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24 LUBOML
where he became the local rabbinical authority.
But he was not there long and in 1596 we already
find him as a teacher in Luboml, as can be seen
from the end of his book Ohel Moshe, where he
writes: "And it is hereby completed in the holy
community of Lubomla, this second day of
Tammuz, may these words of Torah never cease."
The uneasy and unlucky rabbi continued in
his post for another few years in Luboml. From
there he moved to Apt, and there he served as
rabbi and head of the rabbinical court for the
whole Cracow district.
In the ledger of the Council of the Four Lands
his signature appears three times: in 1590 on a
declaration signed by "thirty pious rabbis, upholders
of the world" that no rabbi should try to
obtain a position by giving presents or loans; in
1597, when the previous regulation was repeated
and strengthened; and in 1603, when he signs
himself "Moyshe, son of the holy R. Avrom, of
blessed memory.""
Moyshe Mess died in Apt in 1606.
Both in his own time and in later years people
wondered how it was that he had acquired such
an unlucky and strange same as Mess (Yiddish
and Hebrew for "dead"). One theory is that he
came from a long line of "Teachers of Torah" or
"Upholders of the Torah" (the acronyms of which
spell out "Mess"). In time the indication that this
acronym was an abbreviation was dropped altogether.
In encyclopedias he is listed as "Matt."
And perhaps this is a reference to the closing
words of his book, Motel' Moshe, as we saw
above: "Blessed is my living rock [God] . . . who
has sustained me to complete this book, which is
entitled by my name."
Other rabbis did not want to refer to this
frightful name. So we find that a friend of his, the
well-known gaon and scholar R. Binyomen Aron
Selnick, calls him "Our master and teacher
Moyshe, the man who lives" [in his book Masa'ot
Binyomen, number 46 and elsewhere], and R.
Moyshe Mess's pupil, Menachem Mann, head of
the rabbinical court in Vienna, also calls him
"Our great teacher, Moyshe, the man who lives
[in his New Responsa of the Bach]."
The most important book of R. Moyshe Mess
was his Mateh Moshe, which is now a treasure.
The title page says: "Little in quantity and great in
quality, dealing with all necessary laws, with the
study of Torah, prayer and the doing of worthy
deeds, etc." First published in Cracow in 1591, it
was reprinted in 1720 in Frankfurt am Main, and
other editions followed. In recent years, two new
editions were printed: in London, 1958, and in
Brooklyn, 1964.
The author of Klilat Yofi says that the author
of the Mateh Moshe was considered one of the
greatest authorities on halakhic matters and many
decisions dealing with practical matters rely on
his work.
It is interesting to bring up at this point the
following strange case:
A ruling of R. Moyshe Mess, whose father
was a martyr, was used in our own times in an
issue dealing with martyrs.
The Mateh Moshe said: "Whoever does not
know for sure the day on which his father or
mother died shall choose a certain day, fast, and
say the mourner's prayerthis I was taught by
my teacher the Maharshal of blessed memory."
The Israeli minister Dr. Yosef Burg mentioned
this in one of his speeches, and many Jews
orphan ed during the Holocaust adopted it.
Another great book of R. Moyshe Mess is the
Ohel Moshe on the Bible and the commentary of
Rashi. His son, R. Avrom, had it printed in 1616
in Prague. A new edition was recently published
in Israel.
His book Six Hundred and Thirteen Commandments
(Taryag Mitzvot) was published in
Cracow in 1581.
The author of Seder HaDorot says (on p. 237)
that R. Moyshe Mess wrote two more books: B'er
HaTiv and B'er HaTorah. It seems that these
remained in manuscript form.
His responsa were referred to in Mish'at
Binyomen and also in the responsa of the
"Maharam of Lublin." His endorsement is also
found in the Machzik Bedek, a portion of Tikunei
Zevach of R. Moyshe, son of Mordche Bronschvik.'
"
In responsa of the Bach he is referred to as R.
Moyshe of Premiszla (Przemysl).
The Great Gaon R Shimon-Wolf Auerbach
When did this rabbi assume the post in Luboml?
We pose this question at the outset, for the