Moses Eisenstadt

Moses ben ḥayim Eisenstadt, of a large rabbinic family, was active in Prague as a translator, author, and printer of instructional works, mostly in Yiddish. He was probably a rabbinic functionary and teacher. His 1713 Yiddish plague song, printed twice, was one of three such works that reported in detail on a catastrophic epidemic that struck Prague that year. Eisenstadt also listed cures for the disease and provided a daily count of its victims, 3,441 in total. Eisenstadt, likely an anti-oligarchy activist in Prague’s Jewish politics, criticized wealthy rabbinic and lay leaders who fled to avoid the plague, leaving people of lesser means behind.