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FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.12.12.00*END* + + + + + +NOTES: <I> ... </I> bracket italics in the original + + <H> ... </H> bracket English transliterations of Hebrew + terms which appeared in this location in the + original text. The transliterations were created + with the aid of Rabbi Manes Kogan of Beth Israel + Synagogue in Roanoke, Virginia during fall, 2000. + Occasionally no transliteration was available. + When transliterating a multi word phrase, the + transliteration is done using the Hebrew word + ordering of right to left. Following the + transliteration, if present, but still within the + brackets, are the parenthesized names of the Hebrew + letters. The name of each letter is capitalized, + and multiple words are separated by commas. + + In all cases, the closing bracket will include any + punctuation that immediately followed the associated + textual material. + + The Hebrew letters, vowels and punctuation are named + according to the Unicode standard (which is itself + based upon ISO 8859-8) as follows: (The Unicode + value is in hexadecimal). + + Vowel Unicode Letter Unicode + Sheva 05B0 Alef 05D0 + Hataf Segol 05B1 Bet 05D1 + Hataf Patah 05B2 Gimel 05D2 + Hataf Qamats 05B3 Dalet 05D3 + Hiriq 05B4 He 05D4 + Tsere 05B5 Vav 05D5 + Segol 05B6 Zayin 05D6 + Patah 05B7 Het 05D7 + Qamats 05B8 Tet 05D8 + Holam 05B9 Yod 05D9 + <unused> 05BA Final Kaf 05DA + Qubuts 05BB Kaf 05DB + Dagesh 05BC Lamed 05DC + Meteg 05BD Final Mem 05DD + Maqaf 05BE Mem 05DE + Rafe 05BF Final Nun 05DF + Paseq 05C0 Nun 05E0 + Shin dot 05C1 Samekh 05E1 + Sin dot 05C2 Ayin 05E2 + Sof Pasuq 05C3 Final Pe 05E3 + Pe 05E4 + Other punctuation Final Tsadi 05E5 + Geresh 05F3 Tsadi 05E6 + Gershayim 05F4 Qof 05E7 + Resh 05E8 + Shin 05E9 + Tav 05EA + + [#] bracketed #s are superscripts in the original and + note identification numbers. There are some problems + with these. Note #4 (Chapter 1) is not referenced + in the text. Note #36 appears twice (Chapter 4) and + #102 appears twice in Chapter 7. + + hyphenation of terms is suppressed, so any hyphens + appearing at the end of the line are infix grouping + operators from the original. + + Two spaces or eol follow each sentence terminator. + + One blank line separates each paragraph. + + Multiline quotations (that are in a different font in + the original), are here indented 3 spaces + + Reference 3 is at the bottom of page 20 in the original, + Reference 5 is at the top of page 23, I cannot find + Reference 4 anywhere. + + Spelling errors are denoted by [correct_spelling sic]. + Most of these are just variants and currently archaic + terms, but some appear to be actual errors. Correct + version is from my on line dictionary, or when in doubt, + from my printed Collegiate Dictionary. This is also used + when, IMHO, there is an error in the text. + + + The index is not included, as the pagination used in it is + irrelevant. + + The duplication of reference [36], ([36],[37],[36],[38]) in + chapter 4 is in the original. + + There are many places (see especially chapter 6) where an + unbalanced right square bracket appears, often after either + an italicized phrase or a Hebrew phrase. These are in + the original. + + + RASHI + + BY + + MAURICE LIBER + + + + + + TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH + + BY + + ADELE SZOLD + + + + THE JEWISH PUBLICATION SOCIETY OF AMERICA + + + TO THE MEMORY OF + + ZADOC-KAHN + + GRAND-RABBIN OF FRANCE + + + PREFACE + ----- + +Some months ago the Jewish world celebrated the eight hundredth +anniversary of the death of Rashi, who died at Troyes in 1105. +On that occasion those whose knowledge authorizes them to speak +gave eloquent accounts of his life and work. Science and +devotion availed themselves of every possible medium-lectures and +books, journals and reviews-to set forth all we owe to the +illustrious Rabbi. The writer ventures to express the hope that +in the present volume he has made at least a slight contribution +toward discharging the common debt of the Jewish nation-that it +is not utterly unworthy of him whose name it bears. + +This volume, however, is not a product of circumstances; it was +not written on the occasion of the centenary celebration. It was +designed to form one of the series of the biographies of Jewish +Worthies planned by the JEWISH PUBLICATION SOCIETY OF AMERICA, +the first issue of which was devoted to Maimonides. The +biography of Rashi is the second of the series. It is not for the +author to endorse the order adopted, but he hazards the opinion +that the readers will find the portrait of Rashi no unfitting +companion-piece even to that of the author of the <I>Moreh.</I> + +Jewish history may include minds more brilliant and works more +original than Rashi's. But it is incontestable that he is one of +those historical personages who afford a double interest; his own +personality is striking and at the same time he is the +representative of a civilization and of a period. He has this +double interest for us to an eminent degree. His physiognomy has +well-marked, individual features, and yet he is the best exponent +of French Judaism in the middle ages. He is somebody, and he +represents something. Through this double claim, he forms an +integral part of Jewish history and literature. There are great +men who despite their distinguished attributes stand apart from +the general intellectual movements. They can be estimated +without reference to an historical background. Rashi forms, so to +say, an organic part of Jewish history. A whole department of +Jewish literature would be enigmatical without him. Like a star +which leaves a track of light in its passage across the skies, +Rashi aroused the enthusiasm of his contemporaries, but no less +was he admired and venerated by posterity, and to-day, after the +lapse of eight centuries, he is, as the poet says, "still young +in glory and immortality." + +His name is most prominently connected with Rabbinical +literature. Whether large questions are dealt with, or the +minutest details are considered, it is always Rashi who is +referred to-he has a share in all its destinies, and he seems +inseparable from it forever. + +It is this circumstance that makes the writing of his biography +as awkward a task for the writer as reading it may be for the +public. To write it one must be a scholar, to read it a +specialist. To know Rashi well is as difficult as it is +necessary. Singularly enough, popular as he was, he was +essentially a Talmudist, and at no time have connoisseurs of the +Talmud formed a majority. This is the reason why historians like +Graetz, though they dilate upon the unparalleled qualities of +Rashi's genius, can devote only a disproportionately small number +of pages to him and his works. + +Though the writer has throughout been aware of the difficulties +inherent in his task, yet he is also conscious that he has +sometimes succeeded in removing them only by eluding them. In +parts, when the matter to be treated was unyielding, it became +necessary to dwell on side issues, or fill up gaps and replace +obscurities by legends and hypotheses. The object in view being +a book popular in character and accessible to all, technical +discussions had to be eschewed. Many knotty points had to be +brushed aside lightly, and the most debatable points passed over +in silence. These are the sacrifices to which one must resign +himself, though it requires self-restraint to do it consistently. +The reader may, therefore, not expect to find new data in these +pages, new facts and texts not published before. If the book has +any merit, it is that it presents the actual state of knowledge +on the subject, and the author anticipates the charge of +plagiarism by disclaiming any intention of producing an original +work. Recondite sources have not always been referred to, in +order not to overload a text which at best is apt to tax the +reader's powers of attention. Such references and special remarks +as were deemed necessary have been incorporated either in Notes +placed at the end of the book, or in an Appendix containing a +bibliography. There the works are mentioned to which the author +is chiefly indebted, and which his readers may profitably consult +if they desire to pursue the subject further. + +The author desires to express his appreciation of the work of the +translator, whose collaboration was all the more valuable as the +revision of the book had to be made, after an interval of almost +two years, under most unfavorable conditions, aggravated by the +distance between the writer and the place of publication. The +readers will themselves judge of the skill with which the +translator has acquitted herself of her task, and the author +gladly leaves to her the honor and the responsibility for the +translation. + +But how can I express all I owe to M. Israel Levi, my honored +master? Without him this work would never have been begun, +without him I should never have dared carry it to completion. I +have contracted a debt toward him 'which grows from day to day, +and I discharge but the smallest portion of it by dedicating this +volume to the memory of his never-to-be-forgotten father-in-law, +the Grand-Rabbin Zadoc-Kahn. M. Zadoc-Kahn made a name for +himself in Jewish letters by his <I>Etudes sur le livre de Joseph +le Zelateur,</I> dealing with one of the most curious domains of +that literature in which Rashi was the foremost representative. +One of his last public acts was the appeal which he issued on the +occasion of the Rashi centenary. It is not a slight satisfaction +to me to know that these pages passed under his eyes in +manuscript. + + M. LIBER + + CHALONS-SUR-MARNE, March, 1906 + + CONTENTS + + PREFACE + (page 3) + + INTRODUCTION + (page 13) + + BOOK I--RASHI THE MAN + + CHAPTER I + + THE JEWS OF FRANCE IN THE ELEVENTH CENTURY +Dispersion of the Jews-Their Appearance in Gaul. + + I. Material and Political Condition of the Jews of France in +the Eleventh Century-Their Occupations-Their Relations with the +Christians-General Instruction and Religious Life-Limitations of +their Literature. + + II. Rabbinical Culture--Part played by Italy-The Kalonymides- +The Schools of Lorraine-Rabbenu Gershom, Meor ha-Golah-His Work +and Influence--Contemporaries and Disciples of Gershom-Movement +reaches its Climax with Rashi.............................page 17 + + + CHAPTER II + + THE YOUTH AND EDUCATION OF RASHI +Difficulties of Writing a Biography of Rashi-History and Legend. + + I. The Periods into which Rashi's Life may be divided-His +Names-Rashi and Yarhi-Troyes in the Middle of the Eleventh +Century-The Fairs of Champagne-The Community of Troyes-The Family +of Rashi and its Fame in Legend-Childhood-Education of Children +among the Jews of France in the Middle Ages-Higher Instruction +among the Jews and the Christians-Alleged Journeys and Adventures +of Rashi. + + II. Rashi in Lorraine--Position of the Jews in Lorraine--Their +Relations with the Jews of France-Schools of Worms and Mayence- +Masters of Rashi and their Influence upon him-His Colleagues and +Correspondents...........................................page 31 + + + CHAPTER III + + RASHI AT TROYES-LAST YEARS +Rashi settles in his Birthplace. + +I. New Centre [center sic] of Studies-Rashi and the City of +Troyes-Spiritual Activity and Authority of Rashi-Rashi founds a +School-His Authority and Teachings-His Relations with his +Teachers-He writes his Commentaries-Marriage of his Three +Daughters-His Sons-In-law and Grand-children-A Jewish Marriage in +the Middle Ages-The Domestic Virtues-The Education and Position +of Woman among the Jews. + + II. The Crusades-What they actually were-Massacres in the +Jewries along the Moselie and the Rhine-Rashi and the Apostates- +Rashi and Godfrey of Bouillon-Consequences of the Crusades-End of +Rashi's Life--Legends connected with his Death-Rashi's Death at +Troyes....................................................page 53 + + + CHAPTER IV + + CHARACTER AND LEARNING OF RASHI + +Rashi's Spiritual Physiognomy-Sources. + + I. The Man and his Intellect-Depth and Naivete of his Faith-His +Goodness, Extreme Modesty, and Love of Truth-Attitude in Regard +to his Masters-His Correspondents and his Pupils. + + II. The Scholar-Alleged Universality of his Knowledge-Wherein +his Knowledge was limited, and wherein extended-Rashi's Library- +The Authors he cites, and the Authorities to whom he appeals- +Lacunae in his Knowledge--Sureness of his Knowledge.......page 73 + + + BOOK II-THE WORK OF RASHI + + CHAPTER V + THE COMMENTARIES-GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS + +Composition of the Commentaries on the Bible and the Talmud-Their + Character and their Limitations-The Explanations-Clearness, + Accuracy, Brevity-The French Glosses, or Laazim-Their + Function-Their Philologle Importance--The Works treating of + them...................................................page 89 + + + CHAPTER VI + THE BIBLICAL COMMENTARIES + +Rashi, the Commentator par excellence of the Bible-His + Authorities-The Targumim, the Massorah-The Talmud and the + Midrash-Exegesis before Rashi-The Peshat and the Derash + (Literary Method and Free Method)-The Study of the Bible among + the Christians and among the Jews-The Extent to which Rashi + used the Two Methods-Various Examples-Anti-Christian Polemics- + Causes of the Importance attached to Derash-Rashi and Samuel + ben Meir-Rashi's Grammar-Rashi and the Spaniards-His Knowledge + of Hebrew-Rashi compared with Modern Exegetes and with Abraham + Ibn Ezra-Homely Character of the Biblical Commentaries-Their + Popularity............................................page 104 + + + CHAPTER VII + THE TALMUDIC COMMENTARIES + +Differences between the Biblical and the Talmudic Commentaries- + Composition-Wherein Rashi imitates and wherein he is Original- + His Predecessors-His Method-Establishment of the Text-The + Commentary a Grammatical Guide--Accuracy and Soundness of his + Explanations-Examples-Rashi as an Historian-Rashi and the + Halakah-Rashi and the Haggadah-Citations-Value and Fortune of + the Talmudic Commentaries.............................page 135 + + + CHAPTER VIII + THE RESPONSA + +Rashi decides Questions of Law-Rabbinical Responsa as a Form of + Literature-Historic Interest attaching to those of Rashi- + Relations between Jews and Christians-Rashi and the Apostates- + He preaches Concord in Families and Communities-Rashi's + Character as manifested in his Responsa-The Naivete, Strength, + and tolerance of his Faith.......................... page 159 + + + CHAPTER IX + WORKS COMPOSED UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF RASHI + +Character of these Works-The Sefer ha-Pardes and the Sefer + ha-Ora-The Mahzor Vitry-The Elements and the Redactors of + these Works-Their Interest and their Value...........page 169 + + + CHAPTER X + POETRY ATTRIBUTED TO RASHI + +Liturgical Poetry at the Time of Rashi-The Selihot attributed to + Rashi-Their Technique--Sentiments therein + expressed-Quotations-Their Poetic Value...............page 173 + + + + BOOK Ill-THE INFLUENCE OF RASHI + + CHAPTER XI + FROM THE DEATH OF RASHI TO THE EXPULSION OF THE JEWS FROM FRANCE + +Rashi's Influence upon Biblical and Talmudic Literature. + + I. Rashi and the Talmudic Movement in France-His Principal +Disciples-Shemaiah-His Two Sons-in-law, Judah ben Nathan and Meir +ben Samuel-The School of Rameru-The Four Sons of Meir-Samuel ben +Meir, his Intellect and his Work-Jacob Tam, his Life and +Influence--His Disciples and Works-The Tossafot-Method of the +Tossafists and their Relation to Rashi-The School of Dampierre- +Isaac ben Samuel the Elder and his Disciples-The School of Paris- +Judah Sir Leon; his Chief pupils-Jehiel of Meaux and his French +and German Disciples-Redaction of the Tossafot. + + II. Rashi and the Biblical Movement in France--The Commentary +on the Pentateuch by Samuel ben Meir-His Disciples-Joseph Kara +and Joseph Bekor-Shor-Their Rational Exegesis-Decadence of +Biblical Exegesis-The Tossafot on the Pentateuch; Chief +Collections; their Character-Rashi and Christian Exegesis- +Nicholas de Lyra and Luther-Decadence of French Judaism from the +Expulsion of 1181 to that of 1396. + + III. Rashi's Influence outside of France-Rashi in the Orient; +in the Provence-Evidences of his Reputation: in Italy: in Spain- +How Abraham Ibn Ezra judged Rashi-David kimhi-Kabbalistic +Exegesis-Nahmanides-Solomon ben Adret, Nissim Gerundi, and Asher +ben Jehiel.............................................. page 183 + + + CHAPTER XII + FROM THE EXPULSION OF THE JEWS FROM FRANCE TO THE PRESENT TIME + +Rashi In Foreign Countries-Rashi's Influence on the Italians; on + Elijahst Spanish Talmudists-Elljah Mizrahi-Rashi's Popularity- + His Descendants-The Family of Lurla-The Authors of Super- + Commentaries and of Hiddushim-Rashi and Printing-The + Renaissance--Rashi and the Hebrew Scholars among the + Christians of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries- + Breithaupt-Rashi in the Eighteenth Century-Moses Mendelssohn + and the Blurists-Rashi In the Nineteenth Century-The Eighth + Centenary of his Death................................page 210 + + + CONCLUSION + (page 222) + + + APPENDIX I + + + THE FAMILY OF RASHI + (page 227) + + + APPENDIX II + + + BIBLIOGRAPHY + (page 231) + + + NOTES + (page 241) + + + INDEX + (page 261) + + + INTRODUCTION + +A people honors itself in honoring the great men who have +interpreted its thought, who are the guardians of its genius. It +thus renders merited homage and pays just tribute to those who +have increased the treasures of its civilization and added a new +feature to its moral physiognomy; it establishes the union of +ideas that assures the conservation of the national genius, and +maintains and perpetuates the consciousness of the nation. +Finally, it manifests consciousness of its future in taking +cognizance of its past, and in turning over the leaves of its +archives, it defines its part and mission in history. The study +of men and facts in the past permits of a sounder appreciation of +recent efforts, of present tendencies; for "humanity is always +composed of more dead than living," and usually "the past is what +is most vital in the present." + +No people has greater need than the Jews to steep itself again in +the sources of its existence, and no period more than the present +imposes upon it the duty of bringing its past back to life. +Scattered over the face of the globe, no longer constituting a +body politic, the Jewish people by cultivating its intellectual +patrimony creates for itself an ideal fatherland; and mingled, as +it is, with its neighbors, threatened by absorption into +surrounding nations, it recovers a sort of individuality by the +reverence it pays to men that have given best expression to its +peculiar genius. + +But the Jewish people, its national life crushed out of it, +though deprived of all political ambitions, has yet regained a +certain national solidarity through community of faith and +ideals; and it has maintained the cohesion of its framework by +the wholly spiritual bonds of teaching and charity. This is the +picture it presents throughout the middle ages, during the period +which, for Christianity, marked an eclipse of the intellect and, +as it were, an enfeeblement of the reason to such a degree that +the term middle ages becomes synonymous with intellectual +decadence. "But," said the historian Graetz, "while the sword +was ravaging the outer world, and the people devoted themselves +to murderous strife, the house of Jacob cared only that the light +of the mind burn on steadily and that the shadows of darkness be +dissipated. If a religion may be judged by its principal +representatives, the palm must be awarded to Judaism in the tenth +to the thirteenth century." Its scholars, therefore, its +philosophers, and its poets render Judaism illustrious, and by +their works and their renown shed a radiant light upon its +history. + +Maimonides is one of those eminent spirits in whom was reflected +the genius of the Jewish people and who have in turn contributed +to the development of its genius.