Tag: rishonim
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Provence
The term used by Jews to refer to the Jewish communities of what is today the southern third of modern France, encompassing the regions today called Provence, Languedoc, and the Rousillon. Major cities of Jewish Provence in the medieval period include Narbonne, Lunel, Béziers, Montpellier, Perpignan, and Avignon, among others that where home to renowned […]
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Rabbenu Chananel
Rabbenu Chananel ben Chushiel – רבנו חננאל בן חושיאל (d. 1055/56) was the first Talmud commentator in the Sefardi tradition. His commentary was widely used and admired, and is today printed on the outer margin of the standard Vilna Shas. Name(s) Rabbenu Chananel ben Chushielרבנו חננאל בן חושיאל Dates died 1055/56 Region Sefardi – Tunisia […]
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Responsa
Sheelot u-teshuvot – shu”t – שאלות ותשובות – שו”ת – A major genre of halachic literature recording questions (sheelot) and answers (teshuvot) that give pesak halakhah (practical halakhic rulings). There is a voluminous literature of responsa beginning in the period of the Geonim and continuing till today. Earlier collections of responsa may have details removed […]
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Rif
Rav Yitzchak Alfasi – ר’ יצחק אלפס(י) – known as the Rif (1013–1103), author of the immensely important Halachot ha-Rif, a proto-code and abridgement of the legal portions of the Talmud. The Rif was born in Algeria, studying in Qayrawan (Kairouan), and established himself in Fez, though he was impelled to flee and made his […]
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Ritva
R. Yom Tov ben Avraham Ishvili (“of Seville”) – ריטב”א – ר’ יום טוב בן אברהם אשבילי (c. 1250–1330) is one of the foremost Sefardi commentators on the Talmud. Life Though his family was apparently from Seville in southern Spain, Ritva is associated with Zaragoza (Saragossa) in Aragon, where he was a dayan (rabbinical court […]
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Tzarfat
צרפת – The Jewish community of northern France in the medieval period, part of greater Ashkenaz but known as Tzarfat in its own right. The name is taken from Ovadia 1:20, from which the term Sefarad is also drawn. With centers in Paris, Troyes, Rouen, Ramerupt, Évreux, Corbeil, Sens, Dampierre, Coucy, and other towns, this […]