Aaron Worms of Metz

Born into a rabbinical family in the Saarland region of Germany, Aaron (Aharon) Worms first studied with his father, Abraham Aberle, and then at the yeshiva in nearby Metz, present-day France. In 1785 he became principal of the Metz yeshiva and ultimately served as the chief rabbi of that city. Though strictly traditional, Aaron advocated for certain changes: prayer in the vernacular for those who did not understand Hebrew and the insertion of piyyutim in prayers. Influenced by the ideals of the French Revolution, he was a member of Napoleon’s Grand Sanhedrin in 1806–1807. His Me’ore or, consisting of commentaries on the Talmud and the Shulḥan ‘arukh, was published in seven parts, beginning in 1790.