[1] Maimonides, however, was +also more than this; perhaps he presents as much of interest from +the point of view of Arabic as of Jewish culture; and expressing +more than the Jewish ideal, he does not belong to the Jews +entirely. Of Rashi, on the contrary, one may say that he is a +Jew to the exclusion of everything else. He is no more than a +Jew, no other than a Jew. + + + BOOK I + RASHI THE MAN + + ------- + + CHAPTER I + + THE JEWS OF FRANCE IN THE + ELEVENTH CENTURY + +Great men - and Rashi, as we shall see, may be counted among +their number - arrive at opportune times. Sometimes we +congratulate them for having disappeared from history in good +season; it would be just as reasonable, or, rather, just as +unreasonable, to be grateful to them for having come at exactly +the right juncture of affairs. The great man, in fact, is the +man of the moment; he comes neither too soon, which spares him +from fumbling over beginnings and so clogging his own footsteps, +nor too late, which prevents him from imitating a model and so +impeding the development of his personality. He is neither a +precursor nor an epigone, neither a forerunner nor a late-comer. +He neither breaks the ground nor gleans the harvest: he is the +sower who casts the seed upon a field ready to receive it and +make it grow. + +It is, therefore, of some avail for us to devote several pages to +the history of the Jews of Northern France in the eleventh +century, especially in regard to their intellectual state and +more especially in regard to their rabbinical culture. If +another reason were needed to justify this preamble, I might +invoke a principle long ago formulated and put to the test by +criticism, namely, that environment is an essential factor in the +make-up of a writer, and an intellectual work is always +determined, conditioned by existing circumstances. The principle +applies to Rashi, of whom one may say, of whom in fact Zunz has +said, he is the representative <I>par excellence</I> of his time +and of his circle. + + * * * * * + +In the great migratory movement beginning at the dawn of the +Christian era, which scattered the Jews to the four corners of +the globe, and which was accentuated and precipitated by the +misfortunes that broke over the population of Palestine, France, +or, more exactly, Gaul, was colonized by numbers of Jews. If we +believe in the right of the first occupant, we ought to consider +the French Jews more French than many Frenchmen. Conversions +must at first have been numerous, and the number of apostates +kept pace with the progress of Christianity. + +In the south of France, there were Jewish communities before the +fifth century; in Burgundy and Touraine, in the first half of the +sixth century; and in Austrasia, at the end of the same century. +From the Provence, they ascended the Rhone and the Saone. Others +reached Guienne and Anjou.[2] + +Although disturbed at times by the canons of various distrustful +Church councils, or by the sermons of a few vehement bishops, the +Jews on the whole led a peaceful, though not a very prosperous, +existence, which has left scarcely any traces in history and +literature. Aside from a few unimportant names and facts, these +centuries mark a gap in the history of the Jews of France, as in +that of their Christian neighbors; and literature, as it always +does, followed the political and economic destinies of the +nation. From the fifth to the tenth century, letters fell into +utter decay, despite the momentary stimulus given by Charlemagne. +The human intellect, to borrow from Guizot, had reached the nadir +of its course. This epoch, however, was not entirely lost to +civilization. The Jews applied themselves to studies, the taste +for which developed more and more strongly. If as yet they could +not fly with their own wings, they remained in relation with the +centres [centers sic] of rabbinical life, the academies in +Babylonia, exchanging the products of the mind at the same time +that they bartered merchandise. This slow process of incubation +was perforce fruitful of results. + + I + +It was in the tenth century, when the political and social +troubles that had agitated Europe since the fall of the Roman +Empire were calmed, that the Jews came forth from their semi- +obscurity, either because their numbers had increased, or because +their position had become more stable, or because they were +ready, after mature preparation, to play their part in the +intellectual world. + +At this time, the Jews of Northern France nearly without +exception enjoyed happy conditions of existence. From their +literature, rather scholarly than popular, we learn chiefly of +their schools and their rabbis; yet we also learn from it that +their employments were the same as those of the other inhabitants +of the country. They were engaged in trade, many attaining +wealth; and a number devoted themselves to agriculture. They +possessed fields and vineyards, for neither the ownership of land +nor residence in the country was forbidden them; and they were +also employed in cattle raising. Often they took Christians into +their service. + +But the Jews, although they attached themselves to the soil and +tried to take root there, were essentially an urban population. +They owned real estate and devoted themselves to all sorts of +industries. They were allowed to be workmen and to practice every +handicraft, inasmuch as the guilds, those associations, partly +religious in character, which excluded the Jews from their +membership rolls, did not begin to be established until the +twelfth century. Sometimes a Jew was entrusted with a public +office, as a rule that of collector of taxes. Not until later, +about the twelfth century, when forced by men and circumstances, +did the Jews make a specialty of moneylending. + +The strength of the Jews resided in the fact that they were +organized in communities, which were marked by intense +solidarity, and in which harmony and tranquillity [tranquility +sic] were assured by the rabbinical institutions. Failure to +respect these institutions was punished by excommunication-a +severe penalty, for the excommunicated man encountered the hate +of his co-religionists and was driven to baptism.[3] + +At the head of the communities were provosts (<I>praepositi</I>), +charged with surveillance over their interests, and doubtless +their representatives before the civil authority. Many Jews were +highly esteemed by the kings or seigneurs, holding positions of +honor and bearing honorific titles; but in general the Jews of +France, unlike those of Spain, were not permitted to take part in +the government, or even have a share in the political life of the +nation. They contented themselves with the enjoyment of the +fruits of their labor and the peaceful practice of their +religion. They were the less disturbed because they lived under +a special <I>regime.</I> Being neither French nor Christian, they +were therefore not citizens; they formed a state within the +state, or rather a colony within the state, and, being neither +nobles nor serfs, they did not have to render military service. +They administered their internal affairs, and in general were not +amenable to civil or ecclesiastical legislation. For the +solution of their legal difficulties they applied to the +rabbinical tribunals. In all other respects they were dependent +upon the lord of the lands upon which they established +themselves, provided they were not under the <I>tutelle et +mainbournie</I> of the king. In either case they had to pay taxes +and constitute themselves a constantly flowing source of revenues +for their protectors. + +The Jews lived on a basis of good understanding with their +neighbors, and came into frequent intercourse with them. Even +the clergy maintained relations with Jewish scholars. It was the +incessant efforts of the higher ecclesiastics and of the papacy +that little by little created animosity against the Jews, which +at the epoch of Rashi was still not very apparent. The +collections of canonical law by force of tradition renewed the +humiliating measures prescribed by the last Roman emperors. + +The Jews throughout France spoke French; and they either had +French names or gave their Hebrew names a French form. In the +rabbinical writings cities are designated by their real names, or +by Hebrew names more or less ingeniously adapted from the Latin +or Romance. With the secularization of their names, the Jews +adopted, at least partially, the customs and, naturally, also the +superstitions of their countrymen. The valuable researches of +Gudemann and Israel Levi show how much the folklore of the two +races have in common. Moreover, when two peoples come in contact, +no matter how great the differences distinguishing them, they are +bound to exert mutual influence upon each other. No impervious +partitions exist in sociology. + +It would thus be an anachronism to represent the Jews of the +eleventh century as pale and shabby, ever bearing the look of +hunted animals, shamefaced, depressed by clerical hate, royal +greed, and the brutality of the masses. In the Jewries of France +at this time there was nothing sad or sombre, [somber sic] no +strait-laced orthodoxy, no jargon, no disgraceful costume, none +of that gloomy isolation betokening distrust, scorn, and hate. + +The practical activity of the Jews, their business interests, and +their consequent wealth did not stifle intellectual ideals. On +the contrary, thanks to the security assured them, they could +devote themselves to study. Their rich literature proves they +could occupy themselves at the same time with mental and material +pursuits. "For a people to produce scholars, it is necessary +that it be composed of something other than hard-hearted usurers +and sordid business men. The literary output is a thorough test +of social conditions."[5] Moreover, the intellectual status of a +people always bears relation to its material and economic +condition, and so, where the Jews enjoyed most liberty and +happiness, their literature has been richest and most brilliant. + +From an intellectual point of view the Jews resembled the people +among whom they lived. Like them, they were pious, even extremely +devout; and they counted few unbelievers among their number. +Sometimes it happened that a religious person failed to obey +precepts, but no one contested the foundations of belief. In the +matter of religion, it is true, outward observance was guarded +above everything else. The Jews, settled as they were on foreign +soil, came to attach themselves to ceremonials as the surest +guarantees of their faith. Naturally superstitions prevailed at +an epoch marked by a total lack of scientific spirit. People +believed in the existence of men without shadows, in evil demons, +and so on. The Jews, however, were less inclined to such +conceptions than the Christians, who in every district had places +of pilgrimage at which they adored spurious bones and relics. + +It would be altogether unjust not to recognize the ethical +results of the constant practice of the law, which circumscribed +the entire life of the Jew. Talmudic legislation must not be +regarded, as it sometimes is, as an oppressive yoke, an +insufferable fetter. Its exactions do not make it tyrannical, +because it is loyally and freely accepted, accepted even with +pleasure. The whole life of the Jew is taken into consideration +beforehand, its boundaries are marked, its actions controlled. +But this submission entails no self-denial; it is voluntary and +the reason is provided with sufficient motives. Indeed, it is +remarkable what freedom and breadth thought was able to maintain +in the very bosom of orthodoxy. + + "The observance of the Law and, consequently, the study of + the Law formed the basis of this religion. With the fall of + the Temple the one place disappeared in which the Divine + cult could legitimately be performed; as a result the Jews + turned for the expression of their religious sentiment with + all the more ardor toward the Law, now become the real + sanctuary of Judaism torn from its native soil, the + safeguard of the wandering race, the one heritage of a + glorious and precious past. The recitation and study of the + Law took the place of religious ceremonies-hence the name + "school" (<I>Schul</I>) for houses of worship in France and + in Germany. The endeavor was made to give the Law definite + form, to develop it, not only in its provisions remaining + in practical use, such as the civil and penal code, + regulations in regard to the festivals, and private + observances, but also in its provisions relating to the + Temple cult which had historical interest only. This + occupation, pursued with warmth and depth of feeling for a + number of centuries, appealed at once to the intellect and + the heart. It may be said that the entire Jewish race + shared in the work, the scholar being removed from the + general mass only in degree, not in kind."[6] + +The high level of general instruction among the Jews was all the +more remarkable since only a small number of literary works were +known. Though copies were made of those which enjoyed the +greatest reputation, the number of manuscripts was limited. +Nevertheless, soon after their appearance, important productions +in one country came into the hands of scholars of other +countries. Just as Christendom by force of its spiritual bond +formed a single realm, so two strong chains bound together Jews +of widely separated regions: these were their religion and their +language. Communication was difficult, roads were few in number +and dangerous; yet, countervailing distance and danger was +devotion to religion and to learning. + +But religion and learning were one and the same thing. As was the +case in Christianity, and for the same reasons, religion filled +the whole of life and engrossed all branches of knowledge. There +was no such thing as secular science; religion placed its stamp +on everything, and turned the currents of thought into its own +channels. One must not hope therefore to find, among the Jews of +Northern France, those literary species which blossomed and +flourished in Spain; philosophy did not exist among them, and +poetry was confined to a few dry liturgic poems. Their +intellectual activity was concentrated in the study of the Bible +and the Talmud; but in this domain they acquired all the greater +depth and penetration. Less varied as were the objects of their +pursuits, they excelled in what they undertook, and inferior +though they were in the fields of philosophy and poetry, they +were superior in Biblical exegesis, and still more so, possibly, +in Talmudic jurisprudence. + + II + +The history of the beginnings of rabbinical learning in France is +wrapped in obscurity. Tradition has it that Charlemagne caused +the scholar Kalonymos to come from Lucca to Mayence. With his +sons he is said to have opened a school there, which became the +centre [center sic] of Talmudic studies in Lorraine. Legends, +however slight their semblance to truth, are never purely +fictitious in character; they contain an element of truth, or, at +least, symbolize the truth; and this tradition, which cannot be +accepted in the shape in which it has been handed down, seeing +that Kalonymos lived in the tenth century, is nevertheless a +fairly exact representation of the continuity of the intellectual +movement. If the fact is not established that Charlemagne +accomplished for the Jews what he did for the Christians, that +is, revived their schools and promoted their prosperity, it seems +more certain that rabbinical learning penetrated into the +northwest of Europe through the intermediation of Italy, which +bridged the gap between the Orient and the Rhine lands. + +As is well known, Christian Italy during the early middle ages, +despite the successive invasions of the barbarians, remained the +centre [center sic] of civilization and the store-house of +Occidental learning. It is in Italy, without doubt, that the +Romanesque style of architecture had its origin, and in Italy +that the study of the Roman law was vigorously resumed. It is to +Italy also that Charlemagne turned when he sought for scholars to +place at the head of his schools. Moreover, it was on Italian +soil, in the fifteenth century, that the magnificent blossom +meriting its name, the Renaissance, was destined to open and +unfold its literary and artistic beauties. + +Italy owes its glorious part in the world's history both to its +geographical position and its commercial importance. So likewise +with the Jews of Italy, their commercial activities contributed +to their intellectual prosperity. In the ninth century they +possessed rabbinical authorities, and in the tenth century, +centres [centers sic] of Talmudic study. At this period, the +celebrated family of the Kalonymides went to Lorraine to +establish itself there. For some time Mayence was the metropolis +of Judaism in the Rhine countries; and by its community the first +academies were established, the first Talmudic commentaries were +composed, and decisions were made which were accepted by all the +Jews of Christian Europe. Soon this intellectual activity +extended to Worms, to Speyer, and a little later to the western +part of Germany and the northern part of France.[7] A veritable +renaissance took place, parallel with the movement of ideas which +went on in the schools and convents of the eleventh and fourteenth +centuries;[8] for Jewish culture is often bound up with +the intellectual destinies of the neighboring peoples. + +For some time the schools of Lorraine stood at the head of the +Talmudic movement, and it was to them that Rashi came a little +later to derive instruction. + +One of the most celebrated offspring of the family of the +Kalonymides is Meshullam ben Kalonymos, who lived at Mayence in +the second half of the tenth century. He was a Talmudist held in +high regard and the composer of liturgic poetry. He devoted +himself to the regulation of the material and spiritual affairs +of his brethren. Although he stood in correspondence with the +Babylonian masters, he was in a position to pass judgment +independently of them. Communication with the East was frequent. +The communities of France and Germany sent disciples to the +Babylonians and submitted difficulties to them. Tradition +relates that the Gaon Natronai (about 865) even visited France. +However that may be, the Jews of France at an early period were +acquainted with Babylonian works, both the chronicles and the +legal codes. + +Other Talmudists of the tenth century are known, but rabbinical +literature may be said to have commenced only with Gershom ben +Judah (about 960-1028). According to tradition his master was +his contemporary Hai Gaon; in reality he was the disciple of +Judah ben Meir ha-Cohen, surnamed Leontin (about 975). +Originally from Metz, Gershom established himself at Mayence, to +which a large number of pupils from neighboring countries soon +flocked in order to attend his school. Thus he was the legatee of +the Babylonian academies, the decay of which became daily more +marked. In his capacity as head of a school as in many other +respects, he was the true forerunner of Rashi, who carried on his +work with greater command of the subject and with more success. + +Rabbenu Gershom not only gave Talmudic learning a fresh impetus +and removed its centre [center sic] to the banks of the Rhine, +but he also exerted the greatest and most salutary influence upon +the social life of his co-religionists, through his "Decrees," +religious and moral, which, partly renewing older institutions, +were accepted by all the Jews of Christian countries. Among +other things, he forbade polygamy. He merits consideration in +two aspects, as a Gaon and as one to whom his disciples gave the +surname which still attaches to him, "the Light of the Exile," +<I>Meor ha-Golah.