Moses Isserles

Moses Isserles (Hebrew: משה בן ישראל איסרלישׂ; Polish: Mojżesz ben Israel Isserles; 22 February 1530 / 25 Adar I 5290 – 11 May 1572 / 18 Iyar 5332), also known by the acronym Rema, was an eminent Polish Ashkenazi rabbi, talmudist, and posek (expert in Jewish law).

Isserles was born in Kraków, Poland. His father, Israel ben Josef (known as Isserl), was a prominent talmudist and independently wealthy, who had probably headed the community; his grandfather, Yehiel Luria, was the first rabbi of Brisk. (In an era which preceded the common use of surnames, Moses became known by his patronymic, Isserles.)

At first he studied at home, and then in Lublin under Rabbi Shalom Shachna, who would later become his father-in-law. Among his fellow pupils were his relative Solomon Luria (Maharshal)—later a major disputant of many of Isserles' halachic rulings, and Chayyim b. Bezalel, an older brother of the Maharal. His first wife died young, at the age of 20 and he later established the "Rema Synagogue" in Kraków in her memory (originally his house, built by his father in his honor—which he gave to the community). He later married the sister of Joseph ben Mordechai Gershon Ha-Kohen.

He returned to Kraków in 1549, establishing a large yeshiva where as a wealthy man, he supported his pupils. In his teaching, he was opposed to pilpul and emphasized simple interpretation of the Talmud. In 1553 he was appointed as dayan. He was approached by many other well-known rabbis, including Yosef Karo, for Halachic decisions. He was one of the greatest Jewish scholars of Poland, and was the primary halakhic authority for European Jewry of his day. In this context, he was also approached by Meir Katzenellenbogen to issue a ruling in the Bragadin-Giustiniani dispute, one of the earliest instances of a copyright suit over any book.

He died in Kraków and was buried next to his synagogue. On his tombstone is inscribed: "From Moses (Maimonides) to Moses (Isserles) there was none like Moses". Until the Second World War, thousands of pilgrims visited his grave annually on Lag Ba'omer, his Yahrzeit (date of death).

Not only was Isserles a renowned Talmudic and legal scholar, but he was also learned in Kabbalah and studied history, astronomy, and philosophy. Many had criticized Maimonides' heavy use of philosophy, and these criticisms continued into Isserles' day. He, on the other hand, took a moderate approach despite being concerned with philosophy entering into education. He stated that philosophy should be learned only "sporadically", and that religious scripture should always be held in a higher esteem. Around 1550, he had several correspondences with Rabbi Solomon Luria. Isserles represented the pro-philosophy aspect of study, while Luria was more critical.

Isserles taught that "the aim of man is to search for the cause and the meaning of things." He also held that "it is permissible to know and then study secular wisdom, provided that this excludes works of heresy... and that one [first] knows what is permissible and forbidden, and the rules and the mitzvot". Maharshal reproached him for having based some of his decisions on Aristotle.[reference needed] His reply was that he studied Greek philosophy only from Maimonides' Guide for the Perplexed, and then only on Shabbat and Yom Tov - and furthermore, it is better to occupy oneself with philosophy than to err through Kabbalah.

Despite his suggestions about learning philosophy sparingly, Isserles and his students are considered the "first wave" of philosophical learning within Polish Jewry and is deemed the "Isserles School" by Leonard S. Levin.