ר׳ יום טוב ליפמן הלר

ר׳ יום טוב ליפמן הלר (1579–1654), known through his classic Mishnah commentary תוספות יום טוב, was a leading rabbi of Prague, Vienna and Poland. Born at Wallerstein after his father’s death, he was raised by his grandfather and studied at Friedberg before joining the Prague academy of ר׳ יהודה ליווא בן בצלאל, the Maharal. At eighteen he became a dayan in Prague. His תוספות יום טוב, printed there in parts from 1614 to 1617, expanded the commentary of ר׳ עובדיה מברטנורא through close Talmudic and halakhic analysis. After brief service at Mikulov he became av bet din of Vienna and then chief rabbi of Prague. In 1629 hostile accusations concerning taxation and allegedly anti-Christian passages led to imprisonment in Vienna, a heavy fine and removal from office; he later memorialized the ordeal in מגילת איבה. Moving to Poland in 1631, he served communities including Nemyriv and Volodymyr before becoming rabbi of Kraków, where he revised his Mishnah commentary and headed the yeshiva. He also wrote מעדני מלך and לחם חמודות on the halakhic work of ר׳ אשר בן יחיאל. His career links the Maharal’s Prague with the great Polish Torah centers before and during the 1648 upheavals.