JOSEPH BEN SOLOMON (JOSEPH DARSHAN OF POSEN):
German preacher; born at Posen in 1601; died there in 1696. When a youth Joseph studied at Byelaya Tzerkov, Russia, where he seems to have settled, for in 1648 he was an eyewitness of the Chmielnicki massacres. Joseph succeeded in escaping to his native town, where he was appointed preacher in 1676, holding the office till his death. The following three works of his appeared at Frankfort-on-the-Oder in 1679: "Yesod Yosef," a denunciation of certain sins; "Sedeh Bokim," a homiletic commentary on Pereḳ Shirah; and "Tiḳḳun Ḥaẓot," a collection of psalms and prayers. Among his many unpublished works the following two may be mentioned: "Wa-Yekalkel Yosef," sermons arranged in the order of the parashiyyot, and "Wa-Yelaḳḳeṭ Yosef," collectanea of cabalistic and midrashic works, in the same order.
- Fuenn, Keneset Yisrael, p. 464;
- Perles, in Monatsschrift, xiv. 121;
- Steinschneider, Cat. Bodl. col. 1522.
