JSQ 24 (2017), 23–38 DOI 10.1628/094457017X14883764175405 ISSN 0944–5706 © 2017 Mohr Siebeck Simcha Emanuel Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel Did Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg Refuse to Be Ransomed? * Abstract: This paper proposes that R. Solomon Luria’s description of R. Meir of Rothenburg’s noble refusal to be redeemed from prison is a later and erroneous version of a discussion that originally pertained to an anonymous 12th-century sage whose contemporaries were prohibited from redeeming his body for an exorbitant sum, due to the talmudic rule, “captives may not be redeemed for greater than their value because of tikkun olam” (mGit 4:6). The suggestion that this story was later introduced into the story of Maharam resolves a puzzle posed by Luria himself: how could Maharam have failed to realize that his refusal to be redeemed would be det- rimental to Torah learning in Europe? The author believes that, while his idea cannot be proved, it is as convincing as the other resolutions of the contradiction between Luria’s report and that of Judah ben Asher concerning the attempts to redeem Meir of Rothenburg from prison. Key words: R. Meir of Rothenburg, R. Solomon Luria, ransom, Marcus Lehmann, Ludwig Philipson. Introduction The imprisonment of R. Meir ben Baruch (Maharam) of Rothenburg and his subsequent death in prison is one of the most famous episodes in medieval Jewish history. In 1286 Maharam was imprisoned in the wake of a failed attempt to flee Germany. He died in prison in 1293, and his body was not brought to burial until many years following his death. 1 The story of * An earlier version of this article appeared in Hebrew in Netuim 19 (2014) 155–169. I wish to express my gratitude to my colleagues Yoel Catane, Avraham Fraenkel, Judah Galinsky and Rami Reiner who read a still earlier version and aided me in improving it. 1 See H. Graetz, Geschichte der Juden von den ältesten Zeiten bis auf die Gegenwart (11 vols.; Leipzig: Leiner, 1863) 7.476–481; Samuel Back, R. Meïr ben Baruch aus Rothen- burg: sein Leben und Wirken, seine Schicksale und Schriften (Frankfurt: Kauffmann, 1895) 62–93; Irving A. Agus, Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg (2 vols.; Philadelphia: Dropsie College, 1947) 1.125–153; Ephraim E. Urbach, The Tosafists (Hebrew; Jerusalem: Mosad Bialik, 1980) 541–547; Avraham Grossman, “Meir ben Baruch of Rothenburg and Eretz Israel” (Hebrew), Cathedra 84 (1997) 63–84; Eitam Henkin, “Revisiting the Issue of the Incarceration of Maharam of Rothenburg and His Redemption for Burial” (Hebrew), Yerushatenu 5 (2011) 311–318; Joseph Isaac Lipshitz, “The Maharam of