Rav Avrohom HaKohen Katz Rappaport Shrentzel zt"l
הרב אברהם בן ישראל יחיאל כץ ראפאפורט שרענצל זצ"ל
Sivan 18 , 5411
Rav Avrohom HaKohen Katz Rappaport Shrentzel zt"l
Son of Rav Yisroel Yechiel HaKohen Katz
Born in Lwow שמ''ד (1584)
Rav Avraham served as head of the rabbinical court of Lwow, he was a scion of the well known Rappaport rabbinical family. Yet, he was known as Shrentzel after his father- in- law, Mordechai Shrentzel whose father Yitzchak Shrentzel had also served as head of the rabbinical court and built the large synagogue within the city of Lwow. He was very wealthy and did not support himself from the rabbinate; instead, he supported a yeshiva and its students, serving as their Rosh Yeshiva. He was a parnes in the Vaad Arba Aratzos – Council of The Four Lands and was a nasi and gabbai (treasurer) for the poor of Eretz Yisroel. He stood at the helm of his yeshiva for forty- two years.
He was a disciple of the Sem”a (Rabbi Yehoshua Wolk).
He authored a well- known work of rabbinic responsae titled, Aysan HaEzrachi.
He passed away 18 Sivan 1651 תי''א.
Stories of Rav Avrohom HaKohen Katz Rappaport Shrentzel zt"l
The Maharam was an outspoken critic of his contemporaries and he took issue with many of their works on Jewish law of his day on Jewish law. Remarkably, he argued with the Shulchan Aruch, the Rema’s glosses, as well as with the Sem”a’s commentary. as well. Such offhanded remarks in his responsa include the fact that their opinion on matters of Jewish law carried little weight in his estimation, and that he cared little, if at all, to study them.
This attitude may have been one of the leading causes for his dismissal from his post of rabbi in Lwow. This is supported by according to the following story recorded in the work Matzvos Kodesh and cited in Anshei Shem and Ir HaTzedek:
Once, the author of Aysan HaEzrachi, Rabbi Avraham Shrentzel made a wedding and married off his son. He invited many guests, among them noted personalities and rabbis including the Maharam. At the end of the affair, out of respect for the great rabbi, Rav Avraham proceeded to escort him home. The Maharam however, distracted as he was with his own thoughts took no notice of this escort until he reached his own doorstep.
Once he was home, the Maharam’s wife, noting that the well-known Avraham Shrentzel was escorting her husband, turned to the Maharam and pointedly remarked: “Why don’t you notice who is escorting you? Does your honor supersede his? Could you not even honor him esteem your escort by taking notice of his escort or engaging him in conversation?”
The Maharam responded saying,: “And what about his own Rebbe and teacher, the author of the Sem”a? Why did he not join his student and escort me home? Was his honor so great that he did not feel the need to honor me as well?”
When Rav Avraham Shrentzel heard his own Rebbe’s honor demeaned, he decided that in defense of the Sem”a’s honor, he would have the Maharam removed from office.
After the wedding, he summoned the public leaders of the community as well as the heads of the Council Of The Four Lands and exerted whatever political influence he had against the Maharam until he succeeded in having him deposed. At that time, the city of Lublin sent after the Maharam and asked him to serve as their rabbi. The Maharam left Lwow for Lublin to serve as their rabbi instead.