Isaac Tyrnau

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Isaac Tyrnau was an Austrian (or Hungarian) rabbi, active in the late 14th century; he is most famous for his Sefer haMinhagim (Book of Customs).

[edit] Biography

Little is known about his life. He was born in Vienna and later moved to Tyrnau in Austria, although some suggest Trnava, in modern day Slovakia. He studied under Abraham Klausner of Vienna and Sar Shalom of Neustadt. It is possible that he later served as rabbi in Pressburg, although this is debated by scholars. His correspondence with Jacob Moellin regarding a divorce (1420) is recorded. Gabriel Polak and Israel Böhmer published (Königsberg, 1857) an anonymous story entitled "Ezba' Elohim," the heroes of which are Isaac Tyrnau and his beautiful daughter. According to legend, a Hungarian prince fell in love with Tyrnau's daughter, converted to Judaism, renounced the throne and married Tyrnau's daughter.

[edit] Works

Sefer haMinhagim (Book of Customs) is a compendium of halachot ("Jewish laws") and minhagim ("customs") of Ashkenazi Jews, arranged according to the calendar. The work is significantly influenced by those of Tyrnau's teachers. It also contains notes from a Hungarian rabbi, which were already attached with the first printed edition of Tyrnau's work (1566).

Tyrnau's work is noted as the first to discuss in detail the idea of the Yahrzeit (the commemoration of the anniversary of a death). It was translated into German in 1590, and often reprinted. It also contains a treatise on morals entitled "Orhot Hayyim," in 132 sections, which is appended to the Sefer haMinhagim.

Isaac Tyrnau is quoted by Mordechai Jaffe at the end of his "Lebush" on Orah Hayyim. This work was to some extent superseded by Minhagei Maharil by Rabbi Yaakov ben Moshe Levi Moelin (Maharil), 1556.

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