Follow Us
Be a Fan
Lineage of the Jaffe Rabbinical Family -
Levush Malkhut - Levush Ateret Zahav - Levush Ohr Yekarot - Levush HaOra
------------------------------------------
A branch of the Jaffe's are descended from the "Or Yisrael", Rabbi Yisrael Jaffe who was descended from the Kalmankes-Jaffe family of printers of Lublin.
This family was not descended from the Levush, but rather from Mordekhai Zinger ben Moshe Jaffe whose wife Falka was a daughter of Yoel Zinger, whose wife was a daughter of Yitskhak Klauber, whose wife was a daughter of Eliezer Lipman Shrentzels whose wife Dreizel was a daughter of Yekhiel Luria, descended from Rashi.
So the Hebron Jaffe’s family tradition of descent from Rashi, was through one branch of the Jaffe family which was descended through various marriages from the Lurias and Rashi.
-------------------------------------
The Jaffe Rabbinical Branches
-------------------------------------
Some Illustrious Joffes, Jaffes, Ioffes, Yoffes
-------------------------------------
Mordecai ben Avraham Yoffe (or Jaffe or Joffe) (c. 1530, Prague - March 7, 1612, Posen; Hebrew: מרדכי בן אברהם יפה) was a Rabbi, Rosh yeshiva and posek. He is best known as author of Levush Malkhut, a ten-volume codification of Jewish law that particularly stressed the customs of the Jews of Eastern Europe. He is known as "the Levush", for this work.
Yoffe was born in Prague; he could count amongst his ancestors Rashi and before him Hillel, Elnathan (governor of Judea) and ultimately back to King David. His father, Abraham b. Joseph, was a pupil of Abraham ben Avigdor.
Levush studied under Moses Isserles and Solomon Luria; Mattithiah b. Solomon Delacrut was his teacher in Kabbalah. Yoffe also studied philosophy, astronomy, and mathematics (apparently at the instance of Isserles.
He was Rosh Yeshiva in Prague until 1561, when, by order of the emperor Ferdinand, the Jews were expelled from Bohemia. Yoffe then went to Venice and studied astronomy (1561-71).
In 1572 he was elected rabbi of Grodno; in 1588, rabbi of Lublin, where he became one of the leaders of the Council of Four Lands. Later Yoffe accepted the rabbinate of Kremenetz. In 1592 he was called as rabbi to Prague; from 1599 until his death he occupied the position of chief rabbi of Posen.
In addition to his Torah study, writing and teaching he was involved with communal needs, and attended the fairs at Yaroslav and Lublin, where community leaders and rabbis from large communities met to discuss matters of general interest. These meetings were the forerunners of the Council of the Four Lands and the Council of Lithuania.
Levush Malchut ("Robes of Royalty") is a work of practical halacha, accompanied by the reasons behind the various halachic decisions according to logic and earlier sources, and includes sections on Torah commentary, philosophy, and Mysticism. This work was divided into ten sections known as "levushim" (garments, or "attires").
While still in his youth, Rabbi Yoffe had the idea to compile a book on Jewish law, which would be used for making halachic decisions. The appearance of Caro's Shulchan Arukh, a digest of his Beit Yosef, led Yoffe to consider whether he should continue writing his own work. On reflection, he concluded that there was room for it since it would contain "those laws observed by the Ashkenazi Jews of Bohemia."
When Moshe Isserles' Gloss to the Shulḥan Arukh (called Mappah) appeared in Cracow in 1578, Yoffe felt that Isserles had been too brief as had Caro in the Shulḥan Arukh, and decided to resume his original work, "that will be midway between the two extremes: the lengthy Beit Yosef of Caro on the one hand, and on the other Caro's Shulḥan Arukh together with the Mappah of Isserles, which is too brief "
In all, Yoffe worked on this book almost 50 years. However, after completing his book he was confronted by another Rabbi who had also written a similar work, although not as extensive as Yoffe's. They reached an agreement to publish Yoffe's book and to present the other Rabbi's additional comments in glosses (hagahos) throughout the book [see introduction to his Levush].
The work is organized as follows. The first five "attires" are devoted to the laws expounded in Yosef Caro's Beit Yosef; the sixth, Ha-Orah is an elucidation of Rashi's biblical commentary; the seventh, Simḥah ve-Sason, contains sermons for holidays and weddings.
Yoffe collectively termed the last three, "rabbinic robes," considering that these should be learned by "every student in that order – philosophy, astronomy, and Kabbalah."
These are: the eighth, Pinnat Yikrat, is a commentary on Maimonides' Guide of the Perplexed; the ninth, Eder Yakar, is a commentary on the laws of the Jewish calendar according to Maimonides and an additional commentary on Abraham bar Hiyya's geographical-astronomical Tzurat ha-Aretz; the tenth, Even Yikrat, is on Menahem Recanati's commentary on the Torah.
The Levush is an exception among the codifiers in treating ritual-legal matters from a Kabbalistic standpoint; his approach, to a certain extent, "tended to draw together the Talmudists and cabalists, otherwise in danger of an open breach"
----------------------------------------
The list below has been submitted for attention. Please do not make any changes unless it is in order set below, or post your proposed changes first for discussion. We would appreciate help cleaning up this very important rabbinical branch. Also please feel free to add any additional areas that my need to be rectified.
