Chapter XXIII: Book III: Chaps. XI-XII. - The history of Rashi's influence forms

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part of the general history of later rabbinical literature.
Mention, therefore, may be made of the following works,
besides the history of Graetz, the works of Geiger and of A.
Levy, and the references in Winter und Wunsche, II:

Zunz, Zur Geschichte und Literatur.

Renan [and Neubauer], Les rabbins francais (Histoire
litteraire de la France), Paris, 1877.

L. Wogue, Histoire de la Bible et de l'exegese biblique,
Paris, 1881.

I.H. Weiss, Dor Dor we-Dorshaw, iv and V.

Gross, Gallia judaica, Paris, 1897, passim.

Berliner, Beitrage zur Geschichte der Raschi-Commentare,
Berlin, 1903.

It is impossible to enumerate all the monographs and all the magazine articles. Concerning Samuel b. Meir, see Rosin, R. Samuel ben Meir als Schrifterklarer, Breslau, 1880; concerning Jacob Tam, see Weiss, Rabbenu Tam, in the Bet Talmud, iii; concerning Jacob b. Simson, see Epstein in the Revue des etudes juives, xxxv, pp.240 et seq.; concerning Shemaiah, see A. Epstein in the Monatsschrift, xli, pp.257, 296, 564; concerning Simson b. Abraham, see H. Gross in the Revue des etudes juives, vii and viii; concerning Judah Sir Leon, see Gross in Berliner's Magazin, iv and V.

The influence of Rashi upon Nicholas de Lyra and Luthcr is the subject of an essay by Siegfried in Archiv fur wissenschaftliche Erforsehung des Alten Testaments, i and ii. For Nicholas de Lyra alone, see Neumann in the Revue des etudes juives, xxvi and xxvii.

Concerning Rashi's descendants, see Epstein, Mishpahat Luria et Kohen-Zedek in Ha-Goren, i, Appendix.

NOTES

1 See W. Bacher, Raschi una Maimuni, Monatsschrift,
XLIX, pp.1 et seq. Also D. Yellin and I. Abrahams,
Maimonides. Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication
Society of America, 1903.

2 A legend has it that Vespasian made some Jews embark on three
vessels, which were then abandoned on the open sea. One of
the ships reached Aries, another Lyons, and the third
Bordeaux. See Gross, Gallia judaica, p.74.

3 See, for example, p.164.

4 See Note 10.

5 Israel Levi.

6 Theodor Reinach, La Grande Encyclopedie, s. v. Juifs.

7 However, there had been Talmudists in France before this
period.

6 In the first quarter of the eleventh century Burchard, bishop
of Worms, wrote the famous compilation which became one of
the sources of canonical law. Concerning Lorraine, its Jews
and Talmudical schools, see chap. II, p.46 et seq.

9 Not, as has been said with more ingenuity than verity, from
Rosh Shibte Iehudah, chief of the tribes of Judah. Others,
transposing the letters of "Rashi," called him Yashar,
"the Just." He himself signed his name Solomon bar (not ben)
Isaac, or Berabi Isaac. Once he wrote his signature Solomon
of Troyes.

10 Since "lune," moon, in Hebrew "yerah," is contained in
"Lunel," a number of scholars coming from Lunel bore the
surname "Yarhi." The city, in fact, is sometimes called
"Jericho," as a result of that system of geographical
nomenclature to which we owe the name "Kiryat Yearim" for
Nimes (derived from the Latin nemus), and "Har" for
Montpellier, etc. Through an analogy, based not so much upon
the significance of the words as upon a sort of assonance,
Spain, France, and Britain in rabbinical literature received
the Hebrew names of Sefarad, Zarfat, and Rifat. Likewise the
city of Dreux is called Darom, and so on.

11 A spurious Rashi genealogy from Johanan ha-Sandlar was worked
out in Italy at the end of the seventeenth century. In
Appendix I is given a table of the connections and immediate
descendants of Rashi. In chap. XII, p.212 et seq.
there are references concerning some of his later and more
doubtful descendants.

