The fourth of Iyar is the yahrzeit of Rav Yosef Teomim (1727-1792). Born outside of Lvov, his family moved to Lvov shortly thereafter as his father assumed positions as a rabbinical judge and maggid in the city. Yosef studied under his father until 1744 when he moved to Komarna and got married. He lived there for ten years, working as a tutor and writing his seforim.
Eventually he felt that he had too many distractions that were keeping him from his writing and he moved to Berlin for a few years where he was able to work undisturbed. While there he had a number of run-ins with Dovid Friendlander, a maskil, whose father-in-law was a wealthy supporter of Rav Yosef.
After his father’s passing in 1770 he was invited to take his place in Lvov, but he demurred, preferring to focus on his writing. In 1774, he finally acceded to their requests. In 1781 he was appointed Rabbi of Frankfurt on Oder and remained there for the rest of his life.
Rav Yosef is best known for his super-commentary on the Shulchan Aruch, called Pri Megadim. He rewrote the work a number of times until he was satisfied. Rather than writing directly on the Shulchan Aruch, he writes instead on the major commentaries on Orach Chaim and Yorah Deah. His work is extensively quoted by later achronim, most prominently, the Mishna Berura. It has since been printed in all standard editions of the Shulchan Aruch. Originally, it was printed in the back of each volume, but recent prints have included it on the page. In his commentary he demonstrates a unique ability to break down each halacha into its parts, in order to understand the logical underpinnings behind the details of each halacha. He asks penetrating questions on the earlier commentaries in order to be able to bring out the depth of what they are saying.
Additionally, his Rosh Yosef is an important commentary on some Talmudic tractates. Rather than adopting the pilpul style of learning, he believed that the primary focus of Talmudic study was to arrive at the correct halachic conclusion. He felt that the resolution to difficult questions rested upon proper review of the text and the commentary of the rishonim. He didn’t write his commentary on Meseches Chulin until he had first studied it one hundred and one times. He wrote a number of seforim on other topics as well.
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The 6th of Iyar is the yahrzeit of Rav Levi ben Gershon, Ralbag, known in the philosophical world as Gersonides (1288-1344). Little is known about the Ralbag’s family, education or upbringing. He was born in France, and his father was possibly Catalan. Some historians believe that his mother was the daughter of the Ramban. He never held any rabbinical posts, perhaps because his opinions were considered to be too radical. He was very much an Aristotelian and in his commentaries rationalized many of the miracles found in Tanach. He was accused by the Rivash of being an apikorus and was criticized by the Abarvanel. On the other hand, the Gaon of Vilna is reported to have said that he wishes he would merit to sit near the Ralbag in Gan Eden.
Early Latin editions of Aristotle contain Gersonides’ commentary and his work Sefer Milchamot Hashem, which was modeled on the Moreh Nevuchim, is considered to be an important work of medieval philosophy. It also contains all of the contemporary astronomical knowledge and was translated into Latin at the request of Pope Clement VI. He wrote commentary on Chumash and much of Neviim and Kesuvim. His commentaries on the latter two are included in standard editions of the mikraos gedolos, despite the opposition to some of his positions.
Unlike most Jewish thinkers, he did not believe that Hashem has complete foreknowledge of people’s actions. While he believed in creation as described in Sefer Bereishis, he believed that the material out of which the universe was formed had always existed. He wrote a commentary on Rebbe Yishmael’s thirteen ways to expound upon the Torah, an explanation of the Aggados of Rabbah bar Chana in Bava Basra, and a commentary on the entire Meseches Berachos. Of these, only the first is extant today.
His views on women, which certainly wouldn’t pass muster today, were decidedly more negative than those of his contemporaries, whether in the Jewish or philosophical worlds.
Whereas his primary profession was medicine, he had broad interests. He wrote a book on mathematics, called Maaseh Choshev, which would probably have had greater influence if it had been available in other languages. He also wrote the Harmony of Numbers. He invented Jacob’s Staff, an astronomical tool used for measuring distances between planets. After observing a solar eclipse in 1335 and a lunar eclipse two years later, he published a geometrical model for lunar motion and his theories on what the Milky Way was made of. A lunar crater called Rabbi Levi was named in his honor.
The Ralbag believed in astrology, but developed a rational framework to explain its workings. He figured out that stars were much further than anyone had previously imagined. He had many questions on the Ptolemaic model of egocentricity which eventually led to Copernicus and others developing the heliocentric model.
