Maisel Synagogue after the Last Reconstruction

The Meisel family (also Meisels and Meizels) is a distinguished

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

n rabbinic family originally from

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, who descend from Yitskhak Eizik Meisels (b. 1425), a paternal 10th generation descendant of the

Exilarch The exilarch was the leader of the Jewish community in Persian Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) during the era of the Parthians, Sasanians and Abbasid Caliphate up until the Mongol invasion of Baghdad in 1258, with intermittent gaps due to ongoing ...

Mar Ukba Mar Ukba ben Judah, also known as Mar Ukban IV (Hebrew: מר עוקבא בן יהודה; early tenth century) was the Babylonian Exilarch from 890 until his banishment in 917 AD. He was briefly reinstated again in the year 918, however the follo ...

. From the early 16th century and onward, members of the family such as

Mordecai Meisel Mordecai Marcus Meisel ( cs, Miška Marek Majzel; 1528, Prague – 13 March 1601, Prague) was a philanthropist and communal leader in Prague. Biography Born to the Meisel family. In 1542 and 1561 his family, with the other Jewish inhabitants, w ...

achieved great economic prominence in

, becoming one of the wealthiest Bohemian Jewish families. It was also during this time, that a branch of the family descending from Simcha Bunim Meisels (1545-1624) (the son-in-law of

Moses Isserles ). He is not to be confused with Meir Abulafia, known as "Ramah" ( he, רמ״ה, italic=no, links=no), nor with Menahem Azariah da Fano, known as "Rema MiPano" ( he, רמ״ע מפאנו, italic=no, links=no). Rabbi Moses Isserles ( he, משה � ...

) immigrated to

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

due to rising Antisemitism in Bohemia. In Poland the family produced several rabbinic scholars, such as Dow Ber Meisels and Moses Bonems-Meisels. Among the families descendants are:

Shabbatai HaKohen Shabbatai ben Meir HaKohen ( he, שבתי בן מאיר הכהן; 1621–1662) was a noted 17th century talmudist and halakhist. He became known as the ''Shakh'' ( he, ש"ך), which is an abbreviation of his most important work, ''Siftei Kohen'' ...

Yitzchak Yaacov Reines Yitzchak Yaacov Reines ( he, יצחק יעקב ריינס, Isaac Jacob Reines), (October 27, 1839 – August 20, 1915) was a Lithuanian Orthodox rabbi and the founder of the Mizrachi Religious Zionist Movement, one of the earliest movements of ...

, Alexander Sender Shor, as well as the

Peshischa Peshischa (Yiddish: פשיסחה) was an important Hasidic school of thought based out of Przysucha, Poland founded by Yaakov Yitzchak Rabinowicz, which flourished during the late 18th to early 19th century. Its teachings are the foundation for ...

, Sulitza, Ropshitz,

Bobov Bobov (or Bobover Hasidism) ( he, חסידות באבוב, yi, בּאָבּאָװ) is a Hasidic community within Haredi Judaism, originating in Bobowa, Galicia, in southern Poland, and now headquartered in the neighborhood of Borough Park, in Br ...

, Biala, Kretshnif, and

Kotzk Kotzk (Yiddish: קאצק) is a Hasidic dynasty originating from the city of Kock, Poland, where it was founded by Menachem Mendel Morgenstern (1787–1859). Kotzk is a branch of Peshischa Hasidism, as Menachem Mendel Morgenstern was the leadin ...

Hasidic dynasties A Hasidic dynasty is a dynasty led by Hasidic Jewish spiritual leaders known as rebbes, and usually has some or all of the following characteristics: * Each leader of the dynasty is often known as an ''ADMOR'' (abbreviation for '' ADoneinu MOrein ...

References

Jewish families Davidic line Czech families Polish families {{Judaism-stub