12 For this passage, see p.112.

13 See pp.61-2. Also Berliner, Aus dem Leben der deutschen
Juden. The data that follow are taken from the Kolbo,
the Mahzor Vitry, and other sources cited by Zunz,
Zur Geschichte, pp.167 et seq.

14 See p.81.

15 See Epstein, Die nach Raschi genannten Gebaude in
Worms.

16 This is the epoch which marks the arrival of Jews in Great
Britain. They went there, it seems, In the suite of William
the Conqueror (1066) - They always remained in touch with
their co-religionists on the Continent, and were sometimes
called by these "the Jews of the Island." For a while they
enjoyed great prosperity, which, joined to their religious
propaganda, drew upon them the hatred of the clergy.
Massacred in 1190, exploited and utterly ruined in the
thirteenth century, they were finally exiled in 1290.

17 See p.39.

18 Surnamed "Segan Leviya," supposed--doubtless incorrectly--to
have come originally from Vitry in Champagne. He was a very
conscientious pupil of Eliezer the Great. Died about 1070.

19 He is the author of the famous Aramaic poem read at the
Pentecost, beginning with the words Akdamot Millin.
He must not be confounded with his contemporary of the same
name, Meir ben Isaac (of Orleans?), to whom also some
liturgic poems are attributed. Another rabbi of Orleans,
Isaac ben Menahem (according to Gross, Gallia judaica,
pp.32-3, probably the father of Meir), was older than Rashi,
who quotes some of his Talmudic explanations, and some of the
notes written on his copy of the Talmud. There is nothing to
prove, as Gross maintains, that Rashi was his pupil. It is
not even certain that he knew him personally.

20 See p.77 for Rashi's relations to his teachers.

21 A Responsum signed by Rashi shows that he was the tutor of
the children of a certain Joseph, whose father had been
administrator of the community.

22 For a long time it was thought and said that once when Rashi
was sick, he dictated a Responsum to his daughter. As Zunz
was the first to show, this story about Rashi's secretary is
based upon the faulty reading of a text. Another legend
proved false! Science is remorseless. See Sefer ha-
Pardes, ed. Constantinople, 33d, where one must read,
<H>uleven bat (Vav Lamed Bet Final_Nun, Bet Tav)</H> not
<H>velajen biti (Vav Lamed Kaf Final_Nun, Bet Tav Yod)</H>
- See Zunz, Zur Geschichte, p.567, and Berliner,
Hebraische Bibliographie, XI; also,
Monatsschrift, XXI.

23 As has been shown (chap. II, p.51) Rashi may have begun to
write commentaries upon the Talmud during his sojourn In
Lorraine. However that may be, it is difficult to
dlstinguish in this huge production between the work of his
youth and that of his maturity or old age.

24 That is to say "very beautiful." It is a name frequently
borne by French Jewesses in the middle ages. Some give the
name of her husband as Ephraim. In chap. XI, pp.187 et
seq. the sons-in-law and grandchildren of Rashi will
receive further consideration. See also Appendix I.

25 According to Jacob Molin ha-Levi, called Maharli, rabbi of
Mayence, later of Worms, where he died in 1427. Christian
marriages bore many points of resemblance to Jewish
marriages. See the work of Lecoy de la Marche, La chaire
francaise au moyen-age.

26 See pp.165-6.

27 The economic influence of the Crusades has also been
exaggerated. The Crusaders in Palestine came into relations
with scarcely no other Turks than those but slightly
civilized, and thus saw little of the brilliant Arabic
civilization. The Jews certainly contributed more than the
Crusades to the development of commerce and the increase of
wealth.

28 According to a less popular form of the legend, Godfrey of
Bouillon disguised himself as a beggar, and obtained entrance
into Rashi's home by asking for alms. But the night before,
the visit of the lord had been announced to Rashi in a dream,
and on his approach Rashi arose and hailed him by the title
of hero. It was in this way that Joan of Arc recognized
Charles VII lost in the crowd of his courtiers.

