They were incorporated into the text and are distinguished by being printed in Rashi script. This joining of the two works symbolizes the fundamental unity of the Sephardic and Ashkenazic communities. It is thanks to this union that the Shulchan Aruch became universally accepted by the entire Jewish people. Not only was the Rema well versed in the Talmud, he also studied Kabbalah and Jewish mystical writings, as well as history, astronomy, and Greek philosophy. He is considered one of the forerunners of Jewish enlightenment. He wrote 33 books and passed away on the 33rd day of the Omer - 18 Iyar - at the age of 42. Thousands of pilgrims visited his grave every year on Lag BaOmer right up until World War II. On the tombstone placed over his grave, an inscription has been preserved testifying to the greatness and uniqueness of his contribution: "From Moshe (Rambam) to Moshe (Rema) there was none like Moshe." (From a trip to Krakow with the Yodei Bina Yeshiva)