Chiddushei Gmp”t [Gemara, Parshandata, Tosaphoth] me-ha-Gaon ha-Mefursam R. David Oppenheim ab”d [av beit din] Prague ve-ha-Medinah. Ha-Zahav, Perek Revi’i, Bava Metzi’a 49b [Talmudic novellae]

OPPENHEIM, DAVID BEN ABRAHAM

(Prague)

(after 1702-before 1736)

In David Oppenheim (1664-1736) there was fulfilled the ideal of “Torah u-gedulah be-makom echad” (“Torah and wealth in a single place”). Young David inherited a fortune from his uncle Samuel Oppenheimer (1630-1703), Court Jew at the Imperial Court of Vienna, which he then applied to amassing one of the finest rabbinic libraries in recorded history. J.C. Wolf, who obtained most of the material for his catalogue Bibliotheca Hebraea from Oppenheim’s library, estimated that it contained 7,000 volumes, including 1,000 manuscripts. Today, it forms the “lion’s portion” of the Hebrew section of the Bodleian Library at Oxford. Although Oppenheim himself wrote a great deal, most of his works lie unpublished in Oxford. A volume of his responsa appeared under the title “Nish’al David.” In 1702, Oppenheim was chosen rabbi of Prague. Truly one of the great men of the generation, Oppenheim’s influence extended beyond Prague and Bohemia. In recognition of his stature, the community of Jerusalem honored him with the title “Rabbi of the Holy City.” Responsible for the disbursement of charitable funds to the poor, he was appointed “Nesi Eretz Israel” (President of the Land of Israel”). EJ, Vol. XII, cols. 1419-1422, 1431-1433; N.Z. Friedman, Otzar Harabanim, p. 101, D-4696. From the fact that R. David Oppenheim is referred to in the third person with a host of honorifics, we may assume that these novellae were recorded by a scribe, perhaps a disciple, and not by Oppenheim himself