דוד לידא

Rav David Lida (c. 5390/1630–5457/1696) was a rav of great kehillot on both edges of the Ashkenazi world — Lida, Ostroh and Mainz, and from 5440/1680 the Ashkenazi kehillah of Amsterdam. Born in Zwolen in Poland, where his father Rav Aryeh Leib was av beit din, he was a nephew of Rav Moshe Rivkes, author of the Be’er HaGolah, and a talmid of Rav Yehoshua Heshel of Krakow. His name follows the town of Lida, his first rabbanut.

His years in Amsterdam were not easy. Enemies accused him of leanings toward the Sabbatean movement (Shabtai Tzvi, false messiah), and separately claimed that his kabbalistic commentary on Rut, Migdal David, was taken from the work of Rav Chaim HaKohen of Aleppo. Deposed from his position in 5442, he carried his case to the Vaad Arba Aratzot in Poland, printing his defense in the pamphlet Be’er Esek; the chachamim of Poland accepted his claims, the Sephardi chachamim of Amsterdam joined in clearing him, and he was restored to his rabbanut. On the literary charge, the Chida judged him l’kaf zechut, noting that Rav Lida himself had hinted the true author’s name in the sefer’s introduction. After a short time he returned to Poland, and was niftar in Lvov.

He was a prolific author across halachah, drush and kabbalah: Divrei David on mussar; Shomer Shabbat on hilchot Shabbat; Ir David on the Shulchan Aruch with derushim; Ir Miklat on the taryag mitzvot; Chalukei Avanim on Rashi on the Torah; and Sod Hashem on brit milah. His collected writings were printed by his son after his passing as Yad Kol Bo.