</I> Rashi said of him: "Rabbenu Gershom has +enlightened the eyes of the Captivity; for we all live by his +instruction; all the Jews of these countries call themselves the +disciples of his disciples." + +Gershom seems to have been the first Rhenish scholar who resorted +to the written word for the spread of his teachings. He devoted +himself to the establishment of a correct text of the Bible and +the Talmud, and his chief work is a Talmudical commentary. + +Since his time the continuity of learning has been uninterrupted. +The seed sown by Rabbenu Gershom was not long in germinating. +Schools began to multiply and develop in Lorraine. The one at +Mayence prospered for a long time, and was eclipsed only by the +schools of Champagne. + +A rabbi, Machir, the brother of Gershom, by his Talmudic lexicon +contributed likewise to the development of rabbinical knowledge. +His four sons were renowned scholars, contemporaries and +doubtless fellow-students of Rashi. + +The disciples of Gershom, who continued the work of their master, +are of especial interest to us, because one of them, Simon the +Elder, was the maternal uncle of Rashi, and three others were his +masters. These were Jacob ben Yakar, Isaac ha-Levi, and Isaac ben +Judah. The latter two were disciples also of Eliezer ben Isaac +the Great, of Mayence. Jacob ben Yakar and Isaac ha-Levi went to +Worms, where they became rabbis, while Isaac ben Judah remained +at Mayence, and directed the Talmudic school there. + +About the middle of the eleventh century, then, an intellectual +ferment took place in France and Lorraine, earnest literary and +scientific activity manifested itself, and above all elements of +profound rabbinical culture became visible. But one who should +regulate these forces was lacking, a guide to direct these +activities and to serve as a model to others. In order that the +movement might not come to a premature end, a master was needed +who would give it impetus and define its course, who would strike +the decisive blow. Such a man there was, a man who impressed his +contemporaries as a scholar of high degree and noble character, +and whose memory as such is still cherished by posterity. This +man was Rashi. + + CHAPTER II + + THE YOUTH AND EDUCATION OF RASHI + +Little is known concerning the life of Rashi. Owing to various +causes not a single work is extant that might be used as a guide +for the establishment of minor facts. Generally speaking, Jewish +literature in the middle ages was of an impersonal character; +practically no memoirs nor autobiographies of this period exist. +The disciples of the great masters were not lavish of information +concerning them. They held their task to be accomplished when +they had studied and handed on the master's works; regard for his +teachings ranked above respect for the personality of the author. +But the figure of Rashi, as though in despite of all such +obstacles, has remained popular. People wanted to know all the +details of his life, and they invented facts according to their +desires. Fiction, however, fell short of the truth. Legend does +not represent him so great as he must actually have been. In the +present work, too, I shall be obliged to resort to comparisons +and analogies, to supplement by hypotheses the scanty information +afforded by history, yet I shall distinguish the few historic +facts from the mass of legends in which they are smothered. + +As of old many cities in Greece asserted that they were the +birthplace of Homer, the national poet, so a number of cities +disputed for the honor of being the birthplace of Rashi, or of +having been his residence, or the scene of his death. Worms +claimed him as one of its rabbis, Lunel, thanks to a confusion of +names, has passed as his birthplace, and Prague as the city of +his death. One historian set 1105 as the year of his birth, +though in fact it is the year of his death. Others placed it in +the thirteenth century, and still others even in the fourteenth. + +In the course of this narrative other such instances will occur - +of fables, more or less ingenious, collected by chroniclers +lacking discrimination. They may make pleasant reading, although +they contain no element of authenticity. Besides, they are of +relatively recent date, and emanate to a large extent from Italy +and Spain, whose historians could count upon the credulity of +their readers to impose their inventions upon Jews and Christians +alike. + +Confusion of this sort reigned in regard to Rashi's life until +1823, the year in which the illustrious Zunz published the essay +which established, not only his own, but also Rashi's reputation, +and brought Rashi forth from the shadow of legend into the full +light of history. We owe a debt of gratitude to Zunz and other +scholars, such as Geiger, Weiss, Berliner, and Epstein, because, +with the legendary often superimposed upon the true, they have +made it easy to pick out the genuine from the false. Now that +the result of their labors is before us, no great difficulty +attaches to the task of casting off legend from history, and +extracting from the legendary whatever historic material it +contains. + + I + +In brushing aside all the myths with which the biography of +Rashi is cobwebbed, one finds, not a varied life, rich in +incident, but an entirely intellectual life, whose serenity was +undisturbed by excitement. + +An event dividing Rashi's life into almost equal parts is his +taking up his residence at Troyes. During the earlier period +he received his education, at first in the city of his birth, +then in the academies of Lorraine. On his return to Troyes, +he had matured and was thoroughly equipped. In the school +he founded there, he grouped pupils about him and wrote the +works destined to perpetuate his influence. + +First of all, it is necessary to make Rashi's acquaintance, as it +were, to know the names he bore and those he did not bear. An +example of the fantastic stories of which he was the hero is +afforded by the name Yarhi, which is sometimes still given to +him. It does not date further back than the sixteenth century, +before which time he was called R. Solomon (Shelomo) by the Jews +of France, and R. Salomon ha-Zarfati (the Frenchman) by Jews +outside of France. Christian scholars likewise called him R. +Salomo Gallicus, and also briefly R. Solomon, as the most +celebrated rabbi who ever bore that name. So said Abbe +Bartolocci, one of the first and most eminent bibliographers of +rabbinical literature, explaining that the short appellation had +the same force as when Saint Paul is designated simply as "the +apostle." + +The usual name applied to Rashi (R Sh I) is formed, in accordance +with a well-known Jewish custom, from the initials of his name +and patronymic in Hebrew, Rabbi Shelomo Izhaki[9], which the +Christians translated by Solomon Isaacides, just as they made +Maimonides of Moses ben Maimon. Raymond Martini, the celebrated +author of the <I>Pugio fidei,</I> seems to have been the first +who saw in Rashi the initials of the words, R. Solomon Yarhi. +He confused Rashi either with a Solomon of Lunel, mentioned by +the traveller [traveler sic] Benjamin of Tudela, or with a +grammarian, Solomon ben Abba Mari, of Lunel, who lived in the +second half of the fourteenth century. Sebastian Munster, the +German Hebraist (1489-1552), and the elder Buxtorf (1564-1629), +the humanist and highly esteemed Hebrew scholar, popularized the +mistake, which soon gave rise to another. L'Empereur, also a +scholar in Hebraica, of the seventeenth century, went even +further than his predecessors, in holding Lunel [10] to have been +the birthplace of Rashi, while Basnage (1653-1725), the +celebrated historian of the Jews, spoke of "Solomon the Lunatic." + +Though as early a writer as Richard Simon (1638-1712) protested +against the error of making Lunel the native city of Rashi, the +mistake crept even into Jewish circles. Since this city of +Languedoc was one of the principal centres [centers sic] of +Jewish learning in the Provence during the middle ages, Rashi, in +most unexpected fashion, came to swell the number of "scholars" +of Lunel, of whom mention is frequently made in rabbinical +literature. It even seems that at the beginning of the +nineteenth century, Jews of Bordeaux went to Lunel on a +pilgrimage to his tomb. + +In point of fact Rashi was neither a German nor a Provencal; he +was born and he died in Champagne, at Troyes. At that time +France was divided into a dozen distinct countries, one of the +most important of which was the countship of Champagne, to the +northeast, between the Ile-de-France and Lorraine. There were +Jews in all the important localities of the province, especially +in the commercial cities. In the period with which we are +dealing, fairs took place every year successively at Lagny, Bar- +sur-Aube, Provins, Troyes, and again Provins and Troyes. The +principal city was Troyes, which at the end of the ninth century, +when it contained about twelve thousand inhabitants, was chosen +as their capital by the counts of Champagne. + +In a wide plain, where the Seine divides into several branches, +rises the city of Troyes, maintaining to some extent its medieval +character, with its narrow, illpaved streets, which of old +swarmed with geese and porkers, and with its houses of wooden +gables and overhanging roofs. Manufactures prospered at Troyes. +Many tanneries were established there, and parchment was exported +from all parts of the district. In fact it has been suggested +that the development of the parchment industry at Troyes +furthered the literary activity for which the province was noted, +by providing writing material at a time when in general it was so +rare. But manufactures in that period had not attained a high +degree of perfection, and the main instrument for obtaining +wealth was commerce, chiefly the commerce carried on at fairs, +those great lists periodically opened to the commercial activity +of a whole province or a whole country. Troyes, celebrated for +its fairs, was the scene of two a year, one beginning on St. +John's Day (the warm fair), and one beginning on St. Remy's Day +(the cold fair). They covered a quarter so important that it +constituted two large parishes by itself. + +Although religon [religion sic] had already begun to intervene in +the regulation of the fairs, Jews took a large part in them, and +somewhat later, like the Jews of Poland in the seventeenth +century, they used them as the occasions for rabbinical synods. +In the Jewish sources, the fairs of Troyes are frequently +mentioned. The relations that sprang up among the great numbers +of Jews that went to them were favorable to the cause of science, +since the Jews in pursuing their material interests did not +forget those of learning. Thus the fairs exercised a certain +influence upon the intellectual movement. + +Troyes was also the seat of a permanent Jewish community of some +importance; for a Responsum of the first half of the eleventh +century declared that the regulations of the community should +have the force of law for each member, and when the regulations +deal with questions of general import they were to hold good for +neighboring communities as well. Another Responsum dating from +the same period shows that the Jews of France owned land and +cultivated the vine. Troyes no longer bears visible traces of +the ancient habitation of the Jews. It is possible that the +parish of St. Frobert occupies the ground covered by the old +Jewry; and probably the church of St. Frobert, now in ruins, and +the church of St. Pantaleon were originally synagogues. But in +Rashi's works there are more striking evidences that Jews were +identified with Troyes. Certain of his expressions or other +indications attach them to the city of Troyes, "our city," as he +says. + +Rashi, then, was born at Troyes in 1040-the year of Gershom's +death, some authors affirm, who are more concerned with the +pragmatism of history than its truth, more with scientific +continuity than with the sequence of events. But if it is almost +certain that the rabbi, who, as I said, was the precursor of +Rashi, had been dead for twelve years, 1040 (possibly 1038) is +probably the year of the death of another authority, no less +celebrated, Hai Gaon, whose passing away marks the irreparable +decadence of the Babylonian Gaonate. The French rabbi and his +Spanish colleagues were destined to harvest the fruits of this +Gaonate and carry on its work, exemplifying the words of the +Talmud: "When one star is extinguished in Israel, another star +rises on the horizon." + +In order that Rashi should have a setting in accord with so high +a position, legend has surrounded his family with a nimbus of +glory. History, it is true, does not make mention of his +ancestors, and this silence, joined to the popularity which Rashi +came to enjoy, inspired, or was an added stimulus to, the +fantastic genealogic theories of those who in their admiration of +him, or through pride of family, declared him to have been +descended from a rabbi of the third century, Johanan ha- +Sandlar.[11] All that can be said with certainty is, that his +maternal uncle was Simon the Elder, a disciple of Gershom and a +learned and respected rabbi. Rashi's father Isaac appears to +have been well-educated. Rashi on one occasion mentions a +certain bit of instruction he had received from him. Tradition, +fond of ascribing illustrious ancestors to its heroes, would see +in this Isaac one who through his knowledge and godliness +deserved to share in the renown of his son, and to whom his son, +moreover, rendered pious homage by quoting him in the opening +passage[12] of the commentary on Genesis. We would willingly +believe Rashi capable of a delicate attention of this kind, only +we know that the Isaac cited is a certain Talmudic scholar. + +Tradition, letting its fancy play upon the lives of great men, +delights also in clothing their birth with tales of marvels. +Sometimes the miraculous occurs even before they are born and +points to their future greatness. The father of Rashi, for +instance, is said to have possessed a precious gem of great +value. Some Christians wanted to take it away from him, either +because they desired to put it to a religious use, or because +they could not bear the sight of such a treasure in the hands of +a Jew. Isaac obstinately refused their offers. One day the +Christians lured him into a boat, and demanded that he give up +his gem. Isaac, taking a heroic stand, threw the object of their +ardent desires into the water. Then a mysterious voice was heard +in his school pronouncing these words: "A son will be born to +thee, O Isaac, who will enlighten the eyes of all Israel." +According to a less familiar tradition, Isaac lived in a seaport +town, where he earned a poor livelihood as stevedore. Once he +found a pearl in the harbor, and went in all haste to show it to +his wife, the daughter of a jeweler. Realizing the value of the +pearl, she could not contain herself, and went forthwith to a +jeweler. He offered her ten thousand ducats, double its value, +because the duke was anxious to buy it as an adornment for the +bishop's cope. The woman would not listen to the proposition, +and ran back to her husband to tell him to what use the pearl was +going to be put. Rather than have it adorn a bishop's vestment, +Isaac threw it into the sea, sacrificing his fortune to his God. + +The scene of another tradition is laid at Worms. One day his +wife, who had become pregnant, was walking along a street of the +city when two carriages coming from opposite directions collided. +The woman in danger of being crushed pressed up close against a +wall, and the wall miraculously sank inward to make way for her. +This made Isaac fear an accusation of witchcraft, and he left +Worms for Troyes, where a son was born to him, whom he named +Solomon. + +To turn from the mythical to the hypothetical-the young Solomon +probably received his early education in his own family, and what +this education was, can easily be conceived. It was the duty of +the father himself to take charge of the elementary instruction +of his son and turn the first glimmerings of the child's reason +upon the principles of religion. This instruction was +concentrated upon the observance of laws and customs. "From the +tenderest age," says Dr. M. Berliner, "the child was initiated +into the observance of religious precepts, and was put upon his +guard against their transgression. His parents had but one aim, +to inculcate in him the religion of his ancestors and render the +Law, the source of this religion, accessible to him. He was thus +inured to the struggle of life, in which his shield was belief in +God. The mother also took part in the rearing of her child. Her +lullabies were often prayers or Biblical hymns, and although the +women, as a rule, did not receive a thorough education, they +effectually helped to make observant devotees of the Law of their +children."