29 See chap. VIII, pp.164 et seq. for further details.
The same chapter throws more light on Rashi's spiritual
nature.

30 Concerning this enigmatical kinsman of Rashi, see chap. XI,
pp.186-7.

31 See chap. VI, p.125.

32 The mistake arises from the fact that certain cursive writing
is called "Rashi script." It was generally employed in
copying rabbinical works, among others, the works of Rashi.
The term indicates the wide popularity enjoyed by the works
of Rashi.

33 See p.45.

34 See chap. VI, p.105.

35 The Megillat Taanit is a collection of ephemerides or
calendars, indicating the days on which happy events
occurred, and on which it is forbidden to fast. The little
work, written in Aramaic, but enlarged by Hebrew glosses, is
attributed by the Talmud to Hananiah ben Hezekiah ben Garon,
or Gorion (first century); the nucleus about which the book
was built up seems to go back as far as Maccabean times.

36 See Note 94.

37 Collection of texts not incorporated in the Mishnah, the
order of which is followed, now to explain it, now to
complement it, and sometimes to contradict it. The redaction
of the Tosefta is attributed to R. Hiyyah bar Abba (third
century).

38 When the aim of the Midrash is to interpret the legal and
ritual portions of the Pentateuch, it is called Halakic; it
is Haggadic when its aim is to interpret the narrative and
moral portions (see chap. VI, p.107) - The Halakic Midrashim
nevertheless contain much Haggadah. The redaction of the
Mekilta, the commentary on Exodus, is attributed to R.
Ishmael; that of the Sifra, or Torat Kohanim, the commentary
on Leviticus, to R. Judah ben Ilai; that of the Sifre, the
commentary on Numbers and Deuteronomy, to R. Simon ben Yohai
and to the school of Rab, all scholars of the second and
third centuries. The Sifra that Rashi employed was more
complete than the one now available, and he cites a second
Sifre, at present unknown.

39 The Midrash Rabba, or Rabbot, consists of Haggadic
compilations on the Pentateuch and the Five Rolls; the
elements of this Midrash are comparatively ancient, but its
definite redaction without doubt does not go farther back
than the eighth century. Rashi did not know those portions
of the Midrash Rabba which explain the Books of Exodus and
Numbers.

40 By this name are designated Haggadic collections for various
distinguished times and seasons of the year. There are two
Pesiktas, the Pesikta attributed to R. Kahana, a Babylonian
Talmudist, though its redaction falls in the seventh century,
and the Pesikta Rabbati, or Great Pesikta, doubtless compiled
in Southern Italy in the ninth century. Rashi knew the first
of these collections; and his citations aided Zunz in the
reconstruction he made of this Midrash before the discovery
of a manuscript by Buber confirmed his clear-sighted
suppositions.

41 Name of a Midrash on the Pentateuch, redacted by the pupils
of R. Tanhuma. Quite recently the endeavor was made to prove
that Rashi did not know the Tanhuma either in the current
text or in the more extended text published by Buber in 1885,
and that he called Tanhuma the Midrash Yelamdenu, which is
lost, and which is said to be the prototype of the two
versions of the Tanhuma. See Grunhut, in Festschrift
Berliner, pp.156-63.

42 A Midrashic compilation, partly mystic in character, of the
eighth century, but attributed to the Tanna R. Eliezer ben
Hyrkanos the Great.

43 Collection in three "gates," relating to history, especially
to Biblical chronology. Its redaction is commonly attributed
to R. Jose ben Halafta (second century).

44 Sherira bar Hananiah, Gaon of Pumbedita, about 930-1000, a
scholar of great activity, who left Responsa. The one
bearing upon the chronology of the Talmudic and Gaonic
periods is the chief source for the history of those times.

45 Hai Gaon, born about 940, collaborator, then successor, of
his father. He wrote much, and his reputation reached
Europe. Philosopher, scholar, didactic poet, and commentator
of the Bible, he left authoritative Responsa, Talmudic
commentaries, collections of rabbinical jurisprudence, and a
Hebrew dictionary, which has been lost.

46 Aha or Ahai of Shabha wrote, about 760, one hundred and
ninety-one Sheeltot (Questions), casuistic homilies,
connected with the Five Books of Moses.

