Rav Yaakov Lorberbaum of Lisa zt"l
הרב יעקב בן יעקב משה לורברבוים זצ"ל
Iyar 25 , 5592
Rav Yaakov Lorberbaum of Lisa zt"l
Yaakov ben Yaakov Moshe Lorberbaum of Lissa (1760-1832) was a Rabbi and Posek. He is most commonly known as the "Ba'al HaChavos Da'as" or "Ba'al HaNesivos" for his most well-known works, or as the "Lisa Rav" for the city in which he was Chief Rabbi.
Biography
Rabbi Lorberbaum was the great-grandson of the Chacham Tzvi, Rabbi Zvi Ashkenazi; he was therefore related to Rabbi Yaakov Emden. According to one tradition, his father, Rabbi Yaakov Moshe died before he was born, and his relative, Rabbi Yosef Teomim, the rabbi of Bursztyn, brought him up. This accounts for the common name that both father and son share. Another tradition states that before he was born, his father fell ill, and dreamed that he would recover in the merit of the son that would be born to him. In the merit of his future son, the father took his name-to-be. He studied under Rabbi Meshulam Igra. He was head of the Beis Din in Kalish (Kalisz). In 1809, he agreed to become the Rav in Lisa (today known as Leszno, Poland), where he enlarged his Yeshiva's enrollment. Hundreds of scholars came to study there in the years of his leadership. Among his students were Rabbi Eliyahu Gutmacher, Rabbi Shraga Feivel Danziger, who were supporters of their colleague Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Kalischer, and his Chovevei Zion movement.
Along with Rabbi Akiva Eiger and Rabbi Akiva Eiger's son-in-law, the Chasam Sofer, Rabbi Lorberbaum vehemently fought against the maskilim, the reformers of the Jewish Enlightenment. In 1822, he left Lissa and returned to Kalish, where he wrote many of his works. He lived there for ten years. He was widely respected as a posek, and is one of three authorities on whom Rabbi Shlomo Ganzfried based his rulings in the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, the well known precis of Jewish law. Similarly, the Chochmas Odom, by Rabbi Avrohom Danzig, was written in consultation with Rabbi Lorberbaum (as well as Rabbi Chaim Volozhin).
His status was such that it is reported that Rabbi Akiva Eiger once fainted when he was honored with an Aliyah in the lieu of Rav Yaakov. (See Shimusha Shel Torah, Rabbi Meir Tzvi Bergman.)
Rabbi Lorberbaum died in Stryj (then in Galicia) on 25 May 1832.
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Stories of Rav Yaakov Lorberbaum of Lisa zt"l
Rav Ovadia Yosef used to illustrate this Mishna with the following story about Rav Yaakov of Lisa author of Nesivos HaMishpat:
Two litigants once came before Rav Yaakov Lorberbaum of Lisa arguing over a golden dinar. “Rabbi, I was walking in the shuk, and I found a golden dinar on the floor and picked it up,” said one.
“It’s mine; it had just fallen out of my pocket!” interrupted the other “I never gave up hope of recovering it so it still belongs to me!”
There seemed something about the second litigant’s shifty manner and oily tone that gave away that he was a thief and a scoundrel. Rav Yaakov’s senses told him that was that this man was dishonest.
Determined to back up his intuition with something more with which to judge the case properly, he sent second litigant out of the room and called in the finder of the gold coin. Rav Yaakov took the coin and called out in a voice so loud that anyone in the adjoining room could hear, “See here, see this notch on the coin? It’s like a scratch just below the first letter. It’s a true siman [as is found in] (Gittin 27b)! If anyone were to use that siman as proof, this coin would surely be given back to him!”
Rav Yaakov then called back the second litigant who had been eavesdropping the entire time.
Rav Yaakov turned towards the second litigant and asked, “Can you offer any siman as proof that this dinar is yours?”
“Yes rabbi!” he answered happily, “There’s a scratch below the first letter which must be as legitimatea siman as any to prove that this is my coin!”
The rabbi opened his hand and showed the would-be-thief the coin. The satisfied smirk of this shady character quickly became a frown as the rabbi said, “Well, I guess this isn’t your coin then, because this coin is clean as a whistle-- no scratches on it at all. I guess you should go and look for the coin that you dropped because this coin belongs to the one who found it!” (Anaf Etz Avos p. 4)