Rav Efraim HaKohen Katz of Vilna zt"l
הרב אפרים בן יעקב כץ זצ"ל
Sivan 13 , 5438
Rav Efraim HaKohen Katz of Vilna zt"l
Son of Rav Yaakov HaKohen
Born in Vilna שע''ו (1616)
Rav Ephraim HaKohen descended from of an illustrious line of Kohanim whose family tradition traced their roots back to Aharon HaKohen.
He was a disciple of Rav Moshe, the rav of Vilna, the author of Chelkas M’Chokek and colleague of Rav Shmuel Koidanover (Maharshak) and Rav Shabsi Kohen (Shach).
He served as a dayan in Vilna from age twenty and remained there until תט''ו (1655).
He fled Vilna together with his family to Moravia due to the uprisings and battles between the Swedes and the Poles—a war which ultimately destroyed Vilna. In Moravia he served as rav of several communities such as Trebitsh, Brody, and Vienna.
From Vienna he was elected to the post of rav in Oiven, Hungary which was an important city ruled at the time by the Turks. There, he established a Yeshiva. Among his talmidim were also his son Rav Aryeh Yehuda Leib, and his daughter’s son, Rav Tzvi Ashkenazi, the author of Chacham Tzvi. He became a renowned posek and even the likes of Rav Moshe Galanti and Rav Moshe ibn Chaviv from Yerushalayim sent him halachic queries letters and they exchanged responsa.
At the end of his days, Rav Ephraim was invited to take up his paternal grandfather’s (and namesake’s) position in serving as the chief Ashkenazi Rabbi of Yerushalayim. He accepted and began preparing to publish his seforim before departing for the Holy Land. Sadly, he passed away before being able to do so.
He passed away in a plague on 13 Sivan תל''ח (1678).
His son, Rav Aryeh Yehuda Leib published his father’s teshuvos about a decade later as the sefer, Shaar Ephraim.
Rav Ephraim also authored a sefer on the parsha entitled, Macheneh Ephraim. Unfortunately, this manuscript was lost and never published.
His son, Rav Yaakov Emden, praised his piety and perishus which were extraordinary. Rav Ephraim was known to fast all year long except Shabbos and Yom Tov and sometimes even as a hafsaka for a week straight from Shabbos to Shabbos. Nonetheless, his self-denial did not detract from his radiant appearance; nor did it hold him back from constant Torah study.