47 Yehudai bar Nahman, Gaon of Sura (about 759 or 762), eminent
Talmudist and adversary of the Karaites. He wrote Responsa
and possibly the Halakot, a collection of legal and ritual
rules. He is said to have been blind.

48 Isaac Abrabanel was possibly the only Jew who unmasked
Josephus and revealed his lies and flatteries. Judah Sir
Leon (see chap. XI, p.194) recognized that Kalir was not
identical with the Tanna Eleazar ben Simon.

49 Of Tahort, Northern Africa. He lived at the end of the ninth
century and the beginning of the tenth.

50 See chap. VI, p.127 and Note 91.

51 Exception can scarcely be made in favor of the preamble to
the Song of Songs and the shorter one to Zechariah. In the
one he briefly characterizes the Haggadic method; in the
other he speaks of the visions of Zechariah, which, he says,
are as obscure as dreams.

52 At the end of the gloss the explanations of Menahem ben Saruk
and Dunash ben Labrat are reproduced. This is without doubt
a later addition. For these two Spanish grammarians, see Note
91.

58 Evidently it was not Rashi who commented on the work of
Alfasi, his contemporary. It was a German Jew, who abridged
the commentary of the French rabbi in order to make it
harmonize with the work of the illustrious Spanish Talmudist.
For several treatises the German Jew had more authentic texts
than are now available. He sometimes cites Rashi by name.
See J. Perles, Die Berner Handschrift des kleinen
Aruch, in Jubelschrift Graetz, 1887.

54 See Note 53.

55 The Gallo-Roman dialects are divided into two groups, the
dialects of the langue d'oc (southern) and those of the
langue d'oil (northern). It was Dante who introduced this
somewhat irrational distinction based upon the different ways
of saying "yes," that is, oc and oil (Latin,
hoc and ille).

56 In the middle of the eleventh century, it must be added,
differences between neighboring dialects were not yet very
pronounced.

57 James Darmesteter, Introduction to the Reliques
scientifiques, of his brother Arsene Darmesteter (Paris,
1890), vol. I, p. XVIII.

58 Eliezer ben Nathan, of Mayence (about 1145), correspondent of
Meir and of his sons Samuel and Jacob, author of the work
Eben ha-Ezer, whence the passage quoted has been taken
(Pp.107, p.36a).

59 The Persian word Parshandata, name of one of the sons
of Haman, was divided into Parshan and data,
"expounder of the Law." This epithet is applied to Rashi in
the poem attributed to Ibn Ezra, cited in chap. XI, p.207.

60 Rashi seems also to have known about the Targum of the
Pseudo-Jonathan upon the Pentateuch. See Note 72.

61 Concerning the development of Biblical studies in general,
among Jews as well as Christians, see pp.127 et seq.

62 L. Wogue, Histoire de la Bible et de l'exegese
biblique, p.250.

63 See p.38. This Midrash is taken from the Tanhuma.

64 Psalms cxi. 6. Rashi cites the Biblical verses themselves,
often only in part; but he did not know the division of the
Bible into chapters and verses, which was made at a later day
and was of Christian origin. Sometimes Rashi cites a verse
by indicating the weekly lesson in which it occurs, or by
giving the paragraph a title drawn from its contents, or from
the name of the hero of the narrative.

65 Proverbs viii. 22.

66 Jeremiah ii. 3.

67 The rule, however, has exceptions. Even according to Rashi's
opinion, the word is in the absolute in Dent. xxxiii. 21 and
Is. xlvi. 10. It is true that strictly speaking one might
say the exceptions are only apparent.

68 "We will praise and we will celebrate."

69 For the meaning of this expression, see p.107. The source
here is still the Talmudic treatise Sanhedrin 91b.

70 Rashi here cites Is. xiv. 25, inaccurately.

71 Here Rashi might have cited also I Kings xii. 17.

72 This interpretation, taken without doubt from Pseudo-Jonathan
(see Note 60), explains the demonstrative pronoun. What
follows is taken from the Mekilta (see Note 38).

73 In fact the Targum translates it, "I will build Him a
temple."

74 Still according to the Mekilta. The Song of Songs is often
applied by Jewish exegetes to the events of the Exodus from
Egypt.

