David ben Aryeh Leib
Rabbi David ben Aryeh Leib of Lida wrote works of rabbinic literature, including Sefer Shomer Shabbat and books on the 613 Mitzvot, bris milah, the Shulchan Aruch, the Book of Ruth, and Jewish ethics.
He was accused of Sabbateanism, not to mention plagiarism, but was absolved of the former, but not the latter, charges by the Council of the Four Lands. He died in Lviv.
Biography
According to the Jewish Encyclopedia: "The inscription on his tombstone bears the date 5450 = 1690, but Polak proves this to be a mistake, as several works are extant which were endorsed by him after the year given in the inscription. Stern gives Ḥeshwan, 5448, which may, however, be a misprint for 5458 = 1698."Plagiarism
His work Migdal David was reputed to have been plagiarized from the Torat hesed of rabbi Hayyim ben Abraham ha-Kohen. While the Council of the Four Lands cleared him of several other charges that had been leveled against him, the charge of plagiarism remained a stain on his reputation.Later scholars, such as Chaim Yosef David Azulai and Heimann Joseph Michael, considered the true author of Migdal David to have been Hayyim ha-Kohen.
Works
- Be'er 'Eseḳ, 1684
- Divre David, a moral treatise
- Ḥalluḳe Abanim, a commentary on Rashi to the Pentateuch
- Ir Miḳlaṭ, a commentary on the 613 commandments
- Migdal David, a cabalistic commentary on Ruth
- Berit Adonai, a treatise in Judæo-German on circumcision
- Sod Adonai, a treatise in Hebrew on circumcision, with a commentary entitled "Sharbiṭ ha-Zahab", written at Mainz in 1680, and published at Amsterdam 1694
- Ir Dawid, a collection of homilies, edited by his son Pethahiah
- Shir Hillulim, a poem on the occasion of presenting a Sefer Torah scroll to the synagogue