Jacob ben Abraham Solomon
JACOB BEN ABRAHAM SOLOMON
JACOB BEN ABRAHAM SOLOMON (late 16th and early 17th century), Bohemian rabbi and preacher. Jacob was probably born in Poland but was active mainly in Prague. He was an acknowledged authority on the Talmud and was called Shinena ("the sharpminded") by his contemporaries. He wrote: (1) Ma'aneh Lashon, a collection of prayers and petitions mainly for mourners (first published anonymously in Prague, c. 1615; 2nd ed. Cracow, 1668; 3rd ed. Prague, 1678). A shortened form of the work accompanied by a Judeo-German translation appeared in Frankfurt in 1688. The complete text with additions, together with full translations into Judeo-German and German by Eliezer Lieberman b. Judah Loeb, appeared in Amsterdam in 1677 and was frequently reprinted (cf. Friedberg, in bibl.); (2) Derush Na'eh, consisting of homiletical sermons on a number of the weekly portions, as well as halakhic novellae to Mo'ed Katan (Prague, 1603). In addition, his decisions on questions on the laws of mourning were quoted by Moses Jekuthiel b. Avigdor Kaufmann Kohen in his Ḥukkei Da'at, printed as an addendum to Yismaḥ Yisrael (Berlin, 1699–1700) by Israel Samuel b. Solomon Rofe. Wolf and Zunz identify Jacob with the Prague dayyan Jacob b. Abraham who died there in 1562, while Steinschneider identifies him with Jacob b. Abraham, publisher of Pirkei Eliyahu (Prague, 1600). The latter appears to be more probable, as Ma'aneh Lashon is hardly likely to have been published anonymously around 1610 if its author had already died in 1562. Jacob's authorship of this work is acknowledged in the Leḥem ha-Panim (cf. Zunz, in bibl.).
bibliography:
O. Muneles, Bibliographical Survey of Jewish Prague (1952), nos. 58, 97; Wininger, Biog, 3 (1928), 253; Friedberg, Eked, 2 (19512), 646 no. 2859; Davidson, Oẓar, 2 (1929), 457 no. 4306; Zunz, Gesch, 291 no. 298 no. 225.
[Elias Katz]