75 The French laaz is corrupted in the editions. The
reading should be <H>peri shnt Pe Resh Yod, Shin Noon
followed by gershayim Samech</H>.

76 Name of the last portion of Exodus. Rashi alludes to Ex.
xxxviii. 27.

77 Without doubt the murex, which gives the purple dye. The
details are taken from the Talmud (treatise Menahot 44a at
the top).

78 A fantastic bit of etymology taken from the Talmud.

79 Ex. xxvii. 20.

80 Next to last portion of Exodus (xxx. 22 et seq.).

81 Portion preceding next to last of Exodus.

82 Ex. xxviii. 6.

83 lb. and 15. The first of these passages is
noteworthy, Rashi says about It: "If I tried to explain how
these two objects are made according to the text, the
explanation would be fragmentary, and the reader would not
get an idea of the whole. So I will first give a complete
description of them, to which the reader can refer. After
that I will explain the text verse by verse. The ephod
resembles the robe worn by the Amazons,'" etc.

84 L. Wogue.

85 This is a distinction made in Hebrew but not rendered in the
English version.

86 I Sam. xxiii. 14.

87 And not "shadow of death," which is etymologically
impossible, though it is a rendition employed by most
commentators.

88 See Note 91.

89 Collection of Midrashim long attributed to Simon Kara, father
of a disciple of Rashi. This valuable compilation, which
deals with the entire Bible, dates without doubt from the
first half of the thirteenth century. An unsuccessful
attempt has been made to prove that Rashi knew the
Yalkut. His silence shows, on the contrary, that it
was a later work. The Simon (sometimes Simson) whom he
quotes is not the author of the Yalkut.

90 Commentary on Gen. xxxvii. 1.

91 Menahem ben Saruk, of Tortosa, lived at Cordova about 960
with the celebrated minister and Maecenas, the Jew Hasdai Ibn
Shaprut. He was the author of the Mahberet, one of
the first complete lexicons of the Biblical language, full of
interesting grammatical digressions.

His rival, Dunash ben Labrat, born at Fez, was both poet and
grammarian. He wrote "Refutations" against Menahem, in rhyme
and prose, which were full of impassioned criticisms and
abundantly displayed fresh, correct insight. The polemics of
these two scholars were continued by their disciples and were
ended by Jacob Tam, Rashi's grandson.

92 Abul-Walid Merwan ibn Djanah (among the Jews, R. Jonah), the
most eminent representative of the Spanish school, born at
Cordova about 985; he studied at Lucena, and died at
Saragossa about 1050. Besides small polemic works, he left a
long one, "The Book of Detailed Research," including a
grammar and a dictionary. Ibn Dianab was an original and
profound grammarian. Unfortunately his disciples in
popularizing weakened him.

Judah ben David (Abu Zakaria Yahia lbn Dand) Hayyoudj, who
may be looked upon as the master of Djanah, was originally
from Fez but lived for the greater time at Cordova (end of
the tenth and beginning of the eleventh century). He
inspired remarkable disciples, among others the statesman
Samuel ha-Naggid Ibn Nagdela. He was the first to discover
the triliteral character of all Hebrew roots.

93 Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra (1092-1167), born at Toledo, died
at Rome. He left Spain in about his fortieth year, and
travelled through Europe, reaching also Asia and Africa. The
European countries he visited are Italy, France, England, and
the Provence. It was on his second visit to Italy that he
died at Rome. He wrote for his living and by way of
compensation to his hosts. He was a philosopher, excellent
mathematician, clever poet, and highly subjective writer. In
the domain of philology he brought to the knowledge of
Christian Europe the works of his great predecessors, and if
he was not a very original grammarian, he was at least a
clear-sighted exegete. His Biblical commentaries are held in
high esteem.

Concerning Rashi and Ibn Ezra see also chap. XI, pp.206-7,
and chap. XII, p.220.

