Yehuda Leib Krinsky (Judah Leib Krinsky) (Hebrew: יהודה ליב קרינסקי) was a Belarusian Jewish Hebrew scholar, theologian, businessman and philanthropist, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Life Krinsky was born into an Eastern European rabbinical family. He was apparently born in Minsk; the year of his birth is unknown, but his father, Rabbi Isaac (Yitzchok) Krinsky, died in the autumn of 1853. In his youth, he studied both Torah and secular studies (what B. Z. Eisenstadt calls חכמה, "wisdom"). Later on, he moved to Slutzk, where he went into the timber business, and made a fortune. He became a philanthropist, supporting rabbis and Torah scholars. Later on, he moved to Minsk, where he began his major work of scholarship, the Meḥōqeqē Yehudā. Works Only one work by Krinsky is known, though more might show up in the future. This one work is the five-volume Meḥōqeqē Yehudā or Mechokekei Yehudah (“Michochay Yehuda”) (Hebrew: מחוקקי יהודה), a super-commentary on Abraham ibn Ezra's commentary on the Pentateuch and certain of the Megilloth. The title, meaning The Lawgivers of Judah, is a reference to Krinsky's first name. Krinsky worked on the Genesis volume from at least 1903 until 1907, when it was published. It is one of the most popular supercommentaries on Ibn Ezra. The volume on Exodus was published in 1910. He continued to work on the remaining three volumes, but they did not get published until 1928, by which time Krinsky was probably no longer alive. The published Meḥōqeqē Yehudā includes the Hebrew text of the Pentateuch, the Aramaic text of Targum Onqelos, and the commentaries of Rashi and Ibn Ezra. Beneath these sources appear Krinsky's annotations. Krinsky's notes on Ibn Ezra are divided into two columns. The first column is entitled Yahēl Ōr ("may light shine", an allusion to Krinsky's given name, Yehuda Leib), and it consists of straightforward explanations of Ibn Ezra's words. The second column is entitled Qarnē Ōr ("beams of light", also a pun on Krinsky's name, based on its value in gematria); it consists of short essays relating to Ibn Ezra's work. These essays often include quotes from one or more of the following three sources: (1) classical rabbinic literature; (2) other writings by Ibn Ezra himself; and (3) reactions to Ibn Ezra by other medieval Jewish writers. When the other writers criticize Ibn Ezra, Krinsky tries to defend him. One of the most valuable