Yoel Sirkis
Encyclopedia
Joel ben Samuel Sirkis also known as the Bach (ב"ח) - an abbreviation of his magnum opus, Bayit Chadash - was a prominent Jewish posek
and halakhist
. He lived in central Europe
and held rabbinical positions in Belz
, Brest-Litovsk and Kraków
from 1561-1640.
in 1561. At age fourteen he went to the yeshiva
of Solomon ben Judah. After remaining there some time he went to Brest-Litovsk, where he attended the yeshiva
of Rabbi Phoebus. While still a youth he was invited to the rabbinate of Pruszany, near Slonim
. Later he occupied the rabbinates of Lubkow
, Lublin
, Medzyboz
, Belz
, Szydlowka
, and finally Brest-Litovsk and Kraków
, succeeding in each of the two last-mentioned places his teacher R. Phoebus.
"The Bach" was an adherent of the Kabbalah
and an opponent of pilpul
. He was also critical of those who relied solely on the Shulchan Aruch
for halachic decisions, rather than on the Talmud
and the Geonim
. He was the father-in-law of Rabbi David HaLevi Segal
, who frequently refers to him in Turei Zahav, his commentary on the Shulchan Aruch
. Rabbi Sirkis died in Kraków in 1640.
Posek
Posek is the term in Jewish law for "decider"—a legal scholar who decides the Halakha in cases of law where previous authorities are inconclusive or in those situations where no halakhic precedent exists....
and halakhist
Halakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...
. He lived in central Europe
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
and held rabbinical positions in Belz
Belz
Belz , a small city in the Lviv Oblast of Western Ukraine, near the border with Poland, is located between the Solokiya river and the Rzeczyca stream....
, Brest-Litovsk and Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
from 1561-1640.
Biography
Sirkis was born in LublinLublin
Lublin is the ninth largest city in Poland. It is the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 350,392 . Lublin is also the largest Polish city east of the Vistula river...
in 1561. At age fourteen he went to the yeshiva
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
of Solomon ben Judah. After remaining there some time he went to Brest-Litovsk, where he attended the yeshiva
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
of Rabbi Phoebus. While still a youth he was invited to the rabbinate of Pruszany, near Slonim
Slonim
Slonim is a city in Hrodna Voblast, Belarus, capital of the Slonim District. It is located at the junction of the Shchara and Isa rivers, 143 km southeast of Hrodna. The population in 2008 was 50,800.-Etymology and historical names:...
. Later he occupied the rabbinates of Lubkow
Lubków
Lubków may refer to the following places in Poland:*Lubków, Bolesławiec County in Lower Silesian Voivodeship *Lubków, Lubin County in Lower Silesian Voivodeship *Lubków, West Pomeranian Voivodeship...
, Lublin
Lublin
Lublin is the ninth largest city in Poland. It is the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 350,392 . Lublin is also the largest Polish city east of the Vistula river...
, Medzyboz
Medzhybizh
Medzhybizh, previously known as Mezhybozhe, population 1731, is a town in the Khmelnytskyi Oblast of western Ukraine. It is located in the Letychivsky Raion , 25 kilometres from the Khmelnytskyi on the main highway between Khmelnytskyi and Vinnytsia at the confluence of the Southern Buh and...
, Belz
Belz
Belz , a small city in the Lviv Oblast of Western Ukraine, near the border with Poland, is located between the Solokiya river and the Rzeczyca stream....
, Szydlowka
Szydlówka
Szydłówka is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Olszanka, within Łosice County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It lies approximately south-west of Łosice and east of Warsaw.-References:...
, and finally Brest-Litovsk and Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
, succeeding in each of the two last-mentioned places his teacher R. Phoebus.
"The Bach" was an adherent of the Kabbalah
Kabbalah
Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...
and an opponent of pilpul
Pilpul
Pilpul refers to a method of studying the Talmud through intense textual analysis in attempts to either explain conceptual differences between various halakhic rulings or to reconcile any apparent contradictions presented from various readings of different texts.Pilpul has entered English as a...