94 At this point I think it well to give once for all a summing
up of Talmudic literature. The Talmud is the united mass of
the documents and texts of the oral law. It comprises the
Mishnah and the Gemara, the latter being called also Talmud.
The Mishnah, a collection in six parts and forty-nine
treatises, is the work of numerous generations of scholars.
Its final redaction (setting aside somewhat later additions)
was made by Judah the Saint, or Rabbi (about 150-210). The
texts not incorporated by Rabbi are called Baraitas. The
Gemara is the commentary and the development of the Mishnab,
which it follows step by step, in discussing it and
completing its statements. There are two Gemara collections:
one elaborated in Palestine under the influence of R. Johanan
(199-279) and terminated toward the end of the fourth
century, which Is called the Palestinian or Jerusalem Talmud;
the other drawn up in Babylonia under the influence of Rab
and of Samuel (third century), and brought to a conclusion
about 500 through the initiative of R. Ashi and his
disciples; this Is called the Babylonian Talmud. The latter
covers the greater part of the Mishnah. It is by far the
more important of the two Talmuds from the juridic point of
view, and it is the one that has been the chief subject of
studies and commentaries. The Talmud comprises two elements:
the Halakah, "rule of conduct," legislation, and the
Haggadah, "exposition," which embraces non-Halakic exegesis,
history, legend, profane learning, etc. The scholars whose
discussions are given in the Mishnah are called Tannaim, and
those who figure only in the Gemara, Amoraim.

95 See Appendix II, pp.232-4.

96 See p.91.

97 Hananel ben Hushiel, of Kairnan, first half of the eleventh
century, commented upon the Talmud and the Pentateuch.

98 This false notion gained currency through the existence of
Responsa addressed by Nathan to a certain Solomon ben Isaac:
but this Solomon is an Italian. See Vogelstein and Rieger,
Geschichte der Juden in Rom, I, pp.366 et seq.
For further Information concerning Nathan ben Jehiel, see
Note 121. With regard to recurring names for different
individuals - the plague of Jewish literature - it should be
said that a French rabbi named Solomon ben Isaac lived about
a century after Rashi, who corresponded with R. Tam. He has
been confounded with his illustrious predecessor of the same
name. See Gross, Gallia judaica, p.34. Buber,
Introduction to the Sefer ha-Orah, p.13.

99 See Notes 37 and 38.

100 Another name for the Sadduceans, from their chief Boethus
(first century of the Common Era)

101 Psalm lxxxi. 5, which refers to the new moon. Now, in every
case at least two witnesses are necessary.

102 Lev. xxiii. 40.

103 Ex. xv. 2.

104 "And shalt burn with fire the city" (Deut. xiii. 16).

105 Sukkah 32b. These references placed In parentheses in
Rashi's commentary are the work of the printers, who adopted
the conventional division into folios. Rashi refers only to
the treatise or chapter, at most simply saying "above," or
"below."

106 It is the Latin "scopac."

107 Mal. i. 13.

108 Lev. i. 2.

109 Is. lxi. 8.

110 A city of Judea, called also Tower of Simon.

111 Fifth chapter of Hullin, 79a.

112 The French toile, curtain.

113 Concerning Hananel, see Note 97. R. Isaac b. Jacob alFasi
(the initials form Rif) was born in 1013 near Fez, whence his
name. In 1088 he went to Spain, where he directed the
important school of Lucena. He died in 1103, lamented by all
his fellow-citizens. Besides Responsa, he left the "Halakot,"
or "Little Talmud," which Is a pruning down of the entire
Talmud, so as to present only what is useful for establishing
the norm, deduced by Alfasi himself. It is an important
work, which still enjoys great authority. I have already
remarked (Note 53) that the Rashi commentary was abridged to
make it fit the text of Rif.

114 In these words Rashi displaces another lesson.

115 Parasang is a Persian measure equivalent to 5250 metres
[meters sic], a fact of which Rashi seems to have been
ignorant.

116 According to Hagigah 13a.

117 In the first case it refers to Ahriman, the spirit of evil,
in the second, to Ormuzd, the spirit of good among the
Persians. Lillit in Oriental mythology is a female demon,
who wanders at night and attacks chiefly children.

118 Isaac ben Judah, his master par excellence. Concerning
Rashi's teachers see chap. I, p.29; chap. II, pp.49 et
seq.; chap. III, p.58, etc.

