R. Moses Alshekh (d. after 1593) was a rabbi and Bible commentator, born in Adrianople. He studied in Salonika under R. Joseph Taitazak and R. Joseph Caro, and then emigrated to Erez Israel, settling in Safed, where he gained prominence as an halakhic authority, a teacher in two talmudic academies, and a preacher. He was active in communal affairs and was a member of the rabbinical court of R. Joseph Caro, who conferred upon him the full ordination which had been reintroduced by R. Jacob Berab. R. Alshekh in turn ordained in 1590 R. Hayyim Vital, who was his disciple in halakhah. His major field of interest was halakhah but, acceding to requests to preach on Sabbaths, in the course of preparing his sermons he occupied himself also with Bible exegesis. He also engaged in the study of the Kabbalah, from which he derived the fundamentals of his religious philosophy. According to one tradition, R. Isaac Luria sought to dissuade him from pursuing kabbalistic studies. R. Alshekh reworked his sermons into commentaries to most of the books of the Bible. Several of these commentaries appeared during his lifetime: Havazzelet ha-Sharon (Constantinople, 1563; Venice, 159 1) on Daniel; Shoshannat ha-Amakim (Venice, 1591) on the Song of Songs; Rav Peninim (ibid., 1592) on Proverbs; and Torat Moshe (Constantinople, c. 1593) on Genesis. About 1597–98 there appeared in Constantinople Alshekh's commentary on the first Book of Psalms under the title of Tappuhei Zahav. This edition was criticized by Alshekh's son Hayyim in the introduction to his own edition of his father's commentary on the Psalms. Hayyim Alshekh averted that the manuscript of Tappuhei Zahav had been stolen from him and represented a first draft only of his father's commentary. Alshekh's commentaries, which are permeated with religious, ethical and religious, philosophical ideas supported by ample quotations from talmudic and midrashic sources, became very popular and have often been reprinted. Some of the commentaries appeared also in abbreviated versions.