Tag: Sefarad
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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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Rashba
רשב”א – ר’ שלמה בן אברהם אבן אדרת – R. Shlomo b. Avraham Ibn Adret (c. 1235 to c. 1310, Barcelona), was a major Sefardi posek (decisor), the successor of Ramban, with whom he studied, although his principal teacher was Rabbenu Yonah (b. Avraham Gerondi). Rashba was himself the teacher of celebrated pupils, including the…
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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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The Rosh
ר’ אשר בן יחיאל – רא”ש – R. Asher b. Yechiel (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 in bringing knowledge and methods of learning…
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Zaragoza (Saragossa)
Zaragoza, a city in the region of Aragon in northeastern Spain, is commonly known as Saragossa in English, סרקרסטה or סרקסטה in medieval Hebrew. It had a notable Jewish community in the medieval period, both under Muslim and Christian rule. A Roman city in antiquity, Zaragoza was conquered by Muslims in the seventh century and…