Gerson Shaul (Yom Tov) Lipman Heller was born in 1579 in Wallerstein, now Mulhausen, Baveria, where his father Natan haLevi Heller was Chief Rabbi. The younger Heller was appointed rabbi of Nikolsburg, Moravia, in 1625. He later moved to Vienna, where he was elected av bet din, and also served as rabbi.  He was also a rabbi in Prague and Cracow, the birthplace of his wife Rechel Ashkenazi (c. 1580-1655).   Yom Tov and his wife Rechel were both able to claim descent from distinguished rabbis and scholars.  Moshe HaLevi of Wallerstein, Yom Tov’s grandfather, was descendant of Natan ha Romi and some scholars believe that his mother was also related to Natan ha Romi through Anav family who settled in Prague.  Rechel Ashkenazi also had “yichus” (i.e. “good blood” or pedigree) as a descendant of the Teomim and Horowitz families. 

Rabbi Heller’s best known work is Tosefos Yom Tov, a commentary on the Mishnah that he completed 13 October 1656. Because of this work he is often called Tosefos Yom Tov. In addition to his Talmudic studies, he wrote on more contemporary topics including a long poem describing the suffering of Polish Jews during the Cossack massacres of 1648. His early works include Zurat Beit haMikdash (The Form of the Holy Temple), a projection of the plan of the Temple as described in the prophecy of Ezekiel, published posthumously in Prague in 1702. The 1789 edition included an architectural plan of the temple by Moses Ivier. The Tosfos died in Cracow, Poland on 19 August 1654.

Rabbi Heller and his wife Rechel had at least ten children including a daughter Reziel, born about 1615.  Reziel married Yaakov Yosef Heller-Kahana, who became Rabbi of Brisk (Brest-Litovsk), a large Jewish community in Lithuania, now part of Belarus. The Tosfos was a Levite, as shown by the pitcher engraved on the top of his