Rabbi Moshe Rivkes was born in Prague and settled, early in life, in Vilna, Lithuania. His father, R' Naphtali Hirsch Sofer of Vilna, was a scribe and a great Torah scholar. His mother, Rivkah, took upon herself the financial support of the family so her husband could devote himself to his studies, as a result of which the surname "Rivkes" was appended to her son's name, in deference to her. In 1655, when Cossack hordes descended upon Vilna and committed widespread massacres, Rabbi Moshe was forced to flee the city along with R' Shabtai Hacohen (the author of the Shach), R' Ephraim HaCohen (the author of Sha’ar Ephraim), and R' Aaron Shmuel Kaidanover (the author of Birkat HaZevach). They eventually found refuge in Amsterdam, where R' Moshe published his great work on the Shulchan Aruch, entitled "Be’er HaGolah". It indicates the various sources for the Halachic decisions of the Mechaber and Rama, along with brief comments by the author. Although he was accorded great respect in Amsterdam, Rabbi Moshe yearned to return to Vilna, his hometown, and he succeeded in doing so before his death. The Vilna Gaon was a descendant of R' Moshe and often cites him in his "Biur HaGra" on Shulchan Aruch.
Works on Sefaria
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