Years: 1520–1588
Primary city: Friedberg
Rabbi Chaim ben Betzalel was a German rabbi and Talmudist, and the elder brother of Rabbi Yehuda Loew ben Bezalel, the Maharal of Prague. He is known for his ethical treatise Sefer ha-Chayim, which he composed in 1578 while quarantined with his family during a plague. He also authored Vikuaḥ mayim ḥayim, a critique of the codification of dietary laws by Rabbi Moshe Isserles, which argued against curtailing the right of future authorities to issue their own halachic rulings.