[13] Five or six was the age at which Hebrew was begun +to be taught to the child, and the occasion was usually +celebrated by a picturesque ceremony full of poetic feeling. On +the morning of the Pentecost, the festival which commemorates the +giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai, or on the morning of the +Rejoicing of the Law, the day devoted above all others to +honoring the Law, the child, dressed in his holiday clothes and +wrapped in a Tallit, was led to the synagogue by his father or by +a scholar who acted as sponsor. In the synagogue the child +listened to the reading of the Law; then he was led to the house +of the teacher to whom his education was to be entrusted. The +teacher took him in his arms, "as a nursing-father carrieth the +sucking child," and presented him with a tablet, on which were +written the Hebrew alphabet and some verses from the Bible +applicable to the occasion. The tablet was then spread with +honey, which the child ate as if to taste the sweetness of the +Law of God. The child was also shown a bun made by a young +maiden, out of flour kneaded together with milk and with oil or +honey, and bearing among other inscriptions the words of Ezekiel: +"Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with +this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my +mouth as honey for sweetness." Other Biblical passages were +inscribed on the shell of an egg, and after they were read, the +bun and the egg as well as apples and other fruit were eaten by +the pupils present. + +This ceremony, marred only by the introduction of superstitious +practices, such as the conjuring up of evil demons, was well +adapted to stamp itself on the child's mind, and its naive +symbolism was bound to make a profound impression upon his +imagination. Pagan antiquity knew of nothing so delicate and at +the same time so elevated in sentiment. Pindar, and Horace after +him, conceived the fancy that the bees of Hymettus alighted on +the child's brow and dropped rich honey upon it. The Jewish +celebration of a new period in childhood, though not a poetic +fiction, is none the less charming and picturesque. It shows how +precious was the cultivation of the mind to a people whom the +world delights to represent as absorbed by material interests and +consumed by the desire for wealth. Education has always been +highly valued among the Jews, who long acted up to the saying of +Lessing: "The schoolmaster holds the future in his hands." The +religious law is a system of instruction, the synagogue is a +school. It will redound to the eternal honor of Judaism that it +raised the dissemination of knowledge to the height of a +religious precept. At a time when among the Christians knowledge +was the special privilege of the clergy, learning was open to +every Jew, and, what is still finer, the pursuit of it was +imposed upon him as a strict obligation. The recalcitrant, say +the legalists, is compelled to employ a tutor for his child. +Every scholar in Israel is obliged to gather children about him; +and the rabbinical works contain most detailed recommendations +concerning the organization of schools and methods of +instruction. One comes upon principles and rules of pedagogy +unusually advanced for their time. For instance, teachers were +forbidden to have more than forty pupils, and were not to use a +more severe means of punishment than whipping with a small strap. +In Christian schools, on the contrary, pedagogic methods were +backward and barbarous. It was considered an excellent plan to +beat all pupils with the ferule [ferrule sic], in order to make +knowledge enter the heads of the bad and to keep the good from +the sin of pride. + +Among the Jews instruction was tempered to suit the faculty of +the learner. First the child was taught to read Hebrew, +translate the daily prayers, and recite the more important of +them by heart. Then the Pentateuch beginning with Leviticus was +explained to him, and, if necessary, it was translated into +French. It was read with a special chant. Rashi, be it said +parenthetically, by his commentary gave this Bible instruction a +more solid basis. Not until the pupil was a little older did he +study the Talmud, which is so well qualified to develop +intelligence and clear-headedness. His elementary education +completed, and provided he had shown taste and inclination for +the more difficult studies, the young man went to special +schools. But if he had not shown signs of progress, he was +taught simply to read Hebrew and understand the Bible. + +The author of a curious pedagogic regulation in the middle ages +fixes the whole term of study at fourteen years: the seven years +preceding the religious majority of the child are spent in the +local school, at the study of the Pentateuch (two years), at the +study of the rest of the Bible (two years), and at the study of +the easier Talmudic treatises (three years). The remaining seven +years are devoted to the higher study of the Talmud in an academy +outside the birthplace of the youth. This education was obtained +sometimes from private teachers, and sometimes in schools founded +and maintained at the expense of the community or even of +educational societies. + +A sufficiently clear idea may thus be obtained of Rashi's early +education; and in assuming that he soon distinguished himself for +precocity and for maturity of thought, we shall not be shooting +wide of the mark. But legend will not let its heroes off so +cheaply; legend will have it that Rashi, in order to complete his +education, travelled [traveled sic] to the most distant lands. +Not satisfied with having him go to the south of France, to +Narbonne, to the school of Moses ha-Darshan (who had doubtless +died before Rashi's coming to his school was a possibility), or +to Lunel, to attend the school of Zerahiah ha-Levi (not yet +born), tradition maintains that at the age of thirty-three Rashi +made the tour of almost the whole world as then known, in order +to atone for a mistake made by his father, who regretted having +lost a precious object, and also in order to assure himself that +his commentaries had not been surpassed. He is said to have +traversed Italy, Greece, Egypt, Palestine, and Persia, returning +by way of Germany. + +So long a voyage must, of course, have been marked by a number of +events. In Egypt, Rashi became the disciple-the more exigent +say, the intimate friend-of Maimonides, who, as we all know, was +born in 1135, nearly a century later than Rashi. Maimonides, as +fiction recounts, conceived a great affection for Rashi, and +imparted to him all his own learning. Not to fall behind +Maimonides in courtesy, Rashi showed him his commentaries, and +Maimonides at the end of his life declared that he would have +written more commentaries, had he not been anticipated by the +French rabbi. + +While in the Orient Rashi is represented as having met a monk, +and the two discussed the superiority of their respective +religions. At the inn the monk suddenly fell sick. Rashi, +caring for him as for a brother, succeeded in curing him by means +of a miraculous remedy. The monk wanted to thank him, but Rashi +interrupted, saying: "Thou owest me nothing in return. Divided +as we are by our religions, we are united by charity, which my +religion imposes upon me as a duty. If thou comest upon a Jew in +misfortune, aid him as I have aided thee." Fictitious though the +story be, it is not unworthy the noble character of Rashi. He +<I>was</I> noble, therefore noble deeds are ascribed to him. + +On his return Rashi is said to have passed through Prague, +whither his reputation had preceded him. On his entrance into +the synagogue, the declamations of the faithful proved to him the +admiration they felt for the young rabbi of only thirty-six +years. The pleasure manifested by the Jews irritated Duke +Vratislav, who had the famous rabbi arrested, brought before him, +and questioned in the presence of his counsellor [counselor sic], +the Bishop of Olmutz. The bishop raising his eyes recognized in +the prisoner the Jew who had saved his life, and he told the +story to the duke. The order was immediately given to set Rashi +free; but the people, thinking the Jews lost, had fallen upon the +Jewish quarter. Rashi threw himself at the feet of the +sovereign, and begged protection for his brethren. Provided with +a safe-conduct, Rashi went forth to appease the mob. The Jews in +their great joy saluted him as their savior. Tradition adds that +the duke conceived great admiration for the Jewish scholar, and +made him one of his advisers. + +Another, even sweeter reward, awaited him. Rebecca, the daughter +of his host, fell in love with him, and, as Rashi returned the +feeling, her father consented to the marriage. + +But all this is on the face of it romance. Certain passages in +Rashi's works give abundant proof that Rashi never visited either +Palestine or Babylonia, and his conception of the geography of +the two countries is utterly fantastic. For instance, he +believed that the Euphrates flowed from the one land into the +other. Moreover, he himself admitted that his ideas concerning +them were gathered only from the Bible and the Talmud.[14] + +Though Rashi did not let his curiosity carry him to all parts of +the globe, he did not confine himself to his birthplace. He went +first to Worms and then to Mayence, remaining some length of time +in both places. He was moved to the step, not by taste for +travel, but by taste for study, in accordance with the custom of +his time, by which a student went from school to school in order +to complete his knowledge. Of old, it was customary for the +workman to make the tour of France for the purpose of perfecting +himself in his trade and finding out the different processes of +manufacture. Similarly, the student went from city to city, or, +remaining in the same place, from school to school, in order to +study a different subject under each master according to the +manuscripts which the particular master happened to possess, and +which he made his pupils copy. So far from being disqualified +from entering a school on account of vagabondage, the stranger +student was accorded a warm welcome, especially if he was himself +a scholar. Strangers found open hospitality in the community, +and were sometimes taken in by the master himself. Knowledge and +love of knowledge were safe-conducts. In every city the lettered +new-comer found hosts and friends. + +Rashi probably stood in need of such hospitality and protection, +for, if an obscure remark made by him may be relied upon, his +life as a student was not free from care, and he must have +suffered all sorts of privations. Nor was it rare that fortune +failed to smile upon the students, and-not to give a list of +examples-cases of poverty were fairly frequent in the Christian +universities, at which mendicancy itself was almost respectable. +The temptation might be legitimate to sentimentalize over this +love of knowledge, this zeal for work, as they manifested +themselves in Rashi, causing him to brave all the evil strokes of +fortune for their sake; but one must strain a point to take him +literally when he says, as he does in a certain somewhat involved +passage, that he studied "without nourishment and without +garments." However that may be, the same passage shows that while +still a student whose course was but half completed, he married, +in conformity with the Talmudic maxim, which recommends the Jew +to marry at eighteen years of age. From time to time he went to +visit his family at Troyes, always returning to Worms or Mayence. + +The fact that the academies of Lorraine which Rashi frequented +were in his day the great centres of Talmudic learning, is due to +the happy lot which the Jews enjoyed in that country. The chief +trading route of Europe at that time connected Italy with Rhenish +Germany, and the Jews knew how to render themselves indispensable +in the traffic along this route. Moreover, they lived on good +terms with their neighbors. The explanation of the cordial +relations between Jews and Christians lies in the ease with which +the Jews rose to the level of general culture. The architecture +of their synagogues is a striking example. The cathedral of +Worms was built in 1034, at the same period as the synagogue +there. The two structures display so many similarities that one +is tempted to believe they represent the handiwork of the same +builders. At all events, it is clear that the Jews cultivated +the Romanesque style, so majestic in its simplicity.[15] + +Lorraine was not at that time a province of the German Empire; +and Rashi leaving the banks of the Seine for those of the Rhine +did not expatriate himself in the true sense of the word. +Lorraine, or, as it was then called, Lotharingia, the country of +Lothair (this is the name that occurs in the rabbinical sources), +was more than half French. Situated between France and Germany, +it came within the sphere of French influence. French was the +language in current use, spoken by Jew and Christian alike. +German words, in fact, were gallicized in pronunciation. In +Rashi's day the barons of Lorraine rendered homage to the king of +France, Henry I. Naturally, then, the Jews of Lorraine and those +of Northern France were in close intellectual communion. The +academies along the Rhine and the Moselle formed, as it were, the +link between France and Germany. In general, and despite the +rarity and difficulty of communication, the Jews of France, +Germany, and Italy entered freely into relations with one +another.[16] + +No testimony exists to prove that Rashi, as has been said, +studied at Speyer, at which, without doubt, R. Eliakim had not +yet begun to teach. Possibly, Rashi did go to Germany, if +confidence is to be placed in some information he gives +concerning "the country of Ashkenaz," and if the fact may be +deduced from the occurrence in his commentaries of some dozen +German words, the authenticity of which is not always certain. + +Though doubt may attach to Rashi's journeys, it is certain that +Rashi passed the larger number of his years of study (about 1055- +1065) in Worms. For a long time it was thought-and the belief +still obtains-that he also gave instruction in Worms; and +recently a street in the city was named after him. Tradition has +connected many things with this alleged stay of Rashi as rabbi at +Worms. Even in our days visitors are shown the school and the +little synagogue attached to it as recalling his sojourn in the +place, and a small building touching the eastern wall of the +great synagogue is also supposed to perpetuate his memory, and it +is still called the "Rashi Chapel." At the bottom of the wall a +recess is visible, miraculously caused in order to save his +mother when her life was endangered by the two carriages.[17] +Some say that Rashi taught from this niche, and a seat in it, +raised on three steps, called the Rashi Chair, is still pointed +out. + +These traditions do not merit credence. Moreover, they are of +comparatively recent origin. For a long time the school bore the +name, not of Rashi, but of Eleazar of Worms, and it was not built +until the beginning of the thirteenth century. Destroyed in +1615, it was restored in 1720 through the generosity of Loeb +Sinzheim, of Vienna, and at present it is the Jewish hospital. +Alongside the school was a little chapel, belonging to it, which +was destroyed in 1615, restored several years later, and finally +burned by the French in 1689. The other chapel, the so-called +"Rashi Chapel," his Yeshibah (school), is so tiny that it could +hardly have held the crowd of hearers who thronged there, as +tradition has it, in order to listen to him. Besides, the +building did not bear the name of Rashi when in 1623 David Joshua +Oppenheim, head of the community, erected the school and +adjoining chapel, as a Hebrew inscription in the southern wall of +the chapel declares. The chapel having lost its utility was +closed in 1760, and from this time on it has been consecrated to +the memory of Rashi. It was restored in 1855. + +At Worms Rashi first studied under the head of the Talmudic +academy there, Jacob ben Yakar, by that time a man well on in +years. His age doubtless explains the respect and veneration +paid him, to which his disciple gave touching expression. But we +know besides how sincere was his piety, his humility, and his +spirit of self-denial. One day a Christian delivered several +tuns [tons sic] of wine to a Jew of Worms under peculiar +conditions. Jacob did not want to decide so complicated and +delicate a question, and he fled. Rashi and another disciple +pursued and overtook him. Then he authorized the use of the +wine. + +Once when the community was going to pay its respects to the +emperor or the governor, Jacob declined the honor of heading the +procession. "I am nothing but a poor man," he said. "Let others +bring their money, I can offer only my prayers. Each should give +of that which he has." Other characteristics of his are +mentioned. Once he and his colleague, Eliezer, surnamed the +Great, took an animal they had bought to the slaughter house. +There it was found that there was an imperfection in its body; +according to Eliezer the imperfection rendered it unfit for +eating; according to Jacob it was of no importance. The animal +having been divided, Eliezer threw his share away. Then Jacob +did the same, saying that he would not eat the meat of an animal +when another denied himself the enjoyment of it. Later it is +told of Jacob that in his humility he swept the floor of the +synagogue with his beard. To cite Rashi himself, "I never +protest against the usages in the school of my master, Jacob ben +Yakar: I know that he possessed the finest qualities. He +considered himself a worm which is trodden underfoot, and he +never arrogated to himself the honor-though he would have been +justified in so doing-of having introduced any innovation +whatsoever." + +It seems that Rashi, who spoke of Jacob ben Yakar with the utmost +respect, and called him "my old master," studied not only the +Talmud but also the Bible under his guidance. + +The scholar who desired to obtain a grasp on all the studies, if +not in their full content, at least in all their variety, had to +devote many years to study at a school, not necessarily the same +school, throughout his student years, for since the celebrity of +a school depended upon the knowledge and renown of its head, it +gained and lost pupils with its master. + +Thus, on the death of Jacob ben Yakar, Rashi studied under the +guidance of his successor, Isaac ben Eleazar ha-Levi,[18] though +not for long, it seems. Wishing in a way to complete the cycle +of instruction, he went to Mayence, the centre [center sic] of +great Talmudic activity. The school here was directed by Isaac +ben Judah (about 1050-1080), sometimes called the "Frenchman." +Rashi considered Isaac ben Judah his master <I>par +excellence.</I> In this school were composed the Talmudic +commentaries generally attributed to R. Gershom and sometimes +cited under the title of "Commentaries of the Scholars of +Mayence." Isaac ben Judah - not to be confounded with Isaac ha- +Levi, both having been the disciples of Eliezer the Great-was +scrupulously pious, and absolutely bound by traditional usage. + +Rashi, it thus becomes apparent, was not content to learn from +only one master, he attended various schools, as if he had had a +prevision of his future task, to sum up and, as it were, +concentrate all Talmudic teachings and gather the fruits of the +scientific activities of all these academies. Similarly, Judah +the Saint, before he became the redactor of the Mishnah, placed +himself under a number of learned men, "as if," says Graetz, "he +had had a presentiment that one day he would collect the most +diverse opinions and put an end to the juridical debates of the +Tannaim." + +Rashi's intellectual status during these years of study must not +be misunderstood. Pupil he doubtless was, but such a one as in +course of time entered into discussions with his teachers, and to +whom questions were submitted for decision. It may even be that +toward the end of his school period, he commenced to compose his +Talmudic commentaries, or, rather, revise the notes of his +masters. + +At Worms as at Mayence, his fellow-students probably counted +among their number those young scholars who remained his friends +and correspondents. Such were Azriel ben Nathan, his kinsman +Eliakim ha-Levi ben Meshullam, of Speyer (born about 1030), +Solomon ben Simson, Nathan ben Machir and his brothers Menahem +and Yakar, Meir ha-Cohen and his son Abraham, Samuel ha-Levi and, +chief of all, his brother David, Nathan ben Jehiel and his +brothers Daniel and Abraham, Joseph ben Judah Ezra, Durbal, and +Meir ben Isaac ben Samuel[19] (about 1060), acting rabbi and +liturgical poet, mentioned by Rashi in terms of praise and +several times cited by him as an authority. Meir of Rameru, +later the son-in-law of Rashi, also studied at the academies of +Lorraine, though probably not at the same time as Rashi, but a +short while after. + +As is natural, it was of his teachers that Rashi preserved the +most faithful recollections, and he refers to them as +authoritative even after he had surpassed them in knowledge and +reputation. He does not always mention their names in repeating +their opinions. If it were possible to make a distinction and +decide the authorship of each sentence, it would be found that we +are not far from the truth in asserting that the greater part of +the pupil's work was the work of his masters.