PROPOSED CHANGES:
1.
2.
3.
-----------------------------------------
Corrections and Merges to Discuss:
Rabbi Mordechai Gershon Katz to be merged with the MP: http://www.geni.com/people/Mordechai-Katz-%D7%94%D7%92-%D7%A8-%D7%9...
Before proceeding, please read the next 3 paragraphs below, as well as the entry for Abigail Olga Jaffe Katzenellenbogen.
According to http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/8498-jaffe-joffe#anchor85 as documented in the notes for this Geni profile, "HaLevush" had 5 children,
Note: The additional names of children in "HaLevush's" MP profile needs to be merged or explained.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rabbi Mordechai ben Avraham Jaffe "HaLevush" needs to be corrected and streamlined and merged with a corrected version of : the MP of Mordechai Yafe Baal Hal'vushim: http://www.geni.com/people/Mordechai-Yafe-Baal-Hal-vushim-מרדכי-יפה...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Abigail Olga Katzenellenbogen Jaffe, either cannot have been born in 1525 or she cannot be HaLevush's daughter. The HaLevush was born in 1531.
So compare and correct the MP of Abigail Olga Katzenellenbogen (Jaffe) with information from Avigail Olga's profile.
Abigail Olga Katzenellenbogen Jaffe to be merged with: the MP of Abigail Olga Katzenellenbogen (Jaffe): http://www.geni.com/people/Abigail-Olga-Katzenellenbogen-Jaffe-אביג...?
Needs to be Corrected:
Volka Elka Wahl-Katzenellenbogen and husband Shmuel Wahl Katzenellenbogen
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avigail's husband, Samuel Judah Katzenellenbogen: http://www.geni.com/people/Samuel-Katzenellenbogen/6000000017623358957
to be merged with
the MP of Shmuel Yehuda Katzenellenbogen: http://www.geni.com/people/Rabbi-Shmuel-Yehuda-Katzenellenbogen-Min...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avigail's son, Saul Wahl Katzenellenbogen: http://www.geni.com/people/Saul-Katzenellenbogen/6000000017623324740 to be merged with the following 2 MPs and at least one other duplicate profile of Saul/Shaul Wahl Katzenellenbogen:
A. MP#1 for Saul Wahl Katzenellenbogen: http://www.geni.com/people/Saul-Wahl-Katzenellenbogen-1-day-King-שא...
B. MP#2 for Saul Wahl Katzenellenbogen: http://www.geni.com/people/Saul-Katzenellenbogen/6000000000825425369
C. Third duplicate for Shaul Wahl Katzenellenbogen: http://www.geni.com/people/Shaul-Wahl-Katzenellenbogen/600000001516...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The above repairs-mergers on Avigail/Abigail, Samuel/Shmuel, and Saul/Shaul Wahl could also necessitate a change of Saul/Shaul Wahl's siblings:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Also there are several duplicate profiles of Saul Wahl's children. These also should be merged with any MP's:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MP#1 of "Maharash" Meir Wahl Moshe Katzenellenbogen: http://www.geni.com/people/Meir-Wahl-Katzenellenbogen-MaHaRaSH-%D7%...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
a duplicate profile of Henele Shor: http://www.geni.com/people/Henele-Shor/6000000001081175053
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avigail Eigla Olga Alpersh Wahl Katzenellenbogen: http://www.geni.com/people/Avigail-Eigla-Olga-Alpersh-Wahl-Katzenel...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rebecca Rivka Katzenellenbogen: http://www.geni.com/people/Rebecca-Rivka-Gunzburg/6000000002764523759
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yehuda Aryeh Leib Yaffe Ginz: http://www.geni.com/people/Daniel-Gittinger/60000...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leite Jaffe: http://www.geni.com/people/Leite-Jaffe/6000000007462011415
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rav Nachum Yaffe: http://www.geni.com/people/Rav-Nachum-%D7%94%D7%A8%D7%91-%D7%A0%D7%...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rav Reuven Yaffe: http://www.geni.com/people/R-Reuven-%D7%A8-%D7%A8%D7%90%D7%95%D7%91...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Erblich (Yaffe): http://www.geni.com/people/bat-Rabbi-Reuven-Erblich-%D7%90%D7%A8%D7%91%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9A/6000000004213703211
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mrs. Aryeh Leib Sirkes Yaffe: http://www.geni.com/people/Mrs-Aryeh-Leib-Sirkes-Yaffe/600000000671...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This needs to be merged with:
Shmuel Yafe Sirkes: http://www.geni.com/people/%D7%A8%D7%A2%D7%91-%D7%A9%D7%9E%D7%95%D7... (This says his wife's father is Mordechai ben AVRAHAM Yaffe, but in fact his father was Mordechai Jaffe, but not Mordechai ben AVRAHAM "HaLevush" -- Rather, it should be Mordechai ben MOSHE Jaffe.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Klonimus Jaffe: http://www.geni.com/people/Klonimus-Jaffe/6000000009423425423
-------------------------------------------