the mitzvot". Maharshal reproached him for having based some of his decisions on Aristotle. His reply was that he studied Greek philosophy only from Maimonides’ Guide for the Perplexed, and then only on Shabbat and Yom Tov - and furthermore, it is better to occupy oneself with philosophy than to err through Kabbalah. Rabbi Isserles had several children: "Drezil (named after his maternal grandmother), wife of R. Bunem Meisels. A daughter whose name is unknown to us.... A son, R. Yehuda.... A third daughter...who is totally unknown to us." He is buried in the eponymous Remuh Cemetery in Kraków. Genealogy A reputed descendant of King David through Rashi, he has many notable descendants, among which are included members of the Meisel family, alongside Rabbi Yakov Kuli Slonim, son-in-law of the Mittler Rebbe, the composers Felix Mendelssohn and Giacomo Meyerbeer, the pianist Julius Isserlis, the cellist Steven Isserlis, the author Inbali Iserles, the mathematician Arieh Iserles and the statistician Leon Isserlis. Approach Isserles is perhaps best known for his halakhic works, chief among them his notes to the Shulchan Aruch by Yosef Karo. He is noted for his approach to customs (minhagim): "it should be remembered that R. Isserles did not regard the Jewish Minhag lightly. On the contrary, he too expressed reverence and respect for it, and whenever possible endeavored to uphold it and also to explain its origin. Only, unlike many great Talmudic scholars, he refused to follow it blindly. When convinced of the unsound basis of a Minhag, he was ready to repudiate it regardless of its acceptance by the people." Furthermore: "The Talmud is, of course, the great reservoir to which R. Isserles turns as the first step in attempting to solve a problem. The question at hand is immediately referred to an identical or similar case in the Talmud. The second step is the weighing of the opinions of the ראשונים, i.e. Alfasi (רי”ף), Tosafists, Nachmanides, etc. expanding and explaining the text. The opinion of the majority is followed by R. Isserles and even Maimonides, whom he respected very highly, is disregarded if he was in the minority. After the Rishonim, R. Isserles proceeds to examine writings of אחרונים, i.e. Mordechai, Ashri and Tur, and the latter is followed especially when the Tosafists agree with him. At this point, the Responsa of still later authorities are cited extensively in accordance with the well-established principle of הלכה