Luria, Solomon ben Jehiel (Rashal/Maharshal)

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Luria, Solomon ben Jehiel (Rashal/Maharshal) (c.1510–74). Jewish Talmudic commentator. Luria served as rabbi and rosh yeshivah at Ostrog, Brisk, and Lublin. His halakhic rulings were independent and avoided pilpul and were generally accepted. Only a proportion of his work has been preserved, including his Yam shel Shelomo (The Seal of Solomon) on the Talmud (1616–18) and his Hokhmat Shelomo (The Wisdom of Solomon, 1582), glosses on the text of the Talmud, printed subsequently in most edns. His responsa (1574/5) give valuable insight into the culture of 16th-cent. Polish Jewry.