Rav Shimshon Wertheimer (1658-1724). Born in Worms, Germany, he learned in the Yeshivos of Worms and Frankfurt. After marrying the daughter of the Rav of Manheim in 1684, he moved to Vienna. Within a few years, he became the wealthiest Jew of his day. He served as finance minister for Austrian emperors Leopold I, Josef I and Karl IV. In exchange for his services, Rav Shimshon requested better treatment for his fellow Jews throughout the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He negotiated the Jews’ right to live in major cities, including Vienna and Frankfurt, saved the Jews of Rothenberg from expulsion and intervened to save the Jews of Worms and Frankfurt. He was also a Talmid Chochom and helped to establish forty kehillos in Hungary. He founded and endowed a Yeshiva in Frankfurt, setting up his son-in-law, Rav Moshe Kann, as Rosh Yeshiva. In Vienna, he set up a Bais Din. In 1712, he rebuilt the city of Nikolsburg, which had burned down. Rav Shimshon was also in charge of transferring monies to Eretz Yisrael from all of Europe. He also left behind kisvei yad on Torah, Medrash, and Kabbola, (5484/1784).
