Israel Bruna (ישראל ברונא) was a German rabbi and Posek. He is also known as Mahari Bruna, the Hebrew acronym for "Our Teacher, the Rabbi, Israel Bruna". He studied under the leading Ashkenazi rabbis of his time: Jacob Weil and Israel Isserlin, who ordained him and spoke very highly of him. He was then elected rabbi of Brno. After the expulsion of the Jews from that city (1454) he settled at Ratisbon, Bavaria, where he opened a yeshivah. His position in Ratisbon caused some controversy, dividing the community. Rabbi Anschel Segal, who already was operating a yeshivah there, felt Rabbi Bruna should have opened his yeshivah elsewhere. However, upon the death of Rabbi Segal he was accepted by the whole community. Rabbi Bruna was one of the greatest Talmudic authorities of his time: rabbis and scholars from various cities and countries sent him their queries on all matters relating to Jewish law. These responsa, Teshuvot Mahari Bruna, are his best known work. Importantly, they served as a source of Halakha for Moses Isserles' HaMapah - the gloss on the Shulkhan Arukh describing differences between Ashkenazi and Sephardi practice.
Works on Sefaria
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