Background
Mollin was born into a prestigious rabbinic family in Mainz, Germany.
Mollin was born into a prestigious rabbinic family in Mainz, Germany.
Jacob Mollin studied first with his father, then with noted rabbinic authorities in Vienna, where he was ordained with the additional title of scholarly distinction, morenu.
As an outstanding Talmudist, Mollin was sought out by Jews throughout Europe for his halakhic decisions at an early age. He once imposed a three-day fast upon Rhineland Jewry and was instrumental in diverting disaster upon their communities by interceding with government officials to control marauding anti-Hussite crusaders.
His responsa (replies to legal queries) uniquely reflected a concern for the prevailing ritual custom and life conditions of his generation and were collected and printed for the first time in Venice (1549). Minhagei Maharil (1556), a compilation by his student, Zalman of Saint Goar, of his sermons, commentaries, and legal pronouncements, became a revered reference, used extensively by Moses IsserJes in his additions to the Shulhan Arukh, which served as the standard for Ashkenazic practice.
A poet of liturgical versepiyulim, Mollin was also a renowned cantor whose influence on the Polish-German rite was formative and whose melodies were to be heard in the Mainz communal worship service until modern times.