. He was also critical of those who relied solely on the Shulchan Aruch
Shulchan Aruch
The Shulchan Aruch also known as the Code of Jewish Law, is the most authoritative legal code of Judaism. It was authored in Safed, Israel, by Yosef Karo in 1563 and published in Venice two years later...
for halachic decisions, rather than on the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
and the Geonim
Geonim
Geonim were the presidents of the two great Babylonian, Talmudic Academies of Sura and Pumbedita, in the Abbasid Caliphate, and were the generally accepted spiritual leaders of the Jewish community world wide in the early medieval era, in contrast to the Resh Galuta who wielded secular authority...
. He was the father-in-law of Rabbi David HaLevi Segal
David HaLevi Segal
David ha-Levi Segal , also known as the Turei Zahav after the title of his significant halakhic commentary on the Shulchan Aruch, was one of the greatest Polish rabbinical authorities....
, who frequently refers to him in Turei Zahav, his commentary on the Shulchan Aruch
Shulchan Aruch
The Shulchan Aruch also known as the Code of Jewish Law, is the most authoritative legal code of Judaism. It was authored in Safed, Israel, by Yosef Karo in 1563 and published in Venice two years later...
. Rabbi Sirkis died in Kraków in 1640.
Works
- Bayit Chadash (בית חדש - "New House", a reference to DeuteronomyDeuteronomyThe Book of Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible, and of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch...
22:8, abbreviated as Bach - ב"ח), Rabbi Sirkis's best known work, is a major commentaryClose readingClose reading describes, in literary criticism, the careful, sustained interpretation of a brief passage of text. Such a reading places great emphasis on the particular over the general, paying close attention to individual words, syntax, and the order in which sentences and ideas unfold as they...
on the Arba'ah TurimArba'ah TurimArba'ah Turim , often called simply the Tur, is an important Halakhic code, composed by Yaakov ben Asher...
of Jacob ben AsherJacob ben AsherJacob ben Asher, also known as Ba'al ha-Turimas well as Rabbi Yaakov ben Raash , was likely born in Cologne, Germany c.1269 and likely died in Toledo, Spain c.1343....
. The work presents and elucidates the fundamental principles of the TorahTorahTorah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
as recorded in the MishnahMishnahThe Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
, the BabylonianTalmudThe Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
and Jerusalem TalmudJerusalem TalmudThe Jerusalem Talmud, talmud meaning "instruction", "learning", , is a collection of Rabbinic notes on the 2nd-century Mishnah which was compiled in the Land of Israel during the 4th-5th century. The voluminous text is also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud de-Eretz Yisrael...
s, and the chief codes. - Hagahot haBach (GlossGlossA gloss is a brief notation of the meaning of a word or wording in a text. It may be in the language of the text, or in the reader's language if that is different....
es of the Bach) - suggestions for textual emendations in the Talmud and RashiRashiShlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...
, copied from the notes that the author added to his copy of the Talmud. The Bach's notes are marked in the text as a letter in Rashi scriptRashi scriptRashi script is a semi-cursive typeface for the Hebrew alphabet. It is named for the author of the most famous rabbinic commentary on the Hebrew Bible and the Talmud, Rashi, and is customarily used for printing his commentaries. The typeface is based on 15th century Sephardic semi-cursive...
within parentheses. - Meshiv Nefesh, a commentary on the Book of RuthBook of RuthThe Book of Ruth is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh, or Old Testament. In the Jewish canon the Book of Ruth is included in the third division, or the Writings . In the Christian canon the Book of Ruth is placed between Judges and 1 Samuel...
, (Lublin, 1616);
- Teshuvot ha-Bach ("ResponsaResponsaResponsa comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them.-In the Roman Empire:Roman law recognised responsa prudentium, i.e...
of the Bach"). - Beurei ha-Bach le-Pardes Rimmonim, explanations of passages in the Kabbalistic magnum opus of Moses ben Jacob CordoveroMoses ben Jacob CordoveroMoses ben Jacob Cordovero, , was a central figure in the historical development of Kabbalah, leader of a mystical school in 16th-century Safed, Israel. He is known by the acronym the Ramak....
External links and references
- Sirkes, Joel B. Samuel, jewishencyclopedia.com
- Joel Sirkes (the Bach) (Lublin, Poland), jewishhistory.org.il