[20] + +But in literature, as elsewhere, honor does not redound to the +workmen who have gotten the material together, but to the +architect, wise and skilful [skillful sic], who conceives and +carries out the plan for the entire edifice, and, with the stones +others have brought, constructs a monument of vast proportions. + + CHAPTER III + + RASHI AT TROYES-LAST YEARS + +The youth Rashi has now completed his apprenticeship; in his +studies and travels he has amassed a vast store of information, +which he will use for the profit of his contemporaries and of +posterity; and he now believes himself in possession of +sufficient knowledge and experience to strike out for himself. +Moreover, he must now provide for his family-we have seen that he +married while still a student. But he does not give up his +studies. + +His change of abode was the only change in his life, a life of +remarkable unity, the life of a student. Rashi gave himself up +entirely to study, to study without cessation, and to teaching; +but teaching is only a form of pursuing one's studies and summing +them up. + + I + +Detailed and comprehensive though the Talmudic studies were, +nevertheless the student, especially if he was gifted, completed +the course when he was not much more than twenty years of age. +Rashi, then, was probably close to twenty-five years old when he +returned from Mayence. This return marks an epoch in the history +of rabbinical literature. From that time, the study of the +Talmud was cultivated not alone upon the banks of the Rhine, but +also in Champagne, which came to rival and soon supplant +Lorraine, and having freed itself from the subjection of the +Rhenish schools, radiated the light of science. Jews from all +over Christian Europe gathered there to bask in the warmth of the +new home of Jewish learning. Less than ten centuries earlier, the +same thing had happened when Rab transplanted the teaching of the +Law from Palestine to Babylonia, and founded an academy at Sura, +which, for a while rivalling [rivaling sic] the Palestinian +schools, soon eclipsed them, and finally became the principal +centre [center sic] of Jewish science. The Kabbalist was not so +very far from the truth when he believed that the soul of Rab had +passed into the body of Rashi. + +It is noteworthy that this upgrowth of Talmudic schools in +Champagne coincides with the literary movement then beginning in +Christian France. In emerging from the barbarous state of the +early middle ages, it seems that the same breath of life +quickened the two worlds. The city of Troyes played an especially +important role in matters intellectual and religious. A number of +large councils were held there, and the ecclesiastical school of +Troyes enjoyed a brilliant reputation, having trained scholars +such as Olbert, Pierre Comestor, Pierre de Celle, and William of +the White Hands. And it was near Troyes that the mighty voices of +Abelard and Saint Bernard resounded. + +There is a curious reminder of Rashi's sojourn at Troyes. As late +as 1840 an ancient butcher shop was still standing, into which, +it was remarked, flies never entered. Jewish tradition has it +that the shop was built on the spot previously occupied by +Rashi's dwelling-hence its miraculous immunity. The same legend +is found among the Christians, but they ascribe the freedom from +flies to the protection of Saint Loup, the patron saint of the +city, who himself worked the miracle. Rashi is linked with Troyes +in ways more natural as well. As I have said, certain expressions +occur in his works which he himself says refer to his city. Some +scholars have even stated that they recognized in the language +he used the dialect of Troyes, a variety of the speech of +Champagne, itself a French patois. + +It is probable that Rashi-who was never at the head of the +Talmudic schools of Worms or Prague, as the legends go-exercised +the functions of a rabbi at Troyes, that he never kept himself +exclusively within the confines of his school, 'and that he felt +it his duty to instruct all his fellow-Jews. In conjunction with +his intellectual endowments, he possessed faith and charity, the +true sources of strength in religious leadership. He was the +natural champion of the weak,[21] the judge and supervisor of all +acts. He pronounced judgment in cases more or less distantly +connected with religion, that is, in nearly all cases at a period +so thoroughly religious in character. Either because he had been +appointed their rabbi by the faithful, or because he enjoyed +great prestige, Rashi was the veritable spiritual chief of the +community, and even exercised influence upon the surrounding +communities. The man to preside over the religious affairs of the +Jews was chosen not so much for his birth and breeding as for his +scholarship and piety, since the rabbi was expected to +distinguish himself both in learning and in character. "He who is +learned, gentle, and modest," says the Talmud, "and who is +beloved of men, he should be judge in his city." As will soon be +made clear, Rashi fulfilled this ideal. His piety and amiability, +in as great a degree as his learning, won for him the admiration +of his contemporaries and of posterity. At Troyes there was no +room for another at the head of the community. + +Like most of the rabbis of the time, Rashi accepted no +compensation from the community for his services, and he probably +lived from what he earned by viticulture. Once he begs a +correspondent to excuse the shortness of his letter, because he +and his family were busy with the vintage. "All the Jews," he +said, "are at this moment engaged in the vineyards." In a letter +to his son-in-law Meir, he gives a description of the wine- +presses of Troyes, in the installation of which a change had been +made. It was deemed fitting that the scholar should provide for +the needs of his family; the law in fact imposed it upon him as a +duty. "Religious study not accompanied by work of the hands is +barren and leads to sin." The functions of a rabbi were purely +honorific in character, dignifying, and unrelated in kind to' +mercantile goods, for which one receives pay. It was forbidden to +make the law a means of earning one's living or a title to glory. +"He who profits by his studies or who studies for his own +interest, compromises his salvation." + +When the religious representative showed such devotion and +disinterestedness, the pious willingly submitted themselves to +his authority. The spiritual heads of the communities had as +great ascendency [ascendancy sic] over believing Jews as a king +had over his subjects; they were sovereigns in the realm of the +spirit. And Rashi in his time, because of his learning and +piety, exercised the most undisputed authority. His influence +though not so great was comparable, in the sphere in which it +could be exercised, with that of the great Saint Bernard upon the +entire Christian world, or with that of Maimonides upon Judaism +in the Arabic countries. + +People in all circumstances and from all the surrounding +countries addressed themselves to him; and to the list of his +correspondents in Lorraine may be added the names of several +French rabbis, the "wise men" of Auxerre, the scholar Solomon of +Tours, whom Rashi calls his dear friend, his kinsman Eleazar, +and R. Aaron the Elder. His correspondence on learned questions +was so large that sometimes, as when he was ill, for instance, he +would have his disciples or relatives help him out with it.[22] + +About 1070 Rashi founded a school at Troyes, which soon became +the centre [center sic] of instruction in the Talmud for the +whole region. As we have seen, Gershom trained a number of +disciples who directed schools, each of which pursued a +particular course. Rashi united these various tendencies, as, +later, his work put an end to the activity of the commentators +of the Talmud. An explanation is thus afforded of the legend +repeated by Basnage in these words: "He made a collection of the +difficulties he had heard decided during his travels. On his +return to Europe he went to all the academies and disputed with +the professors about the questions which they were discussing; +then he threw to the floor a page of his collections, which gave +a solution of the problem, and so ended the controversy, without, +however, mentioning the name of the author of the decision. It +is alleged that these leaves scattered in thousands of places +were gathered together, and that from them was composed the +commentary on the Talmud." The legend attests Rashi's great +reputation. While he was still quite young, his renown had +rapidly spread. + +When in Lorraine, he had from time to time paid a visit to +Troyes, and so, later, when definitely established in Champagne, +he maintained relations with his masters, especially with Isaac +ha-Levi, whom he visited and with whom he corresponded in the +interim of his visits. Isaac ha-Levi was no less fond of his +favorite pupil, and he inquired of travellers [travelers sic] +about him. He addressed Responsa to Rashi on questions of +Talmudic jurisprudence. In fact, Rashi continued to solicit +advice from his teachers and keep himself informed of everything +concerning schools and Talmudic instruction. In this way he once +learned that a Talmudic scholar of Rome, R. Kalonymos (ben +Sabbatai, born before 1030) had come after the death of Jacob ben +Yakar to establish himself at Worms, where he died, probably a +martyr's death, during the First Crusade. Kalonymos, who enjoyed +a great reputation, wrote Talmudic commentaries and liturgical +poems. His was a personality rare in that period. + +Rashi's masters, in turn, often applied to their pupil for +advice, choosing him as arbiter and consulting him with a +deference more fitting toward a colleague than a disciple. Isaac +ha-Levi wrote the following words, in which one detects real +esteem and admiration underlying epistolary emphasis and the +usual exaggeration of a compliment: "Blessed be the Lord who +willed that this century should not be orphaned, who has steadied +our tottering generation by eminent teachers, such as my dear and +respected friend, my kinsman R. Solomon. May Israel boast many +another such as he!" Equally sincere seems the salutation of a +letter written to Rashi by Isaac ben Judali: "To him who is +beloved in heaven and honored on earth, who possesses the +treasures of the Law, who knows how to resolve the most subtle +and profound questions, whose knowledge moves mountains and +shatters rocks, etc." + +After the death of Rashi's teachers (about 1075) his school +'assumed even more importance. It eclipsed the academies of +Lorraine, and from all the neighboring countries it attracted +pupils, who later went forth and spread the teachings of their +master abroad. Rashi came to be considered almost the regenerator +of Talmudic studies, and in the following generation Eliezer ben +Xathan said with pious admiration: "His lips were the seat of +wisdom, and thanks to him the Law, which he examined and +interpreted, has come to life again." + +In this school, justly renowned as the centre [center sic] of +Jewish science, master and pupil were animated by equal love for +their work. Entire days were spent there in study, and often, +especially in winter, entire nights as well. The studies were +regulated by a judicious method. The teacher began to explain a +treatise of the Talmud on the first of the month, in order that +the students might take their measures accordingly, and not delay +coming until after the treatise had been begun. The pupils took +notes dictated by the teacher, and thus composed manuscripts +which are still of great value. In so doing they fixed all the +minutiae of a detailed process of argumentation. On the other +hand, books were rare, and students poor. The master himself, in +order to facilitate his task, wrote explanations during the +lesson, and these served as textbooks, which, like the students' +notebooks, became treasure houses for later generations. + +Rashi not only imparted knowledge to his pupils, but received +knowledge from them in turn. He set great store by their +observations. His grandson Samuel ben Meir once drew his +attention to a certain form of Biblical parallelism, in which the +second hemistich completes the first, as in the following verse +from Psalm xciii: + + "The floods have lifted up, O Lord, + The floods have lifted up their voice." + +After this, each time Rashi came across a similarly constructed +verse, he would say with mock gravity: "Here's a verse for my +Samuel." + +The Jewish student led a pure, regulated existence, with only +wholesome distractions, such as the little celebrations when the +study of a Talmudic treatise had been completed. His greatest +pleasure he found in the swordplay of mind against mind, in the +love of knowledge and religion. + +Rashi did not content himself with giving instruction only to +students under his immediate influence. He desired that his +teachings should not be lost to men unknown to him and to unborn +generations. He realized that everything so far accomplished in +the field of Talmudic and even Biblical exegesis was inadequate, +and he therefore undertook the works that were to occupy him the +rest of his life. His school was, so to speak, the laboratory of +which his Biblical and Talmudic commentaries were the products. +They involved a vast amount of toil, and though death overtook +him before his task was accomplished, he doubtless began the work +early in life.[23] A legend goes that he was forbidden to write +commentaries on the Bible before he was a hundred years old. +Rashi with all his ardor for learning could not curb himself and +postpone his activity for so long a time, and he turned the +prohibition in his own favor by explaining that the sum of the +Hebrew letters forming the word "hundred" amounted to forty-six. + +Rashi's disciples were in very truth his sons, for no sons were +born to the illustrious rabbi. But he had three daughters, who +each married a Talmudist, so that Rashi's descendants, no less +than himself, were the bearers of rabbinic learning in France. +Rashi did not limit his association with his pupils to the +school-house, but invited them to enter his family circle. +Indeed, this was the highest honor to which they could aspire. +It has always been the greatest piece of good fortune for a Jew +to marry the daughter of a learned and pious man, and the suitors +most desired by and for young girls were scholars. In this way +arose veritable dynasties of rabbis, who cherished learning as a +heritage, a family treasure, and the Rashi "dynasty" was one of +the greatest and most renowned among them. + +Tradition has delighted in representing Rashi's daughters as +highly endowed. Unfortunately, it seems that the education of +women among the Jews of the middle ages was greatly neglected, +though they were taught the principles of religion and the +ordinances which it was their special duty to fulfil [fulfill +sic]. They possessed the domestic virtues, and above all modesty +and charity. They helped their husbands in business, thus +enabling them to devote themselves more freely to study, and +though the women themselves lacked learning, they concerned +themselves with the learning of their men-folk, and were eager +to contribute to the support of schools and pupils. They were +extremely pious, often scrupulously so. The women in a family of +scholars had sufficient knowledge to be called upon in ritual +questions, as, for instance, Bellette, sister of Isaac ben +Menahem the Great, of Orleans, a contemporary of Rashi, who +appealed to her authority. Other cases of the same kind are +mentioned, some occurring in Rashi's own family, his +granddaughter Miriam having been asked to adjudicate a doubtful +case. One of Rashi's daughters, also called Miriam, married +the scholar Judah ben Nathan. Rachel, another daughter, given +a French epithet, Bellassez,[24] also seems to have been learned. +Her union with a certain Eliezer, or Jocelyn, was unhappy. Not +so the marriage of the third daughter of Rashi, Jochebed, whose +husband was the scholar Meir, son of Samuel, of Rameru, a little +village near Troyes. She had four sons, named Samuel, Jacob, +Isaac, and Solomon. The three first, and in a less degree the +fourth, too, continued in glorious wise the traditions of their +grandfather. I shall have occasion again to mention them, +their life, and their work. + +The renown of his posterity, far from dimming Rashi's brilliance, +only added fresh lustre [luster sic] to the name of him who was +both father and revered master. Even in his life-time Rashi +could reap the harvest of his efforts, and though death +intervened before his work was completed, he saw at his side +collaborators ready to continue what he had begun. + +A marriage among the Jews of France of that epoch must have been +a charming and touching ceremony, to judge from a picturesque +description, given by an author of the fourteenth century, of a +wedding at Mayence, a city in which the community had preserved +ancient customs. + +Several days before the ceremony the beadle invited all the +faithful; for it was a public festival, and everybody was +supposed to share in the joy of the bride and bridegroom. On the +day of the wedding, the bridegroom, attended by the rabbi and men +of standing in the community and followed by other members of the +congregation, proceeded to the synagogue to the accompaniment of +music. At the synagogue he was awaited by the bride, who was +surrounded by her maids of honor and by a number of women. The +rabbi presented the young girl to the bridegroom, and he took her +hand, while the by-standers showered grains of wheat upon them +and small pieces of money, which were picked up by the poor. +Then, hand in hand, the couple walked to the door of the +synagogue, where they paused a while. After this the bride was +led to her own home so that she might complete her toilet. Under +a large mantle of silk and fur, with puffed sleeves, she wore a +white robe, symbol of the mourning for Zion, the memory of which +was not to leave her even on this day of joy. The sign of +mourning adopted for the bridegroom was a special headgear. + +After the bridegroom had returned to the synagogue and placed +himself near the Ark of the Law, the morning service was held. +Meanwhile the bride was led to the door of the synagogue, always +to the accompaniment of music, and the bridegroom, conducted by +the rabbi and the heads of the community, went to receive her +there. He placed himself on her left, and preceded by his mother +and the mother of the bride, he guided her to the pulpit in the +centre [center sic] of the synagogue. Here was pronounced the +nuptial benediction. + +The ceremony over, the husband hastened to his home to meet his +wife and introduce her to the dwelling of which she was to be the +mistress. Here it was that the wedding feast was spread. +Festivities continued for several days, and the following +Saturday special hymns were inserted in the service in honor of +the newlywedded couple.