119 Dan. iii. 1.

120 David Ibn Abi Zimra (Radbaz), rabbi of Cairo, who died, it is
said, at Safed in 1589 at the age of 110 years. He left an
Important collection of Responsa.

121 Nathan ben Jehiel, of Rome, born about 1035, died In the
first years of the twelfth century, author of the Aruk, a
highly valued Talmudic dictionary, In which he explains the
words of Talmudic and Midrasbic literature, as well as the
Halakic and Haggadic passages presenting difficulties. The
numerous quotations are no less valuable than the
explanations. Concerning Alfasi, see Note 113.

122 Quoted from Bezalel Ashkenazl, who lived In Egypt (died in
1530). He compiled a Talmudic collection called Shitta
Mekubezet, in which he gathered together extracts from
French, Spanish, and other rabbis. Before him Isaac ben
Sheshet (see Note 150) had said: "The greatest light that has
come to us from France is Rashi. Without his commentary, the
Talmud would be a closed book" (Responsa, No.394).

123 Menahem ben Zerah (about 1312-1385), son of a Jew expelled
from France, wrote in Spain a Talmudic manual entitled
Zedah la-Derek.

124 ConcernIng Rashi's correspondents see chap. II, pp.51-2, and
chap. III, p.57.

125 See chap. I, p.20, and chap. III, p.56.

126 See chap. III, p.67.

127 And not, as has been supposed, that of Cavaillon, In the
county Venaissin, where, possibly, there were not yet any
Jews, and where, at all events, Rashi was not known, as was
the case throughout the south of France, until after his
death.

128 An application, according to the Talmud, of Eccl. ii. 14.

129 This resume is taken from Epstein on Shemaiah, in
Monatsschrift, XLI, also that of Sefer ha-Orah.
Concerning the Machirites, see chap. I, p.29, and chap. II,
p.52; concerning Shemaiah, chap. XI, pp.186-7. The three
communities are sometimes called by the initials of their
names, "communities of Shum" <H>shum (Shin followed by
gershayim Vav followed by gershayim Final_Mem)</H>

In connection with the Sefer ha-Pardes must be
mentioned the work bearing the title of Likkute ha-
Pardes (Extracts from Paradise), a compilation edited in
Italy by the disciples of Isaiah da Trani.

130 See chap. IV, p.84.

131 L. Wogue, Histoire de la Bible et de l'exegese
biblique, pp.254-5.

131 See chap. IX, pp.171-2.

133 See p.162.

134 Rameru, or Ramerupt, situated six miles from Troyes on a
tributary of the Aube. Of old it formed an entire county,
proof of which is furnished by the ditches surrounding it and
the ruins of a castellated stronghold. At the present day it
is the chief city of the Departement de l'Aube.

135 The sort of literature designated by this word will be
defined later on, pp.191-2.

136 Chap. VI, p.125.

137 Concerning the Biblical exegesis of Samuel ben Meir see
pp.196-7.

138 See Note 91.

139 It has been said that "Tossafot" signifies "supplements to
Rashi;" this is not true, but it is noteworthy that the
expression Is open to such a misconstruction.

140 Dampierre on the Aube, at present part of the canton of
Rameru, counted, after the twelfth century, among the most
important lordships in the region.

141 The name "Morel," customary among English Jews, corresponds
to the Hebrew name "Samuel."

142 See pp.202-3.

143 The numeric value of the letters composing the word Gan in
Hebrew is 53, the number of Pentateuch lessons in the annual
cycle.

144 See chap. VII, pp.157-8.

145 Concerning Rashi and Ibn Ezra, see chap. VI, p.131.

146 David Kimhi (1160-1235), of Narbonne, a philosopher, a
follower of Maimonides, a grammarian, and an exegete, who
popularized the works of the Spaniards by his Biblical
commentaries, his grammar, and his dictionary. He enjoyed
and still enjoys a deserved reputation for clearness and
simplicity.

