Yaakov Ben Moshe Moelln

Yaakov Ben Moshe Moelln (?-1427) Rabbinic authority. Born into a prestigious rabbinic family in Mainz, he studied first with his father, then with noted rabbis in Vienna where he was ordained, with the additional scholarly title of distinction Morenu. He succeeded his father as rabbi of Mainz in 1387 and established there a talmudic academy, many of whose students became the leading rabbis of Central Europe. As an outstanding scholar, he was sought by Jews throughout Europe with their queries in religious law. His responsa reflected the religious and social life of his time and showed a respect for existing custom. Moelln was a poet of liturgical verse (piyyutim) and a renowned cantor whose melodies were to be heard in communal worship in Mainz until modern times.