Rabbi Gershon Shaul Yom-Tov Lipmann ben Nathan ha-Levi Heller (c. 157919 August 1654), was a Bohemian rabbi and Talmudist, best known for writing a commentary on the Mishnah called the Tosefet Yom-Tov (1614–1617). Heller was one of the major Talmudic scholars in Prague and in Poland during the "Golden Age" before 1648.
Education and rabbinic career
After Heller was born in Wallerstein, Bavaria, he was raised by his grandfather, Rabbi Moses Ha-Levi Heller, as his father died at the age of 18 before he was even born. As a teenager Heller was sent to Friedberg, near Wallerstein, where he studied in the Yeshiva of Rabbi Jacob Günzburg. From there he moved to Prague, where he became a disciple of the Maharal, head of the yeshiva of Prague. In 1597, when Heller was scarcely 18 years old, he received a Semicha (appointment) as a Dayan (rabbinic judge) in that city.
In October 1624 Heller was called to the rabbinate of Mikulov, Moravia, and in March 1625, became rabbi of Vienna. Leopoldstadt was then a suburb of Vienna. When he arrived, the Jews of Vienna were scattered throughout the city, not having a central community. Heller obtained the right for the Jews to establish a central Jewish community in Leopoldstadt. He was instrumental in reorganizing the community and drew up its constitution.
From 1627 until 1629, he was Chief Rabbi of Prague.
In 1631, he moved to Ukraine, where he served as rabbi of Nemirov for three years. In 1634, he moved to the larger city of Ludmir (Volodymyr) in Volhynia. During his years in Volhynia and Poland, Heller was among the rabbinic leaders of the Council of Four Lands. In 1640, he worked to obtain the renewal of the synod's decrees against simony in the rabbinate.
Finally, in 1643 he was elected head of the rabbinical court of Kraków, one of the two chief rabbis of that community. Rabbi Yehoshua Heschel of Crakow, the author of Maginei Shelomo, was head of the Yeshiva there. Four years later, Heschel died, and Heller succeeded him and also directed the Yeshiva as well. Heller was chief rabbi of Kraków during the Chmielnicki uprising of 1648, and until his death in 1654.
Imprisonment
In the summer of 1629, Heller was arrested at the order of the imperial court of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II. Heller was accused of insulting Christianity and imprisoned in Vienna. A commission was quickly appointed to inquire into Heller's guilt. He defended himself adroitly, but the commission's verdict was that Heller be sentenced to death. After intervention, the king agreed to impose a fine of 12,000 thalers instead. After negotiations it was reduced to 10,000 thalers (still a huge sum). Afterwards the King declared that Rabbi Heller could no longer serve as a Rabbi. After spending more than a month in prison, Rabbi Heller was released. He then spent two years paying off the fine. In 1631, Heller left Prague and spent the second part of his career in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Several factors account for Heller's imprisonment. His arrest marked the beginning of a brief Habsburg anti-Jewish campaign, encouraged by the Papacy. Heller also had enemies within the Prague Jewish community. On account of the Thirty Years' War, the government had imposed heavy taxes on the Jewish communities of Bohemia, including that of Prague, which had to pay a yearly tax of 40,000 thalers. A commission headed by Chief Rabbi Heller unanimously voted to tax each Jewish family in Prague. The richer the family, the higher the tax. The burden fell mostly upon the rich merchants who could well afford to pay their assessments. However, they complained and demanded a reexamination of the decision. Rabbi Heller and his committee reviewed the problem and concluded that this approach was fair. The committee met with representatives of the merchants' association to explain the sensitive situation facing the Jewish community of Prague. The irate merchants refused to deal with the Qahal which was responsible for delivering the money to the government. Instead, they decided to appeal to the government. In their petition they charged the Chief Rabbi with being an enemy of Christianity. Their proof: "His writings are filled with allegations against the religion of the country." Rabbi Heller was associated with the wealthy leader of the Prague community at that time, Jacob Bassevi. He was an ally of the great general Albrecht von Wallenstein, who also had enemies at the Habsburg court. Heller's relationship with Bassevi and Heller's arrest played a part in larger political machinations there.