Rabbi David HaLevi Segal, known as the Turei Zahav or “the Taz” after his great work on the Shulchan Aruch, was one of the greatest halachic authorities. He was born in the year 5346 (1586) in the city of Ludmir, to his father, the Ga’on Rabbi Shmuel. In his youth, he learned from his father and his older brother Rabbi Yitzchak (author of Responsa Mahari HaLevi). He married Rebbetzin Rivkah, daughter of the Bach, the great Rabbi Yoel Sirkes, whom he respectfully cites in his books as "my teacher and father-in-law." Initially, he was supported by his father-in-law in Brisk, then moved to Cracow. Later, he served as rabbi in several communities, including Ostroh (Ukraine), where he founded an important yeshiva. During the terrible pogroms of the years 5408-5409 (1648-1649), the Taz fled, and eventually settled in the city of Lvov (Lemberg), where he became one of the leaders of the "Council of Four Lands." He passed away on the 26th of Shevat, 5427 (1667). On his tombstone it is written: "Behold, while still alive he already merited that the law was decided according to his opinion. His teachings that he taught are pure and well-arranged."
You Have Labored and Found
The Taz labored greatly in Torah, as he said, "The Torah is only sustained by one who kills himself over it, meaning one who engages in pilpul (sharp analysis) and the back and forth debates of Torah... through toil and exertion." The Taz engaged in Torah study amidst poverty and hardship, and it is told that through the power of his learning and pilpul, he drew down healing and salvation:
The daughter of a wealthy man went mad. The wealthy man went to the Taz and asked him to pray for his daughter to be healed. The Taz went with him to his house. As soon as he opened the door, the sick girl opened her mouth and said, "Welcome, our teacher," and turned her face away. "Why did you turn your face away?" the Taz asked the girl, "Because the wicked cannot look upon the faces of the righteous [a spirit of a wicked person had entered her],” she replied. “For it should be known to the master that in heaven above, they call you 'Our teacher, the Ga’on, our teacher Rabbi David, author of Turei Zahav.'" "If it is true that I am esteemed in heaven,” the Taz responded, “I decree that you be healed, for today I resolved a difficult question in the Tur according to the authentic teachings of Torah. In this merit, may you have healing." And so it was and the sick girl was healed.
The virtue of toil and pilpul even before reaching the halachic conclusion, is like the virtue of preparation for a mitzvah, as the Ba’al Shem Tov taught. The sages state, "[If] you have toiled and found [success], believe [in it]." In the merit of his toil in Torah, the Taz merited that his books and rulings were accepted throughout Israel.
In the introduction to his work, the Taz extols the Beit Yosef for taking action "so that the Torah would not split into two traditions." Over time, however, the concern returned, for disputes increased and once again it seemed that the tradition would split. Therefore, after some hesitation, the Taz decided to print his work: "And I called this compilation of mine Turei Zahav [Golden Columns], so that the words of the Tur itself and the Shulchan Aruch would be clarified." In the name of his work, he hinted to himself since the numerical value of his name, “David” is the same as “golden”.
The author of the Pnei Yehoshua wrote about the Taz: "The father of testament, whose writings and rulings have already become renowned throughout all the communities of Israel, and by his light we walk, for the law is in accordance with his view in most places, for he is the greatest of the latter-day authorities and the first among them, above whom there is none."
The day of passing of the Taz falls near Parashat Yitro, in which we read about the giving of the Torah and the setting up of the legal system, “Moses sat to judge the people.” Key advice on how to set up the judicial system was given by Jethro, whose conversion to Judaism is reminiscent of the verse, “like the advantage of light over darkness,” because the word “advantage” contains his name in Hebrew. Likewise, the clarification of the law by the Taz required great toil, ultimately bringing light out of the darkness. Indeed, the sages describe the Babylonian Talmud as being similar to darkness, as alluded to in the verse, “‘He made me sit in darkness’—this is the Babylonian Talmud.”
The Taz lived in a very difficult time for the Jewish people, which he experienced directly. But it is precisely from the deep darkness of the hardships of the exile that a new light began to shine upon Zion, the light of the Torah of the great halachic authorities (and later, the light of the Chasidic movement).
