View source for Yaakov ben Moshe Levi Moelin

{{Short description|German rabbi}}
{{About|the 14th-15th century German rabbi|individuals with similar names|Mahari (disambiguation){{!}}Mahari}}
{{more footnotes|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox Jewish leader
| honorific-prefix = Rabbi
| name             = Yaakov ben Moshe Levi Moelin
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| title            = Maharil
| image            = File:Jüdischer Friedhof Worms-4243.jpg
| caption          = Grave of Yaakov ben Moshe Levi Moelin in Worms, Germany
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| birth_name       =
| birth_date       = c. 1360
| birth_place      = Mainz
| death_date       = September 14, 1427
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| buried           = Worms
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| parents          = Rabbi Moshe Levi Moelin
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'''Yaakov ben Moshe Levi Moelin''' ({{langx|he|יעקב בן משה מולין}}) (c. 1365 &ndash; September 14, 1427) was a [[Talmud]]ist and ''[[posek]]'' (authority on [[Halakha|Jewish law]]) best known for his codification of the customs (''[[minhag]]im'') of the [[Ashkenazi|German Jews]]. He is also known as '''Maharil''' ({{langx|he|מהריל}}) - the [[hebrew language|Hebrew]] [[acronym]] for "Our Teacher, the [[Rabbi]], Yaakov [[Levi]]" - as well as ''Mahari Segal'' or ''Mahari Moelin''.  Maharil's ''Minhagim'' was a source of law for [[Moses Isserles]]’ component of the ''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]''.
==Biography==
''Maharil'' was the son and pupil of Moshe Levi Moelin, [[Rabbi]] of [[Mainz]], and a pupil of R. [[Shalom of Neustadt|Shalom b. Isaac]] ([[:he:שלום מנוישטאדט|he]]) of [[Wiener Neustadt]]. At a young age, Moelin was recognized as a budding scholar.  In 1387, he succeeded his father as Rabbi of Mainz. He established a [[yeshiva]] in Mainz which attracted many students.  One of his most noteworthy students was [[Jacob Weil]].  Moelin lived through the mass [[Jewish history#Europe|slaughter of Jews in Austria]] in 1420 and the [[Hussite Wars]] in 1421, which brought suffering to the Jews of [[Bavaria]] and the [[Rhine]]; see [[History of the Jews in Germany#In the Holy Roman Empire|History of the Jews in Germany]]. ''Maharil'' played an important role in rebuilding these communities. He died and was buried in [[Worms, Germany|Worms]].
Moelin composed ''[[piyyutim]]'' for the synagogue.  He was also a notable ''[[Hazzan]]'' who famously ruled that traditional melodies should not be changed.  Some traditional melodies attributed to him were still in use in pre-World War II Mainz.  He appears also to have been familiar with the study of [[astronomy]].
==Works==
''Maharil's'' best known work is '''''Minhagei Maharil''''', also known as ''Sefer ha-Maharil'' or simply the ''Minhagim''. It contains a detailed description of religious observances and rites, at home and in the [[synagogue]], and thus provides an authoritative outline of the ''[[minhag]]im'' of the [[Ashkenazi|German Jews]]. It also contains sermons and textual comments.  It was compiled by Moelin's student, Zalman of [[Sankt Goar|St. Goar]], and was first published - with various additions -  at [[Sabbioneta]], in 1556 and frequently thereafter. It had a great influence on the Jews of [[Central Europe]] and was largely responsible for the importance attached to ''[[minhag]]'' in these communities. This book is frequently quoted in the [[Halakha#Codes of Jewish law|codes and commentaries]] - including [[Moshe Isserles]] who cites ''Maharil'' frequently in the ''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' - and has become a valuable source for [[acharonim|later scholars]].
Another pupil of Moelin, Eleazer b. Jacob, collected some of Moelin's ''[[responsa]];'' these were published in Venice in 1549.  Many more of Moelin's ''responsa'' remained in manuscript.  These were collected and edited by Rabbi Yitzhak Satz, and, published in 1977 under the title ''SHuT Maharil heChadashot'' ("New Responsa of Yaakov Molin").
Recently, the German [[esotericism|esoteric]] scholar Georg Dehn has argued that the MaHaRIL was also the author of ''[[The Book of Abramelin]]'', which he wrote under the pseudonym of Abraham von Worms.<ref>{{cite book |first=Georg |last=Dehn |title=The Book of Abramelin: A New Translation |translator=Steven Guth |publisher=Ibis Publishing |year=2006}}</ref>  However, this is disputed.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.themagickalreview.org/reviews/book-of-abramelin.php |title=Review: The Book of Abramelin |access-date=2010-05-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527034640/http://www.themagickalreview.org/reviews/book-of-abramelin.php |archive-date=2010-05-27 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
* [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=716&letter=M&search=maharil#2442 Jacob ben Moses Mölln (MaHaRIL)], jewishencyclopedia.com
* [http://www.yarzheit.com/worms.htm Reb Yaakov HaLevi ben Moshe Moellin (the Maharil)], yarzheit.com
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[[Category:1360s births]]
[[Category:1427 deaths]]
[[Category:14th-century German rabbis]]
[[Category:15th-century German rabbis]]
[[Category:Authors of books on Jewish law]]
[[Category:Hazzans]]
[[Category:Jewish liturgical poets]]
[[Category:Rabbis from Mainz]]