Meir ben Isaac Katzenellenbogen

Who was Meir ben Isaac Katzenellenbogen?

Meir ben Isaac Katzenellenbogen was an Italian rabbi born in Katzenelnbogen. Meïr ben Isaac, who was generally called after his native town, was the founder of the Katzenellenbogen family. After studying at Prague under the well-known casuist Jacob Pollak, he went to Padua and entered the yeshiva of Judah Minz, whose granddaughter, Hannah, he afterwards married. He succeeded his father-in-law, Abraham Minz, in the chief rabbinate of Padua, which office he held until his death on 12 January 1565.

Meïr was also nominal rabbi of Venice, where he went several times a year, but he had his fixed residence at Padua. Meïr was considered by his contemporaries a great authority on Talmudic and rabbinical matters, and many rabbis consulted him, among them: Moses Alashkar, Obadiah Sforno, and his relative Moses Isserles. It may be seen from his responsa, as well as from those of Isserles, that he was disposed to be liberal in his decisions. Another indication of his leaning toward liberalism was his use in his responsa of the civil names of the months, a thing not done by other rabbis of his time.