Elijah of Prague
ELIJAH OF PRAGUE
ELIJAH OF PRAGUE , rabbi and head of the yeshivah in Prague in the 15th century. Elijah was strict in applying his rabbinical authority, frequently placing his opponents under the ḥerem (ban), and even invoking the assistance of the secular authorities, an act for which he was censured by Israel *Isserlein. His ruling that in a case of *blood libel all the communities of the realm should be considered "one city," and obliged to share the expenses for defense was accepted under protest because he had not consulted the communities concerned. He became involved in financial affairs "not in accordance with his honor" and was summoned before a bet din by Isserlein. Toward the end of Elijah's life Eliezer of Passau settled in Prague and encroached upon Elijah's sphere of competence, opening a rival yeshivah, among other activities. Israel *Bruna and Perez succeeded in stopping the conflict between them which affected the whole Prague community.
bibliography:
Horowitz, in: Zeitschrift fuer die Geschichte der Juden in der Tschechoslowakei, 1 (1930/31), 231–4; Suler, in: jggjČ, 9 (1938), 109–11, 135–44, 167; Michael, Or, 159–60; M. Frank, Kehillot Ashkenaz u-Vattei Dineihem (1937), 24.