Or Zarua | אור זרוע

This page is part of my Twitter Thread Index. Every Sunday, I post a thread on Twitter about a figure from Jewish history and why their work matters. The threads are collected in browsable form in the index.

R. Yitzchak ben Moshe of Vienna (c. 1180-c. 1250), better known by the title of his great halachic compendium, the Or Zarua, traveled throughout Ashkenaz, learning from Tosafists and Hasidim and recording it all in his massive work, first printed some 600 years after it was written.

Companion Newsletter: Coffee with the Or Zarua

600 years after he put down his pen, Yitzchak Or Zarua’s masterpiece was published. Sort of.

But his Torah changed the world. It comes down to us as an authoritative early source of Ashkenazi tradition.

This is the story of R. Yitzchak ben Moshe of Vienna, the Or Zarua. pic.twitter.com/E8GT2WGvgj

— Dr. Tamar Marvin (@tamar_marvin) December 12, 2022