Ḥavvot Yair (The Villages of Yair): On Ceremonial Objects

Born in Moravia, Yair Ḥayim Bacharach was descended from Judah Loew, the Maharal of Prague. Bacharach’s grandfather and father both served as rabbi of Worms, and Yair Ḥayim himself was briefly rabbi of Koblenz. He was not chosen as the next rabbi of Worms, despite his father’s explicit request. Bacharach was one of the great halakhic authorities of his time. He wrote a major commentary on the Shulḥan ‘arukh called Mekor ḥayim (Source of Life), although he withdrew it when he learned that other commentaries had recently been printed. His most famous work is his collection of responsa, Ḥavvot Yair (The Villages of Yair; named in honor of his grandmother, Ḥava, who was renowned for her piety). After the city of Worms burned down, Bacharach spent the next ten years wandering, until, in 1699, two years before his death, he was asked, finally, to serve as rabbi of the reestablished community of Worms.