Rav Meir ben Boruch

Early years

Rav Meir ben Boruch zt"l, known as the Maharam (Moreinu HaRav Reb Meir) of Rottenberg, was born in Worms around 1215. He came from a long line of rabbanim, and his first teacher was his father, Rav Boruch.

As a young man he learned in Würzburg, from Rav Yitzchok ben Moshe of Vienna, and in Mainz, in the yeshivos of the leading Torah scholars of the day. He then went to France, to its well-known yeshivos, where his teachers included Rav Yechiel of Paris, Rav Shmuel ben Shlomo of Falaise and Rav Shmuel of Évreux. Rav Yechiel ben Yosef of Paris was known as a saintly rav and an outstanding talmid chacham, and it was he who defended the Gemara in the reign of Louis IX.

In Paris, Rav Meir saw the public burning of the Gemara: twenty-four wagonloads of manuscripts, burned on the 17th of June, Erev Shabbos Chukas. He mourned this tragedy in his famous kinah, Shaali Serufah, which we recite on Tishah B'Av.

Torah and leadership

Already a renowned talmid chacham, Rav Meir returned to Germany, where he served as rav of several large communities in turn. He opened a yeshivah in his home in Rottenberg and finally settled there, maintaining the famous yeshivah at his own expense. After his father's passing in 1281, he settled in Worms.

Among his talmidim were many who went on to become leading Talmudists and poskim, notably Rabbeinu Asher ben Yechiel, the Rosh, and Rav Mordechai ben Hillel Ashkenazi. The Chida, Rav Chaim Yosef Dovid Azulai, writes in Shem HaGedolim that another talmid, Rav Meir HaKohen, wrote the well-known commentary on the Rambam's Mishneh Torah called Hagahos Maimoniyos.

Rav Meir became universally acknowledged as the leading authority in Gemara and halachah. Communities in France, Italy and Germany turned to him for guidance in all religious matters and on points of law, and they addressed him with affectionate and rare titles such as "Father of Rabbis" and "Light of the Exile." Rav Menachem HaMeiri described him as the foremost Jewish leader of Zarfat (France) in his time. Rav Meir gave his opinion and advice to every inquirer with humility.

Teachings and seforim

Rav Meir did not write one large work. He left many notes, commentaries and expositions, as well as piyutim (liturgical poems). About 1,500 of his teshuvos have been preserved. Advanced students of Gemara value them highly, and they also paint a picture of Jewish life and customs in his day: the condition of the German Jews and how they suffered from the whims of princes and from heavy taxation. They also record the rulings of other Ashkenazi poskim, earlier and contemporary.

He is well known as one of the Baalei HaTosafos. He himself wrote the Tosafos on Meseches Yoma, and he is quoted in the Tosafos on other masechtos. He also wrote commentaries on the Mishnah orders Zeraim and Tohoros. His writings on specific areas of halachah include Piskei Eruvin on the laws of the eruv; Halachos Pesukos, a collection of decisions on disputed points of halachah; Hilchos Berachos on the blessings; Hilchos Aveilus on the laws of mourning; and Hilchos Shechitah on the laws of shechitah. His talmid the Rosh set down much of his teaching in his own halachic works.

Later years and passing

Those were years of persecution for the Jews of Germany, who lived in constant fear for their property and their lives. In 1286, King Rudolf I declared the Jewish communities to be servants of the royal treasury, which allowed the crown to tax them directly. Since the local nobles were not forbidden to tax them as well, the burden could be crushing.

That year Rav Meir took his entire family and set out for Eretz Yisroel together with a group of well-to-do friends, hoping to continue helping his persecuted brethren there. While passing through the mountains of Lombardy, he was recognized by a baptized Jew named Kneppe, who was traveling with the archbishop of Mainz. The archbishop had Rav Meir arrested and brought back to Germany. There, by order of King Rudolf, he was imprisoned in the fortress of Ensisheim in Alsace and held for ransom.

The king knew that the Jews would give their last mark to redeem their beloved Rav. It is told that a very large ransom was raised for him, with the Rosh taking part in gathering it. But Rav Meir forbade his friends and followers to pay. He understood that once a ransom was paid for him, every noted rav in Germany would be seized and held for ransom by the greedy rulers of the day. He ruled on his own abduction according to the halachah of the Gemara, and he preferred to remain in prison, even to die there, in order to spare many others the same fate.

For seven years Rav Meir remained a prisoner. His talmidim were permitted to visit him, and he was even able to write several of his works within the prison walls. He passed away on the 19th of Iyar 5053 (1293).

His body was not released for fourteen years, until a generous Jew, Alexander Suskind Wimpfen of Frankfurt, paid a heavy ransom for it. In return he asked only that after his own passing he be buried beside the holy Rav. He passed away a year later, and in the old Jewish cemetery of Worms two matzevos stood side by side: one for Rav Meir ben Boruch, and one for Alexander Suskind Wimpfen.