[25] No parade or pomp marred the beauty +and grace of this ceremony, every act of which bespoke pure +poetry and religion. + +From this it is evident how much domestic virtues were prized +among the Jews of the middle ages. The family was expected to be +a model of union and harmony, of tenderness of mate toward mate +and parents toward children. Gentleness and a spirit of trust +were to preside over the household. Rashi, as we shall see,[26] +speaks in moving terms of the high regard which a man owes his +wife. + + II + +But it was not given to Rashi to pass untroubled through his +fruitful life of study. A terrible shock surprised him. The +eleventh century set in a sea of blood. + +Some legends have a hardy life. Not the least remarkable of these +is the myth that the Crusades were wholly inspired by religious +zeal. These great European movements are always represented as +having been called forth by enthusiasm and thirst for self- +sacrifice. A great wave of faith, we are told, swept over the +masses, and carried them on to the conquest of the Holy +Sepulchre. There is another side to the shield-faith fawning on +political expediency and egoism, and turning brigand. Without +doubt many Christians went on the Crusades impelled by religious +conviction. But how many nourished less vague ideas in their +hearts? Not to mention those whose only aim was to escape from +the consequences of their misdeeds and obtain absolution and +indulgences, not to mention those who were animated by a foolish +sense of chivalry, by love of adventure, of perilous risks, drawn +by the attraction of the unknown and the marvellous [marvelous +sic] - apart from these, there was the great mass, impelled by +greed and thirst for pillage. + +Complaisant historians express their admiring wonder at these +"hundreds of thousands of men fighting with their eyes doggedly +fixed upon the Holy Sepulchre and dying in order to conquer it." +They pity these "multitudes of men who threw themselves on Islam +the unknown, these naive, trusting spirits, who each day imagined +themselves at Jerusalem, and died on the road thither." Would it +not be well for them to reserve a little of their admiration and +pity for the unfortunates that were the victims of these "naive" +multitudes? Ought they not to say that this religious fervor was +a mixture chiefly of blind hate and bloody fanaticism? After a +victory the Crusaders would massacre the populations of the +conquered cities, including in the slaughter not only the +Mohammedans but also the Oriental Christians. Then why should we +wonder if on the road to Palestine they laid violent hands on the +Jews they found by the way?[27] + +It is known what an important part France played in the First +Crusade. From France issued the spark that set the entire +Occident aflame, and France furnished the largest contingent to +the Crusades. + +However, the disorders in France were merely local. If the rage +for blood enkindled by the First Crusade scarcely affected the +Jews of France, it is because the population was concentrated on +the banks of the Rhine. But here its murderous frenzy knew no +bounds. The people threw themselves on the Jewish communities of +Treves, Speyer, Worms, Mayence, and Cologne, and put to death all +who refused to be converted (May to July, 1096). The noise of +events such as these perforce "found a path through the sad +hearts" of the Jews of Champagne; for they maintained lively and +cordial relations with their brethren in the Rhine lands, many +being bound to them by ties of kinship. Among the martyrs of +1096 was Asher ha-Levi, who was the disciple of Isaac ben +Eleazar, Rashi's second teacher, and who died together with his +mother, his two brothers, and their families. From a Hebrew text +we learn that the Jews of France ordered a fast and prayers in +commemoration of these awful massacres, the victims of which +numbered not less than ten thousand. + +But all could not sacrifice their lives for the sake of their +faith. Though so large a number were slain by the pious hordes +or slew one another in order to escape violence, others allowed +themselves to be baptized, or adopted Christianity, in appearance +at least. After the Crusaders were at a distance, on the way to +their death in the Orient, the Jews left behind could again +breathe freely. Of many of them, Gregory of Tours might have said +that "the holy water had washed their bodies but not their +hearts, and, liars toward God, they returned to their original +heresy." The emperor of Germany, Henry IV, it seems, even +authorized those who had been forced into baptism to return to +Judaism, and the baptized Jews hastened to throw off the hateful +mask. This benevolent measure irritated the Christian clergy, and +the Pope bitterly reproached the Emperor. + +What sadder, more curious spectacle than that which followed? +Many of those Jews who had remained faithful to their religion +would not consider the apostates as their brethren, unwilling +apostates though they had been, and strenuously opposed their +re-admission to the Synagogue. + +This unwillingness to compound, showing so little generosity and +charity, must have distressed Rashi profoundly. For, when +consulted in regard to the repulsed converts, he displayed a +loftiness of view and a breadth of tolerance which Maimonides +himself could not equal. In similar circumstances Maimonides, +it seems, in intervening, yielded a little to personal +prepossession. "Let us beware," wrote Rashi, "let us beware of +alienating those who have returned to us by repulsing them. They +became Christians only through fear of death; and as soon as the +danger disappeared, they hastened to return to their faith." + +Though the First Crusade affected the Jews of France only +indirectly, it none the less marks a definite epoch in their +history. The fanaticism it engendered wreaked its fury upon the +Jews, against whom all sorts of odious charges were brought. +They were placed in the same category as sorcerers and lepers, +and among the crimes laid at their door were ritual murder and +piercing of the host. The instigations of the clergy did not +remain without effect upon a people lulled to sleep by its +ignorance, but aroused to action by its faith. The kings and +seigneurs on their side exploited the Jews, and expelled them +from their territories. + +Rashi had the good fortune not to know these troublous times. But +he discerned in a sky already overcast the threatening +premonitions of a tempest, and as though to guard his fellow-Jews +against the danger, he left them a work which was to be a +viaticum and an asylum to them. When one sees how Rashi's work +brought nourishment, so to speak, to all later Jewish literature, +which was a large factor in keeping Israel from its threatened +ruin, one is convinced that Rashi, aside from his literary +efforts, contributed no slight amount toward the preservation and +the vitality of the Jewish people. + +Even if the Crusades had not involved persecution of the Jews and +so provoked the noble intervention of Rashi, they would +nevertheless have made themselves felt in Champagne. Count Hugo, +among others, remained in the Holy Land from 1104 to 1108; and +his brother was killed at Ramleh in 1102. According to a rather +wide-spread legend, Rashi stood in intimate relations with one of +the principal chiefs of the Crusade, the famous duke of Lower +Lotharingia, Godfrey of Bouillon. Historians have found that the +part actually played by the duke in the Crusades is smaller than +that ascribed to him by tradition, yet the profound impression he +made on the popular imagination has remained, and legend soon +endowed him with a fabulous genealogy, making of him an almost +mythical personage. A favorite trick of the makers of legends is +to connect their heroes with celebrated contemporaries, as though +brilliance was reflected from one upon the other. Thus Saladin +was connected with Maimonides and with Richard the Lion-Hearted, +and, similarly, Rashi with Godfrey of Bouillon. + +The story goes that Godfrey, having heard rumors of the knowledge +and wisdom of the rabbi of Troyes, summoned Rashi to his presence +to consult with him upon the issue of his undertaking. Rashi +refused to appear. Annoyed, Godfrey accompanied by his cavaliers +went to the rabbi's school. He found the door open, but the +great building empty. By the strength of his magic Rashi had +made himself invisible, but he himself could see everything. +"Where art thou, Solomon?" cried the cavalier. "Here I am," a +voice answered; "what does my lord demand?" Godfrey not seeing a +living soul repeated his question, and always received the same +answer. But not a man to be seen! Utterly confounded, he left +the building and met a disciple of Rashi's. "Go tell thy +master," he said, "that he should appear; I swear he has nothing +to fear from me." The rabbi then revealed himself.[28] "I see," +Godfrey said to him, "that thy wisdom is great. I should like to +know whether I shall return from my expedition victorious, or +whether I shall succumb. Speak without fear." + +"Thou wilt take the Holy City," Rashi replied, "and thou wilt +reign over Jerusalem three days, but on the fourth day the Moslem +will put thee to flight, and when thou returnest only three +horses will be left to thee." + +"It may be," replied Godfrey, irritated and disillusioned in +seeing his future pictured in colors so sombre. "But if I return +with only one more horse than thou sayest, I shall wreak +frightful vengeance upon thee. I shall throw thy body to the +dogs, and I shall put to death all the Jews of France." + +After several years of fighting Godfrey of Bouillon, ephemeral +king of Jerusalem, took his homeward road back to France, +accompanied by three cavaliers, in all, 'then, four horses, one +more than Rashi had predicted. Godfrey remembered the rabbi's +prophecy, and determined to carry out his threat. But when he +entered the city of Troyes, a large rock, loosened from the gate, +fell upon one of the riders, killing him and his horse. Amazed at +the miracle, the duke perforce had to recognize that Rashi had +not been wrong, and he wanted to go to the seer to render him +homage, but he learned that Rashi had died meanwhile. This +grieved him greatly. + +This legend was further embellished by the addition of details. +Some placed the scene at Worms; others asserted that the duke +asked Rashi to accompany him to Lorraine; but Rashi nobly +refused, as Maimonides did later. All forgot that Godfrey of +Bouillon after he left for the Crusades never saw his fatherland +again, but died at Jerusalem, five years before Rashi. + +Rashi's life offers no more noteworthy events. He passed the +balance of his days in study, in guiding the community, and in +composing his works. Without doubt, our lack of information +concerning his last years is due to this very fact-to the peace +and calm in which that time was spent. + +A naive legend has it that he wanted to know who would be his +companion in Paradise. He learned in a dream that the man lived +at Barcelona, and was called Abraham the Just. In order to +become acquainted with him while still on earth, Rashi, despite +his great age, started forth on a journey to Barcelona. There he +found a very rich man, but, as was alleged, he was also very +impious. However, Rashi was not long in discovering that for all +his life of luxury he was just and generous of spirit. Rashi +even composed a work in his honor entitled "The Amphitryon," in +Hebrew, <I>Ha-Parnes.</I> Do you think the work was lost? Not a +bit of it. It still exists, but it is called <I>Ha-Pardes.</I> +The legend is based upon a copyist's mistake. However, it is +found in different forms in other literatures. + +Beyond a doubt Rashi died and was buried in his birthplace. +Nevertheless the story is told, that as he was about to return to +France with his young wife, the daughter of his host at Prague, +after his long trip of study and exploration, which I have +already described, an unknown man entered his dwelling and struck +him a mortal blow. But the people could not resign themselves to +accept so miserable an end for so illustrious a man, and the +legend received an addition. At the very moment Rashi was to be +buried, his wife ran up and brought him back to life by means of +a philtre. His father-in-law, in order not to excite the envy of +his enemies, kept the happy event a secret, and ordered the +funeral to be held. The coffin was carried with great pomp to +the grave, which became an object of veneration for the Jews of +Prague. In fact, a tomb is pointed out as being that of the +celebrated rabbi, and, as the inscription is effaced, the +assertion can safely be made that Rashi died in the capital of +Bohemia. + +Rashi's death was less touching and less tragic. We learn from a +manuscript dated Thursday, the twenty-ninth of Tammuz, in the +year 4865 of the Creation (July 13, 1105), that Rashi died at +Troyes. He was then sixty-five years of age. + +It is as though the echo of the regrets caused by Rashi's death +resounded in the following note in an old manuscript: "As the +owner of a fig-tree knows when it is time to cull the figs, so +God knew the appointed time of Rashi, and carried him away in his +hour to let him enter heaven. Alas! he is no more, for God has +taken him." These few lines, without doubt the note of some +copyist, show with what deep respect the memory of Rashi came to +be cherished but shortly after his death. Like Rabbeun Gershom he +was awarded after his death the title of "Light of the +Captivity." But later the title was applied only to Gershom, as +though Rashi had no need of it to distinguish him. + +Rashi died "full of days," having led a life of few incidents, +because it was uniformly devoted to study and labor. He was like +a patriarch who is surrounded by the affection of his children +and by the respect of his contemporaries. To future generations +he bequeathed the memory of his virtues and the greatness of his +work. And his memory has survived the neglect of time and the +ingratitude of man. Posterity has enveloped his brow with a halo +of glory, and after the lapse of eight centuries the radiance of +his personality remains undiminished. + + CHAPTER IV + + CHARACTER AND LEARNING OF RASHI + +Not only is there little information concerning the incidents of +Rashi's life, but also there are only a few sources from which we +can learn about his mental makeup and introduce ourselves, so to +speak, into the circle of his thoughts and ideas. Generally one +must seek the man in his work. But into writings so objective as +those of a commentator who does not even exert himself to set +forth his method and principles in a preface, a man is not apt to +put much of his own personality. Moreover, Rashi was disposed to +speak of himself as little as possible. From time to time, +however, he lets a confidence escape, and we treasure it the more +carefully because of its rarity. + +Fortunately we can get to know him a little better through his +letters, that is, through the Responsa addressed by him to those +who consulted him upon questions of religious law. Another +source, no less precious, is afforded by the works of his pupils, +who noted with pious care the least acts or expressions of their +master that were concerned with points of law. + +I shall endeavor to sum up all this information, so that we may +get a picture of the man and trace his features in as distinct +lines as possible. + + I + +Needless to say, Rashi's conduct was always honorable and his +manners irreproachable. To be virtuous was not to possess some +special merit; it was the strict fulfilment [fulfillment sic] of +the Law. We have seen that Rashi's life was pure; and his life +and more particularly his work reveal a firm, controlled nature, +a simple, frank character, clear judgment, upright intentions, +penetrating intelligence, and profound good sense. The Talmudic +maxim might be applied to him: "Study demands a mind as serene as +a sky without clouds." His was a questioning spirit, ever alert. +He had the special gift of viewing the outer world intelligently +and fixing his attention upon the particular object or the particular +circumstance that might throw light upon a fact or a text. +For instance, although he did not know Arabic, he remembered +certain groups of related words in the language, which had +either been called to his attention or which he had met with in +reading. He noticed of his own accord that "Arabic words begin +with 'al'." To give another example of this discernment: he +explains a passage of the Talmud by recalling that he saw Jews +from Palestine beating time to mark the melody when they were +reading the Pentateuch. + +The clearness and poise ef Rashi's intellect-qualities which he +possessed in common with other French rabbis, though in a higher +degree-stand in favorable contrast with the sickly symbolism, the +unwholesome search for mystery, which tormented the souls of +ecclesiastics, from the monk Raoul Glaber up to the great Saint +Bernard, that man, said Michelet, "diseased by the love of God." + +Yet the Jews of Northern France were not, as one might suppose +from their literature, cold and dry of temperament. They were +sensitive and tender-hearted. They did not forever lead the +austere life of scholarly seclusion; they did not ignore the +affections nor the cares of family; they knew how to look upon +life and its daily come and go. + +But they did not go to the other extreme and become philosophers. +Traditional religion was to them the entire truth. They never +dreamed that antagonism might arise between faith and reason. +From a theological point of view-if the modern term may be +employed-Rashi shared the ideas of his time. In knowledge or +character one may raise oneself above one's contemporaries; but +it is rare not to share their beliefs and superstitions. Now, it +must be admitted, the Jews of Northern France did not cherish +religion in all its ideal purity. The effect of their faith, +their piety, upon these simple souls was to make them somewhat +childish, and give their practices a somewhat superstitious +tinge. Thus, Rashi says in the name of his teacher Jacob ben +Yakar, that one should smell spices Saturday evening, because +hell, after having its work interrupted by the Sabbath, begins to +exhale a bad odor again in the evening. This naive faith at +least preserved Rashi from pursuing the paths not always avoided +by his co-religionists of Spain and the Provence, who dabbled in +philosophy. Rashi never was conscious of the need to justify +certain narratives or certain beliefs which shocked some readers +of the Bible. Not until he came upon a passage in the Talmud +which awakened his doubts did he feel called upon to explain why +God created humanity, though He knew it would become corrupt, and +why He asks for information concerning things which cannot escape +His omniscience. But Rashi was not bewildered by certain +anthropomorphic passages in the Bible, the meaning of which so +early a work as the Targum had veiled. Nor was he shocked by the +fact that God let other peoples adore the stars, and that altars +had been consecrated to Him elsewhere