Rabbi Yoel Sirkis, known as the Bach (an acronym for Bayit Chadash, his most famous work on the Tur) was born in 5321 (1561) to his father Rabbi Shmuel. He studied Torah with his father and with Rabbis Leibush of Lublin (teacher of Rabbi Yishayah Horowitz, the holy Shelah), Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Shor of Brisk (a student of the Rabbi Moshe Isserles), and Rabbi Feivush - head of the yeshiva and chief rabbi of Krakow. The Bach served as rabbi in Pozna (Poznań, Poland) and other cities, including Libevne (Liuboml, Poland), Mezhibuzh, and Belz. In 5375 (1615), he was appointed as head of the rabbinical court and the yeshivah in Brisk, and in 5379 (1619), the Bach moved to a similar position in Krakow and its surroundings. He was one of the leaders of the illustrious Council of Four Lands and many of his students ate their meals at his house. From his lessons with his students, his book "Bayit Chadash" on the Tur was written. Among his works is a commentary on Pardes Rimonim by Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, and even in his halachic works, his connection to Kabbalah is evident. As he writes in his responsa, "for it [Kabbalah] is the source of the Torah and its essence, and it is all fear of Heaven.” The Bach passed away on the 20th of Adar, 5400 (1640) and was buried in Krakow.
When the Bach completed his book on the Tur, he wanted to print it. But Rabbi Nathan Nata Shapira, the author of the Megaleh Amukot, told the printer, day after day, to delay the printing. After a year or more, when the book had still not been printed, the Bach decided to request an approbation from the Megaleh Amukot. He sent the manuscript with one of his students, but the tzaddik did not want to give the approbation.
The Bach was disheartened, and because of this, the son of the Megaleh Amukot fell dangerously ill. While praying for his son’s recovery, Elijah came to the Megaleh Amukot and revealed to him that the cause for his son’s ailment was the Bach's resentment towards him. He quickly went to the Bach's house to appease him, but he would not be appeased. The Bach said to him: "Why did you not want to give an approbation to my book?! If there are things in the book that are not proper, tell me!" The Megaleh Amukot said to him: "I heard a proclamation from Heaven that if I give the approbation, the Bach will depart from this world, and I want you to have a long life." The Bach replied: "Why do you concern yourself with the secrets of the Holy Blessed One? My soul came to this world for the purpose of printing this book!" Only then did the Megaleh Amukot gave him the approbation and told the printer to print it.
Afterwards, the Bach became very weak and did not want to give rulings or judge cases that came before him. He instructed the judges to sit and judge in his house, while he lay in the inner room. One day, two people came for judgment: one man claimed he had lent six hundred gold coins to the defendant, and brought a document as proof, signed by witnesses as required by law. The defendant cried, saying it was a lie. The Bach heard the cries, called the judges, and they told him what had happened. He asked for the document and read it and said that it was entirely forged from beginning to end. The judges asked: "But according to the law, isn't the document valid? And even if you find it invalid through your Divine inspiration, the Torah is not in heaven, and we judge according to what our eyes see!"
The Bach told the lender to confess that he had forged the document, but he refused. Then he asked everyone to leave, and the lender remained in his room. He told the lender to confess, and for the sake of truth, he promised him to be in his company in the World to Come. The lender began to cry and admitted that he had indeed forged the document and hired false witnesses. The Bach called the judges to his room and said: "Rejoice, my inner parts! If your uncertainties are like this, how much more so your certainties!" And his soul departed in purity.
