Sha'ar Ephraim

Born in Vilna, Rabbi Ephraim HaKohen's life was shaped by the Khmelnytsky Uprising, which forced him to flee and eventually settle as a *dayan* (rabbinical judge) in Buda (Ofen), Hungary. His responsa collection, *Sha'ar Ephraim*, holds significant historical value for its halachic rulings and firsthand accounts related to the devastation of the massacres. A descendant of Rabbi Elijah Ba'al Shem of Chelm, he is also known as the maternal grandfather and early teacher of the prominent halachist Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Ashkenazi, the *Chacham Tzvi*.