Jacob Joshua Falk

Jacob Joshua Falk (Hebrew יעקב יהושע פאלק; born December 19, 1680 in Krakow, † January 16, 1756 in Offenbach am Main ) was a rabbi and chief rabbi of Frankfurt am Main and Lviv, and a major Talmudist. After his major work he is known under the name Yehoshua Pne.

Life and work

Youth and Education

Falk was taught in Polish Lviv by Jewish scribes. Mother's side he was a grandson of the resident in Krakow Rabbi Joshua ben Joseph Höschel ( born 1578, died August 16, 1648 ). In 1702 he lost his mother, his young wife and small child in a gunpowder explosion that completely destroyed the inhabited by the family house in Lviv. He himself survived this disaster just barely: He was buried, and vowed, in case of his survival to write a book, from which his work Pne Yehoshua arose. The Rebbe Kotzker narrated that the Pnej Yehoshua had learned thirty-six times before beginning his writing activity the entire Talmud.

Functions

He was a great Torah scholar at a young age. He was first appointed as a rabbi in the Galician places Tarli and Lesko, 1717 he dissolved Rabbi Zvi Hirsch ben Jacob Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Lviv from, who had recommended him for this position.

1731, he received his call to Berlin, where he was active against the influential Veitel Heine Ephraim. Towards the end of his term in 1734 he was thus forced to leave the task of his office. After that, he was rabbi in Metz in Lorraine, a post which he held for seven years. Thereafter, he was appointed Chief Rabbi of Frankfurt am Main, where he was confronted with both differences within the diverging Jewish community as well as with anti-Semitic accusations of Frankfurt city leaders. Both meant that his tenure became difficult. In the years marked by acrimony between Jacob Emden and Jonathan Eybeschuetz Falk took a stand against Eybeschuetz and 1750 was ultimately forced to leave Frankfurt and resign.

After several years of wandering from town to town, he settled for some years in Worms, in which there was a also very important Jewish community. Finally, he was re-appointed to Frankfurt, but his local adversaries stopped him from preaching in the synagogue, so that he left the city again.

Reputation

In his time, was Falk as one of the best connoisseurs of the Talmud. His book publication with comments and stories to the Talmud under the title Pene Yehoshua is one of the classics of the era of Acharonim and still serves as an important reference work for the study of the Talmud, which is found in most yeshivot. It originated in four parts, which have been published two in Frankfurt am Main ( 1752). The third part ( published in 1766 ) with its Pesak bet- Din Hadash and the fourth part (published in 1780) with additional Talmudic stories about Tur Hoshen mishpat and Likkutim were moved to Fürth. His commentary on the Pentateuch, however, is not available in printed form.

Tomb

Falk died at the age of 75 years in Offenbach am Main. He was buried in the Jewish Cemetery in Frankfurt am Main. His grave stone is now placed on the local memorial grove. The inscription can be accessed via the link at the detailed records from a database.