David Ben Samuel Ha-Levi

(1586-1667). Rabbinical authority. He is generally known as Taz, the acronym of his magnum opus on the Shulḥan Arukh, Turé Zahav ("Rows of Gold"). Ha-Levi was born in Vladimir in the Ukraine and married the daughter of Joel Serkes (known as Baḥ). He held rabbinic positions in Putalicze and Posen, and after the death of his father-in-law in 1641 was invited to assume the position of rabbi of Ostrog. Following the Chmielnicki massacres of 1648-49, he fled to Germany. During this period of wandering, he was widely consulted on halakhic questions. A major controversy resulted during this time from a ruling which he issued, whereby a man was permitted to marry a second wife after witnesses had testified that his first wife, taken prisoner by non-Jews, had been forced to convert. He became rabbi of Lwow in 1654, holding the position until his death. Turé Zahav is one of the major commentaries on the Shulḥan Arukh, incorporating a summary of the numerous commentaries which had been written on the Shulḥan Arukh since its publication, and defending it against criticism. Ha-Levi was also the author of other works, including Divré David on Rashi'S commentary on the Pentateuch.

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