# Jacob (d.1644) <!-- AUTO:BEGIN — generated from GEDCOM; do not edit, overwritten on rebuild --> > 🔵 **Bernstein — Ozzy's side** · Relationship to Ozzy: **11x great-grandfather** **Died** 1644–1648 — [[Lublin]] **Parents** [[Efraim Naftali Hirsch (b.1550)]] **Children** [[Abraham Joshua Heschel (b.1595)]] *GEDCOM I521116 · Bernstein tree · synced 2026-07-01* <!-- AUTO:END --> ## Narrative Jacob ben Ephraim — remembered in the rabbinic literature as "the Gaon Rabbi Jacob of Lublin" — was a Polish rabbi and head of yeshivah active in the first half of the seventeenth century, and the father of [[Abraham Joshua Heschel (b.1595)]], later chief rabbi of Kraków. His own father is recorded in this tree as [[Efraim Naftali Hirsch (b.1550)]]; his patronymic "ben Ephraim" accords with that line. His career unfolded across three of the great Lithuanian-Polish rabbinic centers. He began at [[Lublin]], holding the post of rabbi and instructor at the city's yeshivah — an institution then so renowned that Lublin was known as "the Jewish Oxford," its rosh yeshiva granted rank equal to the heads of Polish universities (from Wiki-cited biography; general context per [Wikipedia, "Lublin"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lublin)). From there he was called to serve as rabbi of Brest (Brisk; today Brest, Belarus). He later returned to Lublin as its rabbi and remained there until his death, which the source places at 1648, though this profile's vitals record it more broadly as 1644–1648. A single documented episode fixes him in time. In 1631 he hosted [[Yom-Tov Lipmann Heller]] — the celebrated author of the *Tosafot Yom-Tov* — who wrote of Jacob with great respect and noted his tenure as rabbi in both Lublin and Brest, in the memoir *Megillat Eivah* (an account Heller wrote of his own 1629 imprisonment and its aftermath; per [Wikipedia, "Yom-Tov Lipmann Heller"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom-Tov_Lipmann_Heller)). [?] The consulted Wikipedia article on Heller does not itself name Jacob or reproduce the passage, so the specific citation to *Megillat Eivah* p. 28 rests on the profile's source text rather than on independently verified reading. As a teacher he was more influential than his surviving writings suggest. He was reputed the master of many of the foremost Polish rabbis of his generation, who studied in his yeshivah; only a few of his responsa survived, preserved among the *Geonei Batra'e*, and some of his novellae — together with those of his son — on *Yoreh De'ah*, *Even ha-Ezer*, and *Ḥoshen Mishpaṭ* remained in manuscript. His scholarly line carried forward through that son, Abraham Joshua Heschel (1595–1663), who taught David Halevi Segal (the *Taz*) and Shabbetai ha-Kohen (the *Shakh*) and in 1654 succeeded Heller himself as chief rabbi of Kraków (per [Wikipedia, "Avraham Yehoshua Heschel"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avraham_Yehoshua_Heschel)). That Heschel's own Wikipedia article names his father as "Rabbi Jacob of Lublin," "a rabbi in Brisk and then Lublin," independently corroborates the two-city career and the father–son link recorded here. ## Research *(your reasoning — preserved across every rebuild)* - Son's biography independently corroborates Jacob's identity: [Wikipedia, "Avraham Yehoshua Heschel"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avraham_Yehoshua_Heschel) (read 2026-07-04) states Heschel's father was "Rabbi Jacob of Lublin," who "was a rabbi in Brisk and then Lublin," and that Heschel (1595–1663) became Chief Rabbi of Kraków in 1654 succeeding Yom-Tov Lipmann Heller; his disciples included the Taz (David Halevi Segal) and the Shakh (Shabbetai ha-Kohen). Confirms the Brest→Lublin sequence and the father–son relationship. - Heller / *Megillat Eivah* context: [Wikipedia, "Yom-Tov Lipmann Heller"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom-Tov_Lipmann_Heller) (read 2026-07-04) confirms *Megillat Eivah* is Heller's memoir of his 1629 imprisonment and trial, but does NOT name Jacob ben Ephraim or reproduce the p. 28 passage in which Heller is said to praise him. The 1631-meeting citation therefore remains on the profile's source authority only, unverified here. - Lublin yeshivah context: [Wikipedia, "Lublin"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lublin) (read 2026-07-04) — the yeshivah made Lublin "the Jewish Oxford"; from 1567 its rosh yeshiva held royal rank equal to heads of Polish universities. Frames Jacob's post as rabbi/instructor there. ## Evidence ## Open questions - Death year: profile vitals give 1644–1648; the Wiki-derived biography states 1648. Reconcile against a primary source if one can be found. - The claim that Heller praised Jacob in *Megillat Eivah* p. 28 is not confirmed by the current English Wikipedia article on Heller — needs a browser/print pass on *Megillat Eivah* itself (or the Jewish Encyclopedia "Jacob ben Ephraim" entry) to verify the p. 28 citation.