than at Jerusalem. Thus his +plain common sense kept him from wandering along by-paths and +losing himself in the subtleties in which the Ibn Ezras and the +Nahmanides were entangled. His common sense rendered him the +same service in the interpretation of many a Talmudic passage +that Saadia and Nissim had thought incapable of explanation +unless wrested from its literal meaning. Since justice requires +the admission, I shall presently dwell upon the points in which +Rashi's lack of philosophic training was injurious to him. Here +it is necessary merely to note wherein it was useful to him. It +was not he, for instance, who held Abraham and Moses to have been +the precursors-no, the disciples-of Aristotle. Ought we to +complain of that? + +In discussing the fundamental goodness of Rashi's nature, no +reserves nor qualifications need be made. Historians have vied +with one another in praising his humanity, his kindliness, his +indulgent, charitable spirit, his sweetness, and his benevolence. +He appealed to the spirit of concord, and exhorted the +communities to live in peace with one another. His goodness +appears in the following Responsum to a question, which the +interrogator did not sign: "I recognized the author of the +letter by the writing. He feared to sign his name, because he +suspects me of being hostile to him. But I assure him I am not; +I have quite the contrary feeling for him." A still quainter +characteristic is illustrated by the following decision which he +rendered: "If, during the prayer after a meal, one interrupts +oneself to feed an animal, one does not commit a reprehensible +act, for one should feed one's beasts before taking nourishment, +as it is written: 'And I will send grass in thy fields for thy +cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full.'" But the quality Rashi +possessed in the highest degree was simplicity, modesty, one may +almost say, humility; and what contributed not a little to the +even tenor of his existence was his capacity for self-effacement. + +Such was his nature even when a youth in the academies of +Lorraine. He himself tells how once, when he was in the house of +his teacher, he noticed that a ritual prescription was being +violated in dressing the meat of a sheep. His teacher, occupied +with other matters, did not notice the infringement of the law, +and the pupil was in a quandary. To keep quiet was to cover up +the wrong and make it irreparable; to speak and pronounce a +decision before his master was to be lacking in respect for him. +So, to escape from the embarrassing situation, Rashi put a +question to his master bearing upon the dressing of the meat. + +Toward all his teachers Rashi professed the greatest respect. On +a certain question they held wrong opinions, and Rashi wrote: "I +am sure they did not cause irremediable harm, but they will do +well in the future to abstain from such action." This shows at +the same time that Rashi did not hesitate to be independent, did +not blindly accept all their teachings. When he believed an +opinion wrong, he combated it; when he believed an opinion right, +he upheld it, even against his masters. On one occasion, Isaac +ha-Levi delivered a sentence which to his pupil seemed too +strict. "I plied him with questions," says Rashi, "to which he +would not pay attention, although he could not give any proof in +support of his opinion." To the pupils of Isaac, he wrote: "I do +not pretend to abolish the usages that you follow, but as soon +as I can be with you, I shall ask you to come over to my opinion. +I do not wish to discuss the stricter practices adopted in the +school of Jacob ben Yakar (Isaac's predecessor), until I shall +have established that my idea is the correct one. He will then +acknowledge that I am right, as he did once before." + +This is the circumstance referred to. While still a pupil of +Isaac ha-Levi, Rashi had accepted a decision of his without +having thoroughly studied it. Later he became convinced that his +teacher was mistaken, but he bore it in mind until he went to +Worms and persuaded his teacher to his own belief. + +Rashi displayed the same reserve in the exercise of his +rabbinical functions, especially when the community appealing to +him was not that of Troyes. That of Chalons-sur-Saone once +consulted him concerning an interdiction imposed by R. Gershom, +and asked him to repeal it; but Rashi modestly declined to give +an opinion.[29] + +Rashi's modesty is also illustrated by the tone of his +correspondence. Deferential or indulgent, he never adopted a +superior manner, was never positive or dogmatic. When his +correspondents were wrong, he sought to justify their mistakes; +when he combated the explanation of another, he never used a +cutting expression, or a spiteful allusion, as Ibn Ezra did, and +so many others. + +Finally, it seems, he did not hesitate to recognize his own +mistakes, even when a pupil pointed them out to him, and it is +possible to select from his commentaries a number of avowals of +error. In his Responsa he wrote: "The same question has already +been put to me, and I gave a faulty answer. But now I am +convinced of my mistake, and I am prepared to give a decision +better based on reason. I am grateful to you for having drawn my +attention to the question; thanks to you, I now see the truth." +This question concerned a point in Talmudic law; but he was +willing to make a similar admission in regard to the explanation +of a Biblical verse. "In commenting on Ezekiel I made a mistake +in the explanation of this passage, and as, at the end of the +chapter, I gave the true sense, I contradicted myself. But in +taking up the question again with my friend Shemaiah,[30] I +hastened to correct this mistake." + +An old scholar named R. Dorbal, or Durbal, addressed a question +to Rashi, and Rashi in his reply expressed his astonishment that +an old man should consult so young a man as he. Assuredly, said +Rashi, it was because he wanted to give a proof of his +benevolence and take the occasion for congratulating Rashi on his +response, if it were correct. + +It would take too long to enumerate all the passages in which +Rashi avows his ignorance, and declares he cannot give a +satisfactory explanation. + +We have seen that Rashi did not hesitate to acknowledge that he +owed certain information to his friends and pupils, and that his +debates with them had sometimes led him to change his opinion. +The confession he made one day to his grandson Samuel about the +inadequacy of his Biblical Commentary[31] has become celebrated, +and justly so. There is something touching in the way he listened +to the opinions of his grandson, and accepted them because +they appeared correct to him-the man who loved truth and science +above everything else. Like many noble spirits, he considered +his work imperfect, and would have liked to do it all over again. +This modesty and this realization of the truth are the ruling +qualities of his nature. + + II + +The ideal Jew combines virtue with knowledge, and tradition +ascribes to Rashi universal knowledge. In the first place he was +a polyglot. Popular admiration of him, based upon the myth +concerning his travels and upon a superficial reading of this +works, assigned to him the old miracle of the Apostles. The +languages he was supposed to know were Latin, Greek, Arabic, and +Persian. He was also said to be acquainted with astronomy, and +even with the Kabbalah, of which, according to the Kabbalists, he +was an ardent adept. After his death, they say, he appeared to +his grandson Samuel to teach him the true pronunciation of the +Ineffable Name. Medical knowledge was also attributed to Rashi, +and a medical work ascribed to his authorship. One scholar went +so far as to call him a calligrapher.[32] From his infancy, it +was declared, he astonished the world by his learning and by his +memory; and when, toward the end of his life, he went to Barcelona, +he awakened every one's admiration by his varied yet profound +knowledge. + +These errors, invented, or merely repeated, but, at all events, +given credence by the Jewish chroniclers and the Christian +bibliographers, cannot hold out against the assaults of +criticism. To give only one example of Rashi's geographical +knowledge, it will suffice to recall how he represented the +configuration of Palestine and Babylonia, or rather how he tried +to guess it from the texts.[33] His ignorance of geography is +apparent in his commentaries, which contain a rather large number +of mistakes. In addition, Rashi was not always familiar with +natural products, or with the creations of art, or with the +customs and usages of distant countries. Still less was a rabbi +of the eleventh century likely to have an idea of what even +Maimonides was unacquainted with, the local color and the spirit +of dead civilizations. Rashi-to exemplify this ignoranceexplained +Biblical expressions by customs obtaining in his own day: "to +put into possession," the Hebrew of which is "to fill the hand," +he thinks he explains by comparing it with a feudal ceremony and +discovering in it something analagous [analogous sic] to the act +of putting on gauntlets. In general, the authors of Rashi's +time, paying little regard to historic setting, explained +ancient texts by popular legends, or by Christian or feudal +customs. Therefore, one need not scruple to point out this +defect in Rashi's knowledge. Like his compatriots he did not +know the profane branches of learning. He was subject to the +same limitations as nearly the entire body of clergy of his day. +While the Arabs so eagerly and successfully cultivated +philosophy, medicine, astronomy, and physics, Christian Europe +was practically ignorant of these sciences. Finally, one will +judge still less severely of Rashi's knowledge-or lack of +knowledge-if one remembers what science was in the Christian +world of the middle ages-it was childish, tinged with +superstition, extravagantly absurd, and fantastically naive. +Rashi believed that the Nile flooded its banks once every forty +years; but Joinville, who lived two centuries later, and who was +in Egypt, tells even more astonishing things than this about the +marvellous [marvelous sic] river, which has its source in the +terrestrial Paradise. + +Besides French, the only profane language Rashi knew was German. +The explanations he gives according to the Greek, the Arabic, and +the Persian, he obtains from secondary sources. Indeed, they are +sometimes faulty, and they reveal the ignorance of the man who +reproduced without comprehending them. No great interest +attaches to the mention of his chronological mistakes and his +confusion of historical facts. His astronomic knowledge is very +slight, and resolves itself into what he borrowed from the +Italian Sabbatai Donnolo, of Oria (about 950). + +But limited as his knowledge was to Biblical, Talmudic, and +Rabbinical literature, it was for that reason all the greater in +the province he had explored in its inmost recesses. This is +shown by his numerous citations, the sureness of his touch, and +his mastery of all the subjects of which he treats. + +Thanks to the citations, we can definitely ascertain what we +might call his library. + +Needless to say, the first place was held by the Bible, which, as +will be seen, he knew perfectly. He wrote commentaries upon the +Bible almost in its entirety, besides frequently referring to it +in his Talmudic commentaries. His favorite guide for the +explanation of the Pentateuch is the Aramaic version by Onkelos. +For the Prophets he used the Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel.[34] +He was entirely ignorant of the Apocryphal books. The Wisdom of +Ben Sira, for instance, like the <I>Megillat Taanit,</I> or Roll +of Fasts,[35] were known to him only through the citations of the +Talmud. + +On the other hand Rashi was thoroughly conversant with the whole +field of Talmudic literature-first of all the treatises on +religious jurisprudence, the <I>Mishnah,</I>[36] +<I>Tosefta,</I>[37] the Babylonian and, in part, the Palestinian +<I>Gemara;</I>[36] then, the Halakic Midrashim, such as the +<I>Mekilta,</I> the <I>Sifra,</I> the <I>Sifre,</I>[38] and +Haggadic compilations, such as the <I>Rabbot,</I>[39] the Midrash +on the Song of Songs, on Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, the Psalms, +and Samuel, the <I>Pesikta,</I>[40] the <I>Tanhuma,</I>[41] and +the <I>Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer.</I>[42] + +According to tradition, Rashi has set the Talmudic period as the +date of composition of two works which modern criticism has +placed in the period of the Geonim. These works are the historic +chronicle <I>Seder Olam</I>[43] and the gnostic or mystic treatise +on the Creation, the <I>Sefer Yezirah;</I> the forerunner of +the Kabbalah. Besides these anonymous works, Rashi knew the +Responsa of the Geonim, which he frequently cites, notably those +of Sherira[44] and his son Hai,[45] the <I>Sheeltot</I> of R. +Aha,[46] and the <I>Halakot Gedolot,</I> attributed by the French +school to Yehudai Gaon.[47] In the same period must be placed two +other writers concerning whom we are not wholly enlightened, +Eleazar ha-Kalir and the author of the Jewish chronicle entitled +<I>Yosippon.</I> Eleazar, who lived in the eighth or ninth +century, was one of the first liturgical poets both as to time +and as to merit. The author of the <I>Yosippon</I> undoubtedly +lived in Italy in the tenth century. Rashi, like all his +contemporaries, confounded the two respectively with the Tanna R. +Eleazar and the celebrated Josephus. They were considered +authorities by all the rabbis of the middle ages, the first for +his language and his Midrashic traditions, the second for his +historical knowledge.[48] + +So far as the literature contemporary, or nearly contemporary, +with Rashi is concerned, it must be stated that Rashi had read +all the works written in Hebrew, while the whole of Arabic +literature was inaccessible to him. Without doubt he knew the +grammarian Judah Ibn Koreish[49] only by the citations from him. +On the other hand he made much use of the works of the two +Spanish grammarians, Menahem ben Saruk and Dunash ben +Labrat,[50] likewise the works of Moses haDarshan, of Narbonne. +Naturally, he was still better versed in all the rabbinical +literature of Northern France and of Germany. He frequently cites +R. Gershom, whom he once called "Father and Light of the +Captivity," as well as his contemporaries Joseph Tob Elem, +Eliezer the Great, and Meshullam ben Kalonymos, of Mayence. I +have already mentioned-and will repeat further on how much he +owed his teachers. + +For the sake of completeness, it is necessary to add to this list +all the contemporaries from whom Rashi learned either directly or +indirectly. For information concerning the Talmud, Isaac ben +Menahem the Great, of Orleans, may be mentioned among these; and +for information concerning the Bible, Menahem ben Helbo, whom +Rashi probably cited through the medium of one of his pupils or +his writings, for he himself was not known to Rashi, his younger +contemporary. + +If one also takes into consideration the less important and the +anonymous persons whose books or oral teachings Rashi cited, one +will be convinced that he had what is called a well-stocked +brain, and that his knowledge in his special domain was as vast +as it was profound, since it embraced the entire field of +knowledge which the Jews of Northern France of that time could +possibly cultivate. His learning was not universal; far from it; +but he was master of all the knowledge his countrymen possessed. + +Thanks to this erudition, he could fill, at least in part, the +gaps in his scientific education. In fact, an understanding of +Talmudic law presupposes a certain amount of information-geometry +and botany for questions concerning land, astronomy for the +fixation of the calendar, zoology for dietary laws, and so on. +Rashi's knowledge, then, was less frequently defective than one +is led to suppose, although sometimes he lagged behind the Talmud +itself. It has been noted that of 127 or 128 French glosses +bearing upon the names of plants, 62 are absolutely correct. In +history Rashi preserved some traditions which we can no longer +verify, but which seem to be derived from sources worthy of +confidence; and if it had not been for Rashi, we would not have +become acquainted with them. + +What he knew, therefore, he knew chiefly through reading and +through the instruction of his teachers, to whom he often +appealed; for he possessed that most precious quality in a +scholar, conscience, scientific probity. One example will +suffice to give an idea of his method. Once, when he was +searching for a text in his copy of the Talmud, he found it +corrected. But he did not remember if he himself or his teacher +had made the correction. So he consulted a manuscript in which +he had noted down the variants of his teacher Isaac of Mayence. +Not being able to determine from this, he begged his +correspondent to look up the manuscript of Isaac and to let him +know the reading. + +This characteristic leads us back to a consideration of Rashi's +nature, upon which one likes to dwell, because it makes him a +sage in the most beautiful and the largest meaning of the word, +because it makes him one of the most sympathetic personalities in +all Jewish history. If Rashi had left nothing but the remembrance +of an exemplary life and of spotless virtue, his name would have +merited immortality. + +But Rashi bequeathed more than this to posterity; he left one, +nay, two monuments to awaken admiration and call forth gratitude. +They assure him fame based on a solid foundation. What matter if +we Jews fail to honor our great men with statues of marble and +bronze, if they themselves establish their glory on pedestals +that defy the ravages of time? Statues raised by the hand of man +are perishable as man himself; the works constructed by a genius +are immortal as the genius himself. + + BOOK II + + THE WORK OF RASHI + + + CHAPTER V + + THE COMMENTARIES-GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS + + +Rashi stands before us a teacher distinguished and original, a +religious leader full of tact and delicate feeling, a scholar +clear-headed and at the same time loving-hearted. In which +capacity, as teacher, religious leader, scholar, does he evoke +our deepest admiration? Shall we accord it to the one who made a +home for Talmudic studies on the banks of the Seine, and so gave +a definite impetus to French Jewish civilization? Or shall we +accord it to the one who for nearly forty years presided over the +spiritual destinies of an active and studious population and +fulfilled the duties of a rabbi; with all the more devotion, +without doubt, because he did not have the title of rabbi? Or +should we not rather pay our highest tribute to Rashi the man, so +upright and modest, so simple and amiable, who has won for +himself the veneration of posterity as much by the qualities of +his heart as by those of his intellect, as much by his goodness +and kindliness as by the subtlety and acumen of his mind, in a +word, as much by his character as by his knowledge? Nevertheless +his knowledge was extraordinary and productive of great works, +which we shall consider in the following chapters. + +As spiritual chief of the French Jews, it was natural that Rashi +should occupy himself with the source of their intellectual and +religious