HaRosh Meir Brandeis

51 harosh Meir bn Josef seGal z”l Brandeis 1600

175

Meir ben Josef Brandeis Halevi gestorben 8.5.1600 Grabinschrift Prag Alter Jüdischer Friedhof Aus dem Hebräischen übertragen

Translation of the Hebrew inscription of the old Jewish Cemetery in Prague.

Here lies. An honest and loyal man. Head, officer and leader of the community, Meir Bar Yosef Sega"l blessed his memory Brandeis. I shall voice lamentation, cry and praise (Elila may be praise or something else I am not sure). And pour down tears as a river day and night. On the crown and beauty that have fallen from our head. (Tiferet I translated as beauty) Head and officer and leader of the community. Carried and gave in faith for God and for glory. Rose early and came late to the house of prayer. Hosted guests in joy. And added in doing this and that. Therefore my waist filled with fright. On his death which matches the burning of our God's house. And the happiness and joy overturned on us. To sorrow mourning and fright. On Monday 24 days in the month of Yiar (April) 1600, death distinguished (separated) between us. (The abbreviation lamed pei kof means 'to small detail', namely the year of death is mentioned in Hebrew shortened version) And the cupboard of God taken away and severed from him And to the sky he ascended and was offered up for sacrifice His righteousness (justness) will guide us Selah Amen, May his soul be bound up in the bond of life eternal.

Additional information from: “Epitaphs from the Ancient Cemetery of Prague”, Edited with an introduction and notes by Otto Muneles, Jerusalem 1988.

In number 67 above is cited the address of the mother in law of Meir – Ester Bat Tuvia, the wife of Moshe known as Moshe Tuvia. There it is said that in 1556 Meir Bought from his father in law Moshe Tuvia, for him and for his wife Sara, known in the "Description of Prague Jews", as among the children of Moshe Tuvia, the house in 100 shin gimmel reish Tsadi ( can't say what kind of currency this is, possibly German paper money). In 1569 he also bought the plot for burning garbage, which because of the complication in debts of his father in law passed to foreign hands, and in 1575 manuscript 2118 page 396, 2, he bought from Mendel an adjacent plot by the garbage burning in 45 shin gimmel reish Tsadi ( can't say what kind of currency this is, possibly German paper money). The address of his son Itshak is cited above number 46. In 1593 Meir obliged himself to pay the debt of 103 shin gimmel reish Tsadi ( can't say what kind of currency this is, possibly German paper money). In 1581 (Lib.Jud 1, page 44, 2), Meir and Sara hand over half the plot for burning garbage (bought in 1575) to their Moshe and his future wife Buna. IN 1599 (Ibit page 351, 2) he is mentioned as the apotropos (care taker) or the orphans of Itshak. In 1604 (Lib.Jud, 2, page 41), the sons of Meir - Moshe, Yoachim, Rabbi Shimon Libel, Yosef - and also the grandson Yosef ben Yitshak - divide between them the two houses he left. Gittel, the wife of Rabi Shimon was the daughter of the Maharal Rabi Yehida Loew the maharal of Prague,; compare with the fowlloing number 206. Meir Brandeis was elected in 1574 to the head of the Kahal (Bondi and Dvoreski number 753),; as the elder of the Jews he is mentioned from 1576 onward. In 1582 he signs, as the third in order among the Kahal elders, on a debt note of 1500 to Kaspar Bernhauer from Hamburg (Bondi and Dvoreski number 812) under his name Meir ben Yosef Brandeis sign the request from 1577 to maintain the current order of elections (Ibid number 771) In the Memory Book is listed: the officer caf mem reish (?) Meir ben yosef Halevi blessed his soul Brandeis Among the many tombstones of the Brandeis family we shall mention these (for further examination see following number 206)

K92, year 1631, the first officer, his honour the Rabbi Moshe ben Rabbi Meir Brandaeis Halevi, the head of the community for more than 30 years, sage, writer and totally righteous

The year 1633: Buna the daughter of Rabbi Yehoshua known as Rabbi Feivil Agershom (Eger), the wife of the officer his honor the Rabbi Moshe Brandeis Sega"l blessed his memory

