Editing Solomon Luria

{{Short description|Ashkenazic poskim and teacher}}
{{Infobox Jewish leader
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| name             = Solomon Luria
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| image            = Solomon Luria.jpg
| caption          = Portrait attributed to Solomon Luria 
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| birth_date       = 1510
| birth_place      = {{flagicon|Grand Duchy of Lithuania}} [[Brześć]], [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]]
| death_date       = {{death date and age |1573|11|7|1510|11|7}}
| death_place      = {{flagicon|Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth}} [[Lublin]], [[ Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]]
| buried           = {{flagicon|Poland}} Lublin, Poland
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| occupation       = [[Talmudist]], [[Halachist]], Biblical Commentator
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'''Shlomo Luria''' (1510 – November 7, 1573) ({{langx|he|שלמה לוריא}}) was one of the great [[Ashkenazi]]c ''[[posek|poskim]]'' (decisors of [[Halakha|Jewish law]]) and teachers of his time. He is known for his work of [[Halakha]], ''Yam Shel Shlomo'', and his [[Talmud]]ic commentary ''Chochmat Shlomo''. Luria is also referred to as "''Maharshal''" {{Script/Hebrew|מהרש"ל}} ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] abbreviation: Our Teacher, Rabbi Solomon Luria), or "''Rashal''" {{Script/Hebrew|רש"ל}} ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] abbreviation: Rabbi Solomon Luria).

==Biography==
[[File:Grave of Solomon Luria, Lublin, Poland Jan 2014.jpg|thumbnail|right|Grave of Solomon Luria (right), [[Old Jewish Cemetery, Lublin]]]]
Luria was born in the city of [[Poznań]] (Posen), in the [[Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)|Kingdom of Poland]]. His father, Yechiel Luria, was the rabbi of the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania|Lithuania]]n city of [[Slutzk]] and the son of the eminent [[Talmud]]ist [[Miriam Luria]]. The Luria family claims descent from [[Rashi]].<ref>For Solomon's descent and relatives see {{cite book |first=Anton |last=Lourié |title=Die Familie Lourié |language=de |location=Vienna |publisher=Stern & Steiner |year=1923 |oclc=2135179 }}</ref> Luria studied in [[Lublin]] under Rabbi [[Shalom Shachna]], and later in the [[Ostroh]] [[yeshiva]] under [[Kalonymus Haberkasten]]; he later married Lipka, daughter of Rabbi Kalonymus. Students in the yeshiva included [[Joshua Falk]]. The Maharshal served as Rabbi in [[Brest, Belarus|Brisk]] and various Lithuanian communities for 15 years.

Around 1550, he had several correspondences with Rabbi [[Moses Isserles]] (Rema). Rabbi Isserles represented the moderated use of philosophy in Jewish studies while Luria was more critical of this approach.<ref>"Seeing with Both Eyes: Ephraim Luntshitz and the Polish-Jewish Renaissance"; Leonard Levin; pg. 24</ref> He believed that Isserles contradicted the [[Geonim]] in his arguments. Despite debating Isserles' method, Luria was friendly in his replies.<ref>"Seeing with Both Eyes: Ephraim Luntshitz and the Polish-Jewish Renaissance"; Leonard Levin; pgs. 25-26</ref>

When Haberkasten assumed the position of [[rosh yeshiva]] in Brisk, Luria replaced him as the official rabbi of the city and region of Ostroh. Luria later succeeded [[Shalom Shachna]] as [[rosh yeshiva|head]] of the [[Lublin]] Yeshiva, which attracted students from all over [[Europe]]. Due to various internal problems in the yeshiva, he opened his own [[yeshiva]]. The building, known as the "Maharshal's shul", remained intact until [[World War II]].

==Works==
'''Yam Shel Shlomo''', Luria's major work of [[Halakha]], was written on sixteen tractates of the Talmud;  however, it is extant on only seven.  In it, Maharshal analyzes key ''[[Gemara#The Sugya|sugyot]]'' (passages) and [[posek|decides]] between various authorities as to the practical halacha. Maharshal, famously, objected to [[Moshe Isserles|Isserles]]'s method of presenting halakhic rulings without discussing their derivation. He wrote ''Yam Shel Shlomo'' to "probe the depths of the halacha" and to clarify the process by which those halachot are reached.

'''Chochmat Shlomo''' is a gloss, and comments, on the text of the Talmud. One aim of this work being to establish the correct text. To achieve this Maharshal scrutinized the published editions of the Talmud as well as the commentaries of [[Rashi]], [[Tosafot]], and other [[Rishonim]]. His comments were later published by his son; an abridged version of ''Chochmat Shlomo'' appears in nearly all editions of the Talmud today, at the end of each tractate. The original, separately printed version, is far more extensive, and has now been re-published in the Metivta/Oz ve-Hadar edition of the Talmud. The [[Chaim Joseph David Azulai|Chida]] writes that "I've heard from elders, that the Maharshal is extremely deep; and most ''hasagot'' (criticisms/objections) from the [[Samuel Eidels|Maharsha]] on the Maharshal, aren't ''hasagot'' if the reader will delve deep into the subject".

Maharshal also wrote:
*''Yeri'ot Shlomo'', a [[super-commentary]] on [[Rashi]]'s commentary on the [[Torah]] (in fact a commentary on [[Elijah Mizrachi]]'s  supercommentary on Rashi) - [https://www.hebrewbooks.org/44818 HebrewBooks.org];
*''Amudei Shlomo'', a [[Close reading|commentary]] on ''[[Sefer Mitzvot Gadol]]'' ("SeMag") of Rabbi [[Moses ben Jacob of Coucy]];
*A collection of [[Responsa]]; see [[History of Responsa#Sixteenth century|History of Responsa: Sixteenth century]].

==See also==
*[[Elijah Ba'al Shem of Chelm]] – one of his famous students who, according to legend, could create a [[golem]] creature
*[[Moshe ben Avraham of Przemyśl|Moshe ben Avraham]] – one of his students, author of the [[Mateh Moshe]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.ou.org/judaism-101/bios/leaders-in-the-diaspora/rabbi-solomon-luria-the-maharshal/ Rabbi Solomon Luria, the Maharshal], ou.org
*[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=627&letter=L#1860 Solomon b. Jehiel Luria], jewishencyclopedia.com

{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:1510 births]]
[[Category:1574 deaths]]
[[Category:16th-century Polish rabbis]]
[[Category:16th-century Polish writers]]