Israel (Isserl) ben Josef (around 1500 – 1568) was a wealthy Jewish merchant, banker,[1] and Talmudist[2] who settled in Kraków in 1519, following the expulsion of the Jews from the German city of Regensburg.
He was the father of Moses Isserles and the founder of the Remah Synagogue in Kazimierz, now a district of Kraków, built in 1553 on land owned by Israel ben Josef.
[3] According to The Jewish Encyclopedia,[4] it may be concluded from the terms which his son applies to him in his preface to "Meḥir Yayin"[5] that he was the chief of the community.
However, the Hebrew inscription of the foundation tablet reads: "Husband, R. Israel, son of Josef of blessed memory, bound in strength, to the glory of the Eternal One, and of his wife Malka, daughter of Eleazar, let her soul be received among the living, built this synagogue, the house of the Lord, from her bequest.
[3] Israel was careful to never engage in business on Fridays after midday due to the Jewish law of refraining from work on the Sabbath.