The Divrei Chaim would say, "We had the Rambam who was unique in philosophical inquiry. We had the Arizal who was unique in Kabbalah. We had the Turei Zahav who was unique in revealed Torah." This division was also reflected in the three groups of scholars that studied with Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the Alter Rebbe of Chabad. Each group had mastered increasing amounts of Torah. The first group was for those proficient in books of revealed Torah. The second group was for those proficient in works of Kabbalah. And the third group was for those proficient in works of philosophical inquiry. Beautifully, the sum of the first names of these three giants—Maimonides, the Arizal, and the Taz—"Moshe Yitzchak David” is the same as the value of the Alter Rebbe’s first name, “Shneur”, which means “two lights,” alluding to the revealed and concealed teachings of Torah.
The Taz was also great in the esoteric realm, and if his words are difficult to understand based on the revealed Torah, they have their root in the concealed. As was passed on in the name of the disciples of the Ba’al Shem Tov, "The words of our master the Turei Zahav, may his memory be blessed, are among the elevated secrets... which are veiled to us and our children, for they are greatly concealed within them" (the Rebbe of Munkatch). Kabbalah is light and halachah is the vessel, but "the root of the vessels is higher than the root of the lights." Specifically in the revealed teachings of the Taz there is a supernal revelation, "the advantage of light over darkness" as mentioned above.
The Taz and the Shach
It is written in Hayom Yom in the name of the Alter Rebbe: “All the authors up to and including the Taz and the Shach, composed their works with ru’ach hakodesh (holy spirit), and the matter of ru’ach hakodesh... is that they revealed to him the secrets of the Torah, which is from the hidden wisdom.”
Ru’ach Hakodesh refers to the ability to precisely rule in halachah as well as the revelation of the secrets of the Torah hidden within the revealed Torah’s teachings. This is particularly noticeable in the work of the Taz.
The relationship between the Taz and the Shach provides for an amazing story. The two works were printed in the same year, when the Taz was sixty and the Shach was twenty-four. Afterwards, the Shach wrote annotations critiquing the Taz, called Nekudot HaKesef, and the back and forth regarding the opinions of these two giants continues to this day. The two also met in person, as the Shach relates: "Let it not enter the reader's mind that since I, Heaven forbid, had a dispute with the author of the Turei Zahav, or that I have some resentment towards him, that I composed excurses on his work. For it is known to all that the sages’ explanation of the verse, “And in the end, Vaheb [a place-name whose value is 13, the same as “love”]” was fulfilled at the end of our interaction. The Torah always seeks to dwell in its natural habitat, and I hosted the Turei Zahav for three days, and I honored him greatly beyond what can be told. And he too was greatly honored by me to the point that he kissed me on the head and rejoiced in me truly like the rejoicing found at the water-libations celebration on Sukkot."
There are different traditions regarding which halachic authority, the Taz or the Shach, is more authoritative and thus should be followed. From the words of the Alter Rebbe, it seems there is no uniform approach here, and it depends on the context.
The aspiration to arrive at a "clear halachic ruling, all in one place" is a Messianic one. It is akin to the blessing, “Return our judges as they were” (in the Great Sanhedrin which will have the final word in halachic rulings for the entire Jewish people). The Maggid of Mezritch instructed the Alter Rebbe to compose his Shulchan Aruch for this purpose.
The Taz had a special fondness for Rashi's commentary on the Torah, on which he composed his work Divrei David. This is similar to Lubavitcher Rebbe, who extensively engaged in explaining Rashi's commentary on the Torah (and of course cited the Taz's Divrei David).
A Fine Tallit
The Turei Zahav would pray in a tallit (prayer shawl) that was very worn and tattered, which he had used for many years. When the women of his community saw him praying in this torn and old tallit, they purchased a beautiful and elegant tallit and brought it to him. When he saw the new tallit, the Taz said to the women, "Many thanks to you for your precious donation, but I do not want to wrap myself in a new tallit, for the old one will testify for me in the World to Come that I never had any improper thoughts while praying the Amidah."
It is said that in the days of the halachic authority the Shoel uMeishiv, they needed to exhume the grave of the Turei Zahav (by order of the authorities). When his grave was opened, his body and clothing were intact. Evidently, he was wrapped in the same tallit in which he had prayed his entire life...
However, tragically, the Jewish cemetery in Lvov was eventually desecrated by the Soviet authorities, and a central market was established on its grounds. Efforts to save the burial grounds of the tzaddikim did not succeed. Blessed are those who will redeem the site of their sacred resting place.