E416 the year of 1639: Yehida Leib the son of the head and the officer Tabi Meir Brandeis Sega"l, head Rabbi blessed his memory C829 the year of 1639: the old officer his honor the Rabbi Yosef known as Yossel the son of the head and the officer his honor the Rabbi Meir Sega"l blessed his memory The year 1674: the old leader his honor the Rabbi Isik the son of his honor the Rabbi Yosef Yosell Sega"l Brandeis blessed his memory

K334 the year of 1633:Alkala the daughter of the officer the head Rabbi Meir Sega"l blessed his memory, always prepared candles for the old and new synagogue

K92 1639: Ester the daughter of the officer his honor the Rabbi Moshe Brandeis Sega"l blessed his memory

E476 1639: Chava the daughter of the officer his honor the Rabbi Moshe Brandeis Sega"l blessed his memory, the wife of his honor the Rabbi Mima blessed his memory.

1639: his honor the Rabbi Mima the son of Mendel Ebers (or Avers) blessed his memory for many years the town's mayor.

E438 1646: the woman Rabbi Richel daughter of Rabbi Yossel Brandeis the widow of the genious my teacher the Rabbi Israel blessed his memory

C768 1676: Rabbi Hirsh Shamash son of his honor the Rabbi Yossel Sega"l blessed his memory Brandeis

The address of the woman Rabbi Ester the daughter of the oficer Rabbi Meir Brandeis Sega"l the wife of my teacher the Rabbi Chaim Meling is following cited number 187, and that of Tuvia Ben Meir who died at young age – see above number 113.

7.4.7. Majer Brandejský Er stammte aus einer Prager Familie, die sich bereits in der ersten Hälfte des 16. Jahrhunderts in Prag niedergelassen hatte. Majer Brandejský war ein Händler, dessen Aktivitäten die Grenzen des böhmischen Königreichs überschritten, deshalb ersuchte er in den Jahren 1570 – 1579 den Kaiser um Passbriefe für den Handel auf dem Gebiet des Heiligen Reiches. Er beteiligte sich auch an der Verwaltung der jüdischen Gemeinde, als er in den Jahren 1574- 1585 und 1591 sowie 1596 als Judenältester wirkte. Zusammen mit seiner Frau Sára kaufte er 1592 einen Teil eines Hauses im Sprengel St. Niklas, die beiden besaßen auch ein prunkvolles Haus neben dem jüdischen Rathaus in der Rabbinerstraße, das sie 1593 für 1.250 Schock böhmische Groschen verkauften, im Jahr darauf kauften sie ein Haus im Sprengel des Hl. Kreuzes. Seit dem Jahre 1590 gehörte dieser Familie auch das Haus Nr. 261 in der Pinkasgasse. 754Brandejský hatte zwei Söhne, Mojžíš Brandejský und Izák Brandejský, die ebenfalls als Händler wirkten.

72) Maier Brandejský (Meir, syn Josefa levity / Meir, son of Josef ha-Levi Brandeis, died on 8 May 1600)
was active in the Jewish self-government for thirty years and held the office of Jewish Elder at least in the
years 1577–1582, 1585–1587, 1591–1596, 1599, 1600. Cf., for example, AMP, No. 2169, fol. 1v, 18r–v,
29r, 51v–52r, 65v, 113r, 147r, 184r, 196r, 240r, 257v, 275v, 290v, 301r, 348r–v, 357r–v. On the Brandejský family, cf. Alexandr Putík, ‘Brandýs nad Labem a Židé v dìjinné perspektivì’ [Brandy%CC%81s nad Labem and
the Jews in a Historical Perspective], in: Lucie B. Petrusová – Daniel Polakoviè – Alexandr Putík,
Židovský høbitov v Brandýse nad Labem [The Jewish Cemetery in Brandýs nad Labem], Praha 2018, pp.
11–34, esp. 20f. On his tombstone, cf. Gal-ed, No. 142, pp. 61, 72.