A Distinguished Bohemian Halachist
The Life and Works of Rabbi Yakov Reischer
Rabbi Yakov Reischer (ca. 1660-1733)
Rabbi Yakov Reischer (also known as Rabbi Yakov Backofen or Back) was born around 1660 in Prague. In his youth, Rabbi Reischer studied under the av beis din (presiding judge) of Prague Rabbi Ahron Shimon Spira (d. 1679) and his son Rabbi Binyamin Wolf Spira (d. 1715). Rabbi Binyamin Wolf Spira was very fond of his bright disciple and eventually took him as a son-in-law.
Rabbi Reischer’s two brothers-in-laws, both highly acclaimed Halachists in their own right, bear mentioning: 1) Rabbi Eliyahu Spira (son of Rabbi Binyamin Wolf Spira), author of the prominent halachic works Elya Rabbah and Elya Zuta, and 2) Rabbi Dovid Oppenheimer, author of responsa Nishal Dovid and chief rabbi of Prague, who married a daughter of Rabbi Binyamin Wolf Spira in his second marriage.
In Prague, at a relatively young age, Rabbi Reischer published three important works: 1) Minchas Yakov (a commentary on the Rema’s Toras Chattas), 2) Chok Yakov (a commentary on the Shulchan Aruch, Laws of Pesach), and 3) the first volume of his famed responsa, Shevus Yakov.
A fire which ravaged Prague in 1689 destroyed much of the Jewish quarter including Rabbi Reischer’s home which contained his library and many of his manuscripts including his Talmudic writings. The few surviving leaflets of his Talmudic writings were eventually published at the end of a volume of his responsa under the title Pe’er Yakov.
Other works which Rabbi Reischer wrote are: Toras ha-Shalamim on the laws of Niddah and Iyun Yakov, a commentary on the aggadic work Ein Yakov. His unpublished works include Mishpetei Yakov and Yeshuas Yakov.
Rabbi Reischer’s Minchas Yakov was widely disseminated and several contemporary rabbis questioned and disputed some of his rulings. In response to these remarks Rabbi Reischer edited his Minchas Yakov and titled the revised edition Soles L’mincha. In addition, the author’s son, Rabbi Shimon Reischer, wrote Shemen L’mincha to defend his father’s rulings against the critical remarks of Rabbi Yochanan Karmintzer in his work H’orach Meishor.
The city of Prague suffered another devastation in 1713 when a plague struck and claimed many lives including that of Rabbi Shimon Reischer.
Eventually Rabbi Yakov Reischer left Prague and moved to Worms where he held a rabbinic position for several years. His final position was in Metz where he served in the rabbinate and headed a yeshiva until his death in 1733.
Chok Yakov, Dessau, 1695
Images courtesy of the Klau Library, Cincinnati, HUC-JIR