Rav Yehoshua HaKohen Falk

Early years

Rav Yehoshua HaKohen Falk zt"l, the author of the Meiras Einayim and of the Derisha and Perisha, was born in Kraków, Poland, in 1555, the son of Alexander Falk. Like many Jews of Central Europe in his day, his name joined the Hebrew Yehoshua to a German second name, Falk, which was not yet a family name.

He studied under two of the great Torah leaders of Poland: Rav Moshe Isserles (the Rema), who was also his relative, and Rav Shlomo Luria (the Maharshal). He names both as his teachers in his introduction to the Sema.

Torah and leadership

Rav Yehoshua married Baila, the daughter of the great gvir (wealthy leader) of Lvov, Rav Yisrael Aidels. Rav Yisrael married off orphans, and his home was a meeting place for rabbonim and sages. He was very generous to the poor, and he gave his son-in-law a fully furnished, multi-storied home and supported him for twenty-eight years, together with his yeshiva and his talmidim.

Before he served as Rav of Lvov, Rav Yehoshua served as Rav in Belz, around the year 5340. In Lvov (Lemberg) he became the head of the yeshiva, and many celebrated rabbonim were among his talmidim. They included Rav Yehoshua Heshel ben Yosef, Av Bais Din of Cracow and author of Maginei Shlomo; Rav Yissochor Ber Eilenburg, author of Be'er Sheva; and Rav Avrohom Katz Rappaport (Shrentzel), author of Eison HoEzrochi.

Rav Yehoshua was a great authority in halacha and also took part in the leadership of Polish Jewry as a member of the Council of Four Lands. At its meeting in 1607, held during the Kremenetz fair, many of his proposals were approved. In 1611 he and Rav Enoch Hendel ben Shemariah issued a get in Vienna, which led to lengthy discussions among the leading rabbonim of the time, among them Rav Meir Lublin and Rav Mordechai Yoffe.

Teachings and seforim

Rav Yehoshua did not approve of relying on the books of halachic rulings while neglecting the study of the original sources. For this reason he wrote commentaries on the two most influential codes: the Tur of Rabbeinu Yaakov ben Asher and the Shulchan Aruch of Rav Yosef Karo.

His Sefer Meiras Einayim, known as the Sema, is a commentary on the Choshen Mishpat section of the Shulchan Aruch. It gathers the rulings of the Rishonim and provides an index of their sources. On the Tur he wrote the commentary Beis Yisroel, which has two parts. The Perisha explains the Tur simply, tracing each ruling back to the Gemara and the Rishonim. The Derisha takes up particular difficulties and compares at length the different explanations and decisions of the earlier authorities.

He is cited by the Bach under the acronym Maharuch (standing for Rav Valk Kohen), and by the Tosfos Yom Tov as Rafak (Rav Falk Kohen).

Rav Yehoshua also wrote Sefer HaHosafah, a supplement to the Darkei Moshe of the Rema, which was printed with the Choshen Mishpat in Dyhernfurth in 1796; a kuntres on the laws of ribbis (interest), followed by several takanos, printed in Sulzbach in 1692; and novellae on tractates of the Gemara.

In his early years he wrote extensive commentaries on the Gemara that were later lost in a fire. His son, Rav Yosef HaKohen, writes in his own introduction to the Derisha that his father also composed commentaries and seforim on Shas, the Rif, the Semag, Rashi, the Ran, the Mordechai and the Rosh, as well as works on Kabbalah and philosophy, deroshos on the Torah, Mishnah, Aggadah and Medrashim, and responsa. All of these were lost in the fire.

Later years and passing

Rav Yehoshua passed away in Lvov on 19 Nissan 5374 (1614).