Rav Shlomo Luria (Ashkenazi)
The Maharshal, rav of Ostroh and Lublin, leading posek of sixteenth-century Poland and author of Yam Shel Shlomo and Chochmas Shlomo.
Biography
Early years and family
Rav Shlomo Luria zt"l, known as the Maharshal, the initials of Morenu HaRav Shlomo Luria, was one of the leading Torah scholars of the sixteenth century. He was born in 1510, the son of Yechiel Luria, into a prominent rabbinical family whose lineage goes back to Rashi. He was related to many of the great rabbonim of his day, among them Rav Moshe Isserles and Rav Meir Katzenellenbogen, and to Rav Yitzchok Luria, the Arizal, apparently as his great-uncle.
He served as rov in several communities in Poland and Lithuania, including Ostroh, and as rov and head of the beis din in Lublin, one of the most important centers of Jewish life at the time.
Torah and leadership
The Maharshal was one of the great Ashkenazic poskim and teachers of his generation. Almost all the greatest rabbonim of the period were his talmidim. He was an extremely humble man. Even as rov of communities such as Ostroh and Lublin, he appointed a maggid whose job was to rebuke him for any fault and to speak to him about the ways of the righteous. Whenever the maggid entered his home, the Maharshal sat before him with the humility of an ordinary person and listened to his words.
He was a devoted follower of Kabbalah and ranked the Zohar alongside other midrashic literature, yet his independence of thought and devotion to truth as he saw it stood out. Once he was asked whether, following the Zohar, tefillin should be put on the arm while sitting. He refused even to consider it, pointing to earlier generations of sages who had not changed their custom to match the Zohar, and he held the same about tefillin on Chol Hamoed (Teshuvos Maharshal 98).
Teachings and seforim
His major work of halacha, Yam Shel Shlomo, was meant to cover sixteen masechtos of the Gemara but is extant on only seven. In it he analyzes the key sugyos and decides between the various authorities what the practical halacha should be, always stressing that the Gemara is the ultimate source. In his introduction he hints that he was able to learn even when there was not enough light, as though he were being guided from Heaven.
His Chochmas Shlomo, glosses and comments on the text of the Gemara, is printed in the standard editions of the Gemara, although the original, separately printed version is far more extensive. His responsa give a clear picture of the questions of his day. Several are addressed to Rav Moshe Isserles, for whom he had great respect but with whom he sharply differed. He was especially critical of the Rema's affection for philosophy, which he strongly opposed. The Rema held that in many areas Kabbalah and philosophy deal with the same problems in different terms.
Later years and passing
The Maharshal passed away in Lublin on 12 Kislev 5334 (1573).
Legacy
His writings are studied and revered to this day.
Stories
The Talmid Who Returned from the Grave
Rav Meir Shapira once told his talmidim a story he said had never been published. He had found it in the records of the Lublin Jewish community and felt it should be known, for it shows what tzaddikim can accomplish.
A talmid of the Maharshal lost his wife young, and she left no children. After the seven days of mourning he stayed deeply depressed, and the Maharshal called him in to ask what was wrong. The man wept that before she died, his wife had made him promise never to remarry, but he was still young and had no children. The Maharshal assured him that he was permitted to marry, and soon he did. Shortly afterward he suddenly and inexplicably died, and all of Lublin was shaken.
The Maharshal summoned the chevra kadisha. He told them to prepare the man for burial as usual and lay him in the grave but to do nothing more, and to call him. When they did, he came to the cemetery, wrote a note and placed it in the dead man's hand. It read, "Shalom to you, heavenly hosts. How can this be? Does a positive commandment of the Torah not override a negative one? I decree in the Torah's name that you return this man to me." He signed it, told the people to leave the grave open and to go home.
About an hour later the city was abuzz. The young man, who had just been laid in the grave, was walking through the streets in his shrouds as though nothing had happened. The Maharshal's standing, already high, rose higher still.
Then a new difficulty arose. No woman would agree to marry someone who had cheated the grave. The Maharshal called on the angel of forgetfulness to wipe the whole episode from the memory of the community. Within days people stopped speaking of it and forgot it had ever happened. The young man went on as before, remarried in due time and fathered children who learned Torah and carried on the Jewish tradition.
Teachings
The Zohar and Halacha
The Maharshal ranked the Zohar with other midrashic literature, and when asked to rule that tefillin be put on the arm while sitting, in line with the Zohar, he adamantly refused. He cited the sages of earlier generations who had not changed their custom, and he held the same regarding tefillin on Chol Hamoed.
Teshuvos Maharshal 98
Seforim
- Yam Shel Shlomo: His major work of halacha, planned on sixteen masechtos of the Gemara and extant on seven, deciding between the authorities on the practical halacha.
- Chochmas Shlomo: Glosses and comments on the Gemara, printed in the standard editions of the Gemara; the original separate edition is far more extensive.
- Teshuvos Maharshal: His responsa, including several to Rav Moshe Isserles on which they sharply differed.
Also on 12 Kislev
All hilulos on 12 Kislev ›Historical sources
- Ascent of Safed
- Teshuvos Maharshal 98
- Rav Meir Shapira, from the records of the Lublin Jewish community