ר' אליעזר מוורמייזא

Rav Elazar of Worms (c. 4925/1165–c. 4998/1238), known as the Rokeach after his sefer — the word רקח sharing the numerical value of his name, Elazar — was among the greatest of the Chassidei Ashkenaz, a posek, a mekubal, and one of the Baalei HaTosafot. He was born in Mainz to his father and teacher Rav Yehuda ben Kalonymus, and learned the hidden Torah from his kinsman Rav Yehuda HeChasid. He served as rav and dayan in Worms, signed the takanot of the SHU”M communities of Speyer, Worms, and Mainz, and taught Rav Yitzchak ben Moshe of Vienna, the author of the Or Zarua.

His life bore deep sorrow. On the night of 22 Kislev 4957, as he sat learning, intruders broke into his home, wounded him and his son, and killed his wife Dulcea and his two daughters, Belat and Hannah; in his written lament he mourned them and accepted the judgment of Heaven. After the persecutions he turned to setting his Torah down in writing, since teaching talmidim face to face had grown difficult.

His main work, Sefer HaRokeach, is a halachic sefer of rulings, customs and their reasons in the way of the Baalei HaTosafot, joining pilpul and halachic conclusion with sections of mussar and much gematria; its motif of Kiddush Hashem returns again and again. Beside it he wrote Lamed-Vav Shearim on the laws of shechitah and treifot, and many works of Kabbalah, most of which remain in manuscript. A number of practices he instituted are kept to this day — among them the three steps back before “Hashem, sefatai tiftach” at the start of Shemoneh Esrei, and answering “Baruch Hu u’Varuch Shemo.” The earliest source for the custom against kitniyot on Pesach is found in his Pesach derasha. He was buried in the old cemetery of Worms (Germany).