Joseph ben Meir Teomim

Joseph ben Meir Teomim (1727-1793) (Hebrew: יוסף בן מאיר תאומים) was a Galician rabbi born at Lemberg. While still young he succeeded his father in the position of preacher and rabbinical instructor in the yeshivah of Lemberg. Later he went to Berlin, where he stayed several years in the bet ha-midrash of Daniel Jafe. Then he resumed his former position at Lemberg, and in 1782 was appointed rabbi at Frankfort-on-the-Oder, where he remained until his death.

Works

Te'omim, who was one of the foremost rabbis of his time, was a thorough student of rabbinical literature, and was not unlearned in the secular sciences. He wrote:
* "Peri Megadim" (פרי מגדים), a threefold commentary: the first on the "Orach chayyim", entitled "Mishbetzot Zahav," containing a supercommentary on David ben Samuel's "Ṭure Zahab," another entitled "Eshel Avraham," on Avraham Gombiner's "Magen Avraham" (Frankfort-on-the-Oder, 1753) and a third, "Sifte Da'at," on Shabbethai Kohen's "Sifte Kohen" (ש"ך; Berlin, 1772)
* "Porat Yosef," novellæ on Yebamot and Ketubot, with rules for halakic decisions (Zolkiev, 1756)
* "Ginnat Weradim," seventy rules for the comprehension of the Talmud (Frankfort-on-the-Oder, 1767)
* "Tebat Gome," on the Sabbatical sections (Frankfort-on-the-Oder, 1782)
* "Shoshanat ha-'Amakim," a methodology of the Talmud, published together with the preceding
* "No'am Megadim," commentaries on the prayers, published with the prayer-book "Hegyon Leb."

Te'omim left in manuscript "Sefer ha-Maggid" (a commentary on the Pentateuch and the Haftarot, sermons for Sabbaths and festivals, and a twofold commentary on Pirḳe Abot) and "Em la-Binah" (a Hebrew, Aramaic, and Chaldaic lexicon; Neubauer, "Cat. Bodl. Hebr. MSS." No. 1500). In the introduction to the last-named work Te'omim mentions a great number of writings of his own, on halakot and ethics, which are no longer in existence.

Jewish Encyclopedia Bibliography

*D. Cassel, in Ersch and Gruber, Encyc. section ii., part 31, p. 97;
*Steinschneider, Cat. Bodl. col. 1534;
*Neubauer, in Ha-Maggid, xiii. 285;
*Fuenn, Keneset Yisrael, p. 514;
*Buber, Anshe Shem, p. 95.

References

*JewishEncyclopedia