Yom Tov ben Moshe Tzahalon, ( he, יום טוב בן משה צהלון), also known as the Maharitz, ( 1559 – 1638,

Safed Safed (known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as Tzfat; Sephardi Hebrew, Sephardic Hebrew & Modern Hebrew: צְפַת ''Tsfat'', Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation, Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Tzfas'', Biblical Hebrew: ''Ṣǝp̄aṯ''; ar, صفد, ''Ṣafad''), i ...

Eyalet of Sidon ota, ایالت صیدا , common_name = Eyalet of Sidon , subdivision = Eyalet , nation = the Ottoman Empire , year_start = 1660 , year_end = 1864 , date_start = , date_end = , ev ...

), was a student of Moses di Trani and Moshe Alshich, and published a collection of

responsa ''Responsa'' (plural of Latin , 'answer') comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them. In the modern era, the term is used to describe decisions and rulings made by scholars i ...

. Aged twenty-five, Tzahalon was requested by Rabbi Samuel Yafeh of

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

to decide a difficult and complicated problem which had been referred to himself and he corresponded with most of the authorities of his time, one of his chief antagonists being

Moses Galante (the Elder) Moshe ben Mordechai Galante ( he, ) (died 1608 in Safed), was a 16th-century rabbi. He was a disciple of Joseph Caro, and was ordained by Caro when he was only twenty-two years old. He wrote sermons for a wedding, for Passover, and for a thanksg ...

. Although a Sephardi, Tzahalon rendered a decision in favour of an Ashkenazic congregation in a controversy which arose between the

Sephardim Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefar ...

and Ashkenazim at

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, and in his love of truth he did not spare even his teacher, Joseph Caro, declaring that the ''

Shulchan Aruch The ''Shulchan Aruch'' ( he, שֻׁלְחָן עָרוּך , literally: "Set Table"), sometimes dubbed in English as the Code of Jewish Law, is the most widely consulted of the various legal codes in Judaism. It was authored in Safed (today in Is ...

'' was written for children and laymen. Tzahalon was the author of a commentary on the

Book of Esther The Book of Esther ( he, מְגִלַּת אֶסְתֵּר, Megillat Esther), also known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as "the Scroll" ("the wikt:מגילה, Megillah"), is a book in the third section (, "Writings") of the Judaism, Jewish ''Tanak ...

, entitled ''Lekach Tov'' (Safed, 1577). He was the author of responsa and novellæ which were published with a preface by his grandson Yom-Tov (Venice, 1694), and he mentions also a second part,ib. No. 102 of which nothing more is known (Machon Yerushalayim has published more of his responsa in 1979). He likewise wrote a commentary on the ''

Abot de-Rabbi Natan Avot de-Rabbi Nathan (), usually printed together with the minor tractates of the Talmud, is a Jewish aggadic work probably compiled in the geonic era (c.700–900 CE). Although Avot de-Rabbi Nathan is the first and longest of the "minor tractates" ...

'', entitled ''Magen Avot,'' which is still extant in manuscript. In his preface to this latter work Tzahalon terms himself Yom-Tov ben Moses ha-Sefardi, whence it is clear that the family came originally from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, although it is not known when it emigrated or where Tzahalon was born.

Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography

* Giovanni Bernardo De Rossi, ''Dizionario'', s.v.; *

Graziadio Nepi Graziadio (Hananel) Nepi (; 1759 – January 18, 1836), also known by the acronym Ḥen (), was an Italian rabbi, Kabbalist, and physician. Biography Graziadio Nepi studied at Ferrara for twelve years under Rabbi and subsequently was himself the ...

Mordecai Ghirondi Mordecai Samuel ben Benzion Aryeh Ghirondi (; October 1799 – January 4, 1852) was an Italian Jewish author and Chief Rabbi of Padua. Biography Mordecai Samuel Ghirondi was born into a rabbinic family in Padua. He studied at the rabbinical coll ...

, ''Toledot Gedole Yisrael'', p. 206; *Dukes, in Orient, Lit. ix. 346; *

Moritz Steinschneider Moritz Steinschneider (30 March 1816, Prostějov, Moravia, Austrian Empire – 24 January 1907, Berlin) was a Moravian bibliographer and Orientalist. He received his early instruction in Hebrew from his father, Jacob Steinschneider ( 1782; ...

, Cat. Bodl. col. 1414.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tzahalon. Yom Tov 1558 births 1638 deaths Rabbis in Ottoman Galilee Sephardi rabbis in Ottoman Palestine 16th-century rabbis from the Ottoman Empire 17th-century rabbis from the Ottoman Empire Rabbis in Safed