R` Mordechai Gershom Katz

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R` Mordechai Gershom Katz, died 1560, son of R` Chaim Katz and nn
Cracow to:
Falka Jitschak Klauber, daughter of Jitschak Klauber of Posen and Bat Eliezer Liepman Schrenzel

1) R` Josef Katz, birth CA 1510 Cracow, died 1591 Cracow
author of Teshuvos She`eris Josef to:
Sprintze Bat Mosje Eberles, daughter of Moshe Gershon Eberles Altschuler and Chana Bat Eliezer Treves

2) Sprintze Mordechai Gershom Katz, birth CA 1535 to:
HaRaw Moshe Isserlis RAMO, birth CA1530 Cracow, died 26 Apr 1572 Cracow, buried Cracow, son of HaRaw Israel Isser Isserlis and Dina Malca b. Eliezer Liepman Schrentzel
Moses Isserles (or Moshe Isserlis) (1520- 1572 ), was a Rabbi and Talmudist , renowned for his fundamental work of Halakha (Jewish law), entitled HaMapah (lit. "the tablecloth"), a commentary on - and component of - the Shulkhan Arukh (lit. "th e set table"). He is also well known for Darkhei Moshe, a commentary on the Tur . Moses Isserles is also "the ReMA" (or "the RAMA"), the Hebrew for Rabbi Moses Isserles.
Biography
Moses was born in Cracow . His father, Israel (known as Iserl), was a prominent Talmudist , said to have been independently wealthy, and probably headed the community; his grandfather, Jehiel Luria, was the first Rabbi of Brisk . Isserles studie d in Lublin under Rabbi Shalom Shachna , who became his father-in-law. Among his fellow pupils were his relative Solomon Luria (Maharshal), and Chayyim b. Bezalel, an older brother of the Maharal . Rema&Aelig;s wife died young, at the age of 20 an d he later established the "Rema Synagogue " in Cracow in her memory (originally his house, built by his father in his honorùwhich he gave to the community). He later married the sister of Joseph ben Mordechai Gershon Ha-Kohen.
In an era which preceded the use of surnames, Moses became known by his patronymic, Isserels (corrupted in English to Isserles).
He returned to Cracow about 1550 , when he established a large yeshiva and, being a wealthy man, supported his pupils at his own cost. In his teaching, he was opposed to pilpul and he emphasized simple interpretation of the Talmud . In 155 3 he was appointed as dayan ; he also served on the Council of the Four Lands . He became a world-renowned scholar and was approached by many other well-known rabbis, including Yosef Karo , for Halachic decisions. He was one of the greatest Jewis h scholars of Poland , and was the primary halakhic authority for European Jewry of his day. He died in Cracow and was buried next to his synagogue. On his tombstone is inscribed: "From Moses (Maimonides ) to Moses (Isserles) there was none lik e 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 Rema a renowned Talmudic and legal scholar , he was also learned in Kabbalah , and studied history , astronomy and philosophy . He taught that “the aim of man is to search for the cause and the meaning of thingsö ("Torath ha-Olah" III ., vii.). He also held that "it is permissible to now 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 " (Shulkhan Arukh , Yo reh De'ah , 246, 4). Maharshal reproached him for having based some of his decisions on Aristotle . His reply was that he studied Greek philosophy only from Maimonides &Aelig; Guide for the Perplexed , and then only on Shabbat and Yom Tov (holy days ) - and furthermore, it is better to occupy oneself with philosophy than to err through Kabbalah (Responsa No. 7).
Amongst his many notable descendants are the composers Felix Mendelssohn and Giacomo Meyerbeer.
Works
Darkhei Moshe (èaa²èeÔe Òiáuèa) is a commentary on the Tur as well as on the Beth Yosef , which is Yosef Karo's commentary on the Tur and the work underlying the Shulkhan Arukh. Isserles had originally intended the Darkhei Moshe to serve as a bas is for subsequent halakhic decisions. As such, in this work he evaluates the rulings of the Tur - which was widely accepted among the Ashkenazim and Sephardim - comparing these with rulings of other halakhic authorities . The Beth Yosef was publ ished while Isserles was at work on the Darkhei Moshe. Recognizing that Karo's commentary largely met these objectives, Isserles published the Darkhei Moshe in a modified form. An abridgement of the original work is published with the Tur. The com plete version of the Darkhei Moshe is published separately.
HaMapah is written as a gloss to the Shulchan Arukh of Yosef Karo , discussing cases where Sephardi and Ashkenazi customs differ. (Hamapah is the "tablecloth" for the Shulkhan Arukh, the "set table".) Karo had based his normative position s on three authorities: Maimonides , Asher ben Jehiel (the Rosh), and Isaac Alfasi (the Rif). Of these, only Asher ben Jehiel had non-Sephardic roots, having lived most of his life in Germany before moving to Spain , but even so his wor k is largely Sephardic in orientation. Isserles thus created a series of glosses, in which he supplemented Karo with material drawn from the laws and customs (Minhagim) of Ashkenazi Jewry - chiefly based on the works of Yaakov Moelin , Israel Isse rlein and Israel Bruna. All editions of the Shulchan Arukh since 1578 include HaMapah embedded in the text (introduced by Hagahah, "gloss"), and distinguished by a semi-cursive "Rashi script ". Today, "Shulchan Arukh" refers to the combined wor k of Karo and Isserles. This consolidation of the two works strengthened the underlying unity of the Sephardi and Ashkenazi communities. It is through this unification that the Shulkhan Arukh became the universally accepted Code of Law for th e entire Jewish people.
Rabbi Isserles also wrote:
Torath ha-Chatath, mainly on kashrut (the dietary laws);
Torath ha-Olah and Mechir Yayin, both philosophical;
Teshuvot Rema, a work of responsa - see History of Responsa: Sixteenth century ( WIKIPEDIA ).
died 18 Iyar 5332

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