147 Moses ben Nahman, also called Bonastruc da Porta, born at
Gerona in 1195, was a Talmudist, Kabbalist, philosopher, and
physician. In 1263 he carried on a disputation at Barcelona
with the apostate Pablo Christiano. On this account he went
to live in Palestine, where he died in 1270. His was one of
the most original personalities in Spanish Judaism.

148 Solomon ben Abraham ben Adret (1235-1310), born at Barcelona,
rabbi and head of an influential school there. The extent of
his knowledge as well as his moderation won for him a wide
reputation, proof of which is afforded by his intervention as
arbiter in the quarrel between the partisans and the
adversaries of Maimonides, and by his numerous Responsa, of
which about three thousand have been published. Besides, he
wrote Talmudic commentaries and casuistic collections.

149 Asher ben Jehiel, disciple of Meir of Rothenburg, born about
1250, died in 1327 at Toledo, where he was rabbi. Besides
numerous and important Responsa he wrote Talmudic
commentaries and a compendium of the Talmud bearing his name.

150 His initials read Ribash (1336-1408). He exercised
rabbinical functions in several cities of Spain. After the
persecutions of 1391, he went to Algiers, where he was
appointed rabbi. He was well-informed in philosophy, but he
owes his great reputation chiefly to his Talmudic knowledge,
as is proved by his numerous Responsa.

151 Rashbaz, born in 1361 on Majorca, of a family originally from
the Provence. At first he practiced medicine, but, reduced
to poverty by the persecutions of 1391, he resigned himself,
not without scruples, to accepting the emoluments of a rabbi.
He died in 1444 at Algiers, where he had been the co-worker,
then the successor, of Ribash. He is known chiefly for his
commentaries and his Responsa. The passage in question is
taken from these Responsa, No.394. See also Note 122.

152 See chap. II, p.31, and chap. IV, p.80.

153 See chap. II, pp.31-2.

154 The daughter of Solomon Luria married a brother of the famous
Talmudist of Cracow, Moses Isserles (1530-1572) - I will add
that the families of Treves, Pollak, Heller, and
Katzenelienbogen also maintain that they are connected with
Rashi. On the descendants of Rashi, see Epstein,
Mishpahat Lurie we-Kohen-Zedek, In Ha-Goren, I,
Appendix.

155 See chap. II, p.37.

156 This defective edition was replaced by a good critical
edition by David Rosin (Breslan, 1881)

157 L. Wogue, Histoire de la Bible et de l'exegese
biblique, p.319.

158 Abraham Geiger, born in 1810 at Frankfort, died at Berlin in
1874, one of the finest Jewish scholars of the nineteenth
century. His prolific activity was exerted in all provinces
of Jewish history and literature. Besides works upon the
Talmud, the poets, the philosophers, and the exegetes of the
middle ages, he wrote numerous articles in two journals,
which he successively edited. Theologian and distinguished
preacher, he promoted the reform of the Jewish cult in
Germany.

159 Wolf Heidenheim (1757-1832), Talmudist, Hebrew scholar, and
editor. He deserves the sobriquet of the Henri Estienne of
Hebrew letters. The commentary in which he defends Rashi is
entitled Habanat ha-Mikra. Only the beginning, up to
Gen. xliii. 16, has appeared.

160 Isaac Hirsch Weiss (1815-1905), professor at the Bet ha-
Midrash of Vienna, wrote many studies scattered through two
literary magazines edited by him successively, and also an
Important History of Jewish Tradition, in five volumes.

161 Solomon Judah Rapoport, born in 1790, died rabbi of Prague in
1867. Together with Zunz, he was the founder of modern
Jewish science. A distinguished man of letters, he was known
above all for his biographies of celebrated rabbis, for
historic and archaeologic studies, and for an unfinished
encyclopedia.

162 Zechariah Frankel, born at Prague in 1801, after 1854
director of the Seminary at Breslau, where he died in 1875.
He left historic studies on the Mosaic-Talmudic law,
introductions to the Septuagint, the Jerusalem Talmud, and
the Mishnah, and numerous critical and historical works in
the Programs of the Seminary and in the Monatsschrift,
a magazine edited by him from 1851 on.

Comments

RashiChapter XXIII: Book III: Chaps. XI-XII. - The history of Rashi's influence forms

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