משה הדרשן – Active during the first half of the 11th century in Narbonne, Provence (southern France), Moshe ha-Darshan was known as a compiler of midrash. The appellation ha-darshan probably pertains to this activity rather than preaching. Moshe ha-Darshan almost certainly headed a beit midrash in his home city, one of the early established Jewish…
Category: Rishonim
Radak
ר”דק – ר’ דוד קמחי – R. David b. Yosef Kimchi – c. 1160-c. 1235 – Lived in Narbonne, Provence (southern France) and best known for his Tanakh commentaries to BeReshit, Neviim, Tehillim, and Divrei Ha-Yamim. Radak was the son of R. Yosef Kimchi, a Sefardi émigré to Provence notable as an early translator of…
Rashba
רשב”א – ר’ שלמה בן אברהם אבן אדרת – R. Shelomo b. Avraham Ibn Adret – c. 1235 to c. 1310 in Barcelona (in the region of Catalunya in northeastern Iberia), was a major Sefardi posek (decisor) and respected scholar, and the successor of Ramban, with whom he studied, although his principal teacher was Rabbenu…
Rishonim
Former authorities, literally, “First Ones,” meaning Torah scholars who lived after the period of the Geonim, traditionally dated 1038 CE, and before the compilation of the Shulhan ‘Arukh in 1563, which marks the beginning of the period of Aharonim, latter authorities or “Last Ones.” Among the most well-known and impactful Rishonim are Rif,Rashi, Rambam, the…
The Rosh
רבנו אשר – ר’ אשר בן יחיאל – רא”ש – R. Asher b. Yechiel – Rabbenu Asher – c. 1250-1327 – Primarily known for his responsa, Rosh was already an acknowledged leader of German Jewry when he fled persecution, settling in Toledo, Castile (in present-day Spain). The Rosh’s immigration from Ashkenaz to Sefarad was impactful…