activity, with the Bible. But in his capacity of +Talmudist and teacher, it was equally natural that he should +devote himself to the explanation of the Talmud, which formed the +basis of instruction in the schools, besides serving to regulate +the acts of everyday life and the practices of religion. And as +a rabbinical authority he was called upon to resolve the problems +that arose out of individual difficulties or out of communal +questions. We need no other guide than this to lead us to an +understanding of his works. But not to omit anything essential, +it would be well to mention some collections which were the +result of his instruction, and some liturgical poems attributed +to him. + + * * * * * + +Rashi owes his great reputation to his commentaries on the two +great works that comprehend Jewish life in its entirety, and lie +at the very root of the intellectual development of Judaism, the +Bible and the Talmud. His commentaries involving an enormous +amount of labor are all but complete; they fail to cover only a +few books of the Bible and a few treatises of the Talmud. The +conjecture has been made that at first he set himself to +commenting on the Talmud, and then on the Bible, because at the +end of his life he expressed the wish that he might begin the +Biblical commentary all over again. But this hypothesis is not +justified. The unfinished state of both commentaries, especially +the one on the Talmud, shows that he worked on them at the same +time. But they were not written without interruption, not "in one +spurt," as the college athlete might say. Rashi worked at them +intermittently, going back to them again and again. It is certain +that so far as the Talmudic treatises are concerned, he did not +exert himself to follow the order in which they occur. He may +have taken them up when he explained them in his school. But in +commenting on the Bible, it seems, he adhered to the sequence of +the books, for it was on the later books that he did not have the +time to write commentaries. Moreover, he sometimes went back to +his commentary on a Biblical book or a Talmudic treatise, not +because he worked to order, like Ibn Ezra, and as circumstances +dictated, but because he was not satisfied with his former +attempt, and because, in the course of his study, the same +subject came up for his consideration. Though the commentaries, +then, were not the result of long, steady application, they +demanded long-continued efforts, and they were, one may say, the +business of his whole life. The rabbi Isaac of Vienna, who +possessed an autograph commentary of Rashi, speaks of the +numerous erasures and various marks with which it was +embroidered. + +The commentaries of Rashi, which do not bear special titles, are +not an uninterrupted exposition of the entire work under +consideration, and could not be read from cover to cover without +recourse to the text explained; they are rather detached glosses, +postils, to borrow an expression from ecclesiastical literature, +upon terms or phrases presenting some difficulties. They are +always preceded by the word or words to be explained. + +It is evident, then, that Rashi's works do not bear witness to +great originality, or, better, to great creative force. Rashi +lacks elevation in his point of view, breadth of outlook, and +largeness of conception. He possessed neither literary taste nor +esthetic sense. He was satisfied to throw light upon an +obscurity, to fill up a lacuna, to justify an apparent +imperfection, to explain a peculiarity of style, or to reconcile +contradictions. He never tried to call attention to the beauties +of the text or to give a higher idea of the original; he never +succeeded in bringing into relief the humanity of a law, or the +universal bearing of an event. + +Rashi failed also to regard a thing in its entirety. He did not +write prefaces to his works setting forth the contents of the +book and the method to be pursued.[51] In the body of the +commentaries, he hardly ever dwells on a subject at length, but +contents himself with a brief explanation. In short, his horizon +was limited and he lacked perspective. It is to be regretted that +he did not know the philosophic works of Saadia, who would have +opened up new worlds to him, and would have enlarged the circle +of his ideas. If he had read only the Biblical commentaries of +the great Gaon, he would have learned from him how to grasp a +text in its entirety and give a general idea of a work. + +Even if he had limited himself to the Talmud, Rashi, without +doubt, would have been incapable of raising a vast and harmonious +edifice, like the <I>Mishneh Torah</I> of Maimonides. He did not +possess the art of developing the various sides of a subject so +as to produce a well-ordered whole. He lacked not only literary +ambition, but also that genius for organizing and systematizing +which classifies and co-ordinates all the laws. Though +methodical, he lacked the power to generalize. + +This defect, common to his contemporaries, arose, possibly, from +a certain timidity. He believed that he ought to efface himself +behind his text, and not let his own idea take the place of the +author's, especially when the text was a religious law and the +author the Divine legislator. But it seems that his power of +creative thought was not strong, and could exercise itself only +upon the more original works of others. We find analogous +features in scholastic literature, which developed wholly in the +shadow of the Scriptures, the Fathers of the Church, and +Aristotle. + +This narrow criticism, this eye for detail, this lack of general +ideas and of guiding principles at least guarded Rashi against a +danger more original spirits failed to escape, namely, of reading +preconceived notions into the text, of interpreting it by an +individual method, and, thus, of gathering more meaning, or +another meaning, than was intended by the author. Unlike the +Jewish and Christian theologians, Rashi felt no need to do +violence to the text in order to reconcile it with his scientific +and philosophic beliefs. + +Though Rashi, as I said, had not a creative intellect, he yet had +all the qualities of a commentator. First of all, he possessed +clearness, the chief requisite for a commentary, which undertakes +to explain a work unintelligible to its readers. "To write like +Rashi" has become a proverbial expression for "to write clearly +and intelligibly." Rashi always or nearly always uses the +expression one expects. He finds the explanation that obtrudes +itself because it is simple and easy; he excels in unravelling +[unraveling sic] difficulties and illuminating obscurities. To +facilitate comprehension by the reader Rashi resorted to the use +of pictures and diagrams, some of which still appear in his +Talmudic commentary, though a number have been suppressed by the +editors. Once, when asked for the explanation of a difficult +passage in Ezekiel, he replied that he had nothing to add to what +he had said in his commentary, but he would send a diagram which +would render the text more intelligible. It is remarkable with +what ease, even without the aid of illustrations, he unravelled +[unraveled sic] the chapters of Ezekiel in which the Prophet +describes the Temple of his fancy; or the equally complicated +chapters of Exodus which set forth the plan of the Tabernacle. + +Essentially this power of exposition is the attribute of +intelligent insight. Rashi's was the clearest, the most +transparent mind-no clouds nor shadows, no ambiguities, no +evasions. He leaves nothing to be taken for granted, he makes no +mental reservations. He is clearness and transparency itself. + +But Rashi's language is not merely clear; it is extremely +precise. It says with accuracy exactly what it sets out to say. +Rashi did not hesitate sometimes to coin new words for the sake +of conveying his thought. He always heeded the connotation of a +word, and took the context into account. Once, in citing a +Talmudic explanation of a verse in Jeremiah, he rejected it, +because it did not square with the development of the thought; +and often he would not accept an interpretation, because a word +in the text was given a meaning which it did not have in any +other passage. He grasped, and rendered in turn with perfect +accuracy, shades of meaning and subtleties of language; and the +fine expression of relations difficult to solve surprises and +charms the reader by its precision. + +Commentators in the effort to be clear are often wordy, and those +who aim at brevity often lack perspicuity. The latter applies to +Abraham Ibn Ezra, who might have said with the poet, "I avoid +long-windedness, and I become obscure." Samuel ben Meir, on the +other hand, grandson and pupil of Rashi, is, at least in his +Talmudic commentaries, so long-winded and prolix that at first +glance one can detect the additions made by him to the +commentaries of his grandfather. It is related, that once, when +Rashi was ill, Samuel finished the commentary Rashi had begun, +and when Rashi got well he weighed the leaves on which his pupil +had written and said: "If thou hadst commented on the whole +Talmud after this fashion, thy commentary would have been as +heavy as a chariot." The story, which attributes somewhat +uncharitable words to Rashi, yet contains an element of truth, +and emphasizes the eminent quality of his own commentaries. + +He rarely goes into very long explanations. Often he solves a +difficulty by one word, by shooting one flash of light into the +darkness. The scholar and bibliographer Azulai scarcely +exaggerated when he said that Rashi could express in one letter +that for which others needed whole pages. A close study of the +Talmudic commentaries shows that he replied in advance and very +briefly to the questions of many a Talmudist. + +It is only in considering the difficult passages that he goes to +greater length to note and discuss explanation previously +propounded. Take for example what he says on the words '<H>al +mut Laben</H>', the superscription of Psalm ix, which are a +<I>crux interpretum.</I> At the same time the reader will observe +how ancient are certain interpretations of modern exegetes. +Rashi begins by refuting those who allege that David wrote this +Psalm on the death of his son Absalom; for in that case +<H>Haben</H> and not <H>Laben<\H> would have been necessary, and +nothing in the text bears out this explanation. Others +transposed the letters of <H>Laben</H> to read <H>Nabal,</H> but +there is no reference to Nabal in this Psalm. Others again, like +the Great Massorah, make a single word of <H>almut<\H>. Menahem +and Dunash,[52] each proposes an explanation which seems to be +incorrect. The <I>Pesikta,</I> in view of verse 6, thinks the +Psalm refers to Amalek and Esau; and this, too, is not +satisfying. Finally, Rashi gives his own explanation, scarcely +better than the others,- that the Psalm deals with the +rejuvenation and purity of Israel when it will have been redeemed +from the Roman captivity. + +When difficult questions are propounded by the Talmud, or arise +out of a consideration of the Talmud, Rashi cites previous +explanations or parallel texts. But this is exceptional. As a +rule he finds with marvellous [marvelous sic] nicety and without +circumlocution the exact word, the fitting expression, the necessary +turn. One or two words suffice for him to sum up an observation, +to anticipate a question, to forestall an unexpressed +objection, to refute a false interpretation, or to throw light +upon the true meaning of word or phrase. This is expressed in the +saying, "In Rashi's time a drop of ink was worth a piece of +gold." It was not without justification - though, perhaps, the +practice was carried to excess - that for centuries commentaries +were written upon these suggestive words of his under the title +<I>Dikduke Rashi,</I> the "Niceties of Rashi." Even at the +present day his commentaries are minutely studied for the purpose +of finding a meaning for each word. In fact, because of this +concise, lapidary style, his commentaries called into existence +other commentaries, which set out to interpret his ideas, - and +frequently found ideas that did not belong there. Though the +authors of these super - commentaries were Rashi's admirers, they +were scarcely his imitators. + +In this regard it is of interest to compare the commentary of +Rashi upon the beginning of the treatise <I>Baba Batra</I> with +that of Samuel ben Meir upon the end of the treatise, which Rashi +did not succeed in reaching. An even more striking comparison may +be made with the commentary of Nissim Gerundi upon the abridgment +of the Talmud by Alfasi, which is printed opposite to that of +Rashi.[53] Rashi's style is unmistakable, and prolixness in a +commentary attributed to him is proof against the alleged paternity. + +By virtue of these qualities, possessed by Rashi in so high a +degree, he is true to the traditions of French literature, which +is distinguished for simplicity and clearness among all +literatures. Besides, he compares with the French writers of the +middle ages in his disregard of "style." It is true, he handles +with ease Hebrew and Aramaic, or, rather, the rabbinical idiom, +which is a mixture of the two. But he is not a writer in the true +sense of the word. His language is simple and somewhat careless, +and his writing lacks all traces of esthetic quality. + + * * * * * + +Since the Bible and the Talmud made appeal to readers of another +time and another language than those in which they were written, +Rashi's first duty was to explain them, then, if necessary, +translate them, now to add clearness to the explanation, now to +do away with it wholly. These translations, sometimes bearing +upon entire passages, more often upon single words, were called +glosses, Hebrew <I>laazim</I> (better, <I>leazim</I>), the plural +of <I>laaz.</I> They were French words transcribed into Hebrew +characters, and they formed an integral part of the text. Rashi +had recourse to them in his teaching when the precise Hebrew +expression was lacking, or when he explained difficult terms, +especially technical terms of arts and crafts. The use of a +French word saved him a long circumlocution. Sometimes, the laaz +followed a definition or description, in a striking manner giving +the meaning of the word or expression. + +In employing these French laazim, Rashi introduced no innovation. +His predecessors, especially his masters, had already made use of +them, perhaps in imitation of the Christian commentators, who +likewise inserted words of the vernacular in their Latin +explanations. The Latin - speaking clergy were often forced to +employ the common speech for instructing the people; and in the +eleventh century beginnings were made in the translation of the +Old and New Testament by the rendition of important passages. +But while it perturbed the Church to see the Scriptures spread +too freely before the gaze of the layman, the rabbis never feared +that the ordinary Jew might know his Bible too well, and they +availed themselves of the laazim without scruple. The frequent +occurrence of the laazim is one of a number of proofs that French +was the current speech of the Jews of France. Hebrew, like Latin +among the Christian clergy, was merely the language of literature +and of the liturgy. It is noteworthy that the treatises +containing most laazim bear upon questions affecting the common +acts of daily life - upon the observance of the Sabbath (treatise +<I>Shabbat</I>), upon the dietary laws, (<I>Hullin</I>), and upon +laws concerning the relations of Jews with non-Jews (<I>Abodah +Zarah</I>). Rashi extended the use of the laazim, developing this +mode of explanation; and the commentaries of his disciples, who +continued his method, are strewn with French words, which were +then inserted in the Hebrew - French glossaries. Several of +these glossaries are about to be published. After Rashi's +commentaries became a classic wherever there were Jews, the +laazim were often translated into a foreign language, as into +German or Italian. The Pseudo - Rashi on Alfasi,[54] following +the manuscripts, sometimes presents a German translation now +with, now without the French word. + +Rashi's Biblical and Talmudic commentaries contain 3157 laazim, +of which 967 occur in the Biblical commentaries and 2190 in the +Talmudic, forming in the two commentaries together a vocabulary +of about two thousand different words. In the Biblical +commentaries, concerned, as a rule, not so much with the +explanation of the meaning of a word as with its grammatical +form, the laazim reproduce the person, tense, or gender of the +Hebrew word; in the Talmudic commentaries, where the difficulty +resides in the very sense of the word, the laazim give a +translation without regard to grammatical form. + +At the present time these laazim are of interest to us, not only +as the expression of Rashi's ideas, but also as vehicles of +information concerning the old French. As early an investigator +as Zunz remarked that if one could restore them to their original +form, they would serve as a lexicon of the French language at the +time of the Crusades. But even Zunz did not realize the full +value to be extracted from them. The rare specimens that we +possess of the <I>langue d'oil</I>[55] of the eleventh century +belong to the Norman dialect and to the language of poetry. +Written, as they were, in Champagne, the laazim of Rashi +represent almost the pure French (the language spoken in +Champagne lay between the dialect of the Ile-de-France and that +of Lorraine [56]), and, what is more, they were words in common +use among the people, for they generally designated objects of +daily use. These laazim, then, constitute a document of the +highest importance for the reconstruction of old French, as much +from a phonetic and morphologic point of view, as from the point +of view of lexicography; for the Hebrew transcription fixes to a +nicety the pronunciation of the word because of the richness of +the Hebrew in vowels and because of the strict observance of the +rules of transcription. Moreover, in the matter of lexicography +the laazim offer useful material for the history of certain +words, and bring to our knowledge popular words not to be found +in literary and official texts. In the case of many of these +terms, their appearance in Rashi is the earliest known; otherwise +they occur only at a later date. And it is not difficult to put +the laazim back into French, because of the well-defined system +of transcription employed. Even the laws of declension (or what +remained of declension in the old French) are observed. + +Unfortunately, the great use made of Rashi's commentaries +necessitated a large number of copies, and frequent copying +produced many mistakes. Naturally, it was the laazim that +suffered most from the ignorance and carelessness of the copyists +and printers, especially in the countries in which French was not +the current language. Efforts have been made within the last two +centuries to restore the laazim. Mendelssohn and his associates +applied themselves to the commentary on the Pentateuch, Lowe, to +the Psalms, Neumann, to the Minor Prophets, Jeitteles and Laudau, +to the whole of the Bible, and the Bondi brothers, Dormitzer, +and, above all, Landau, to the Talmudic commentaries. But these +authors, not having consulted the manuscripts and knowing the +French language of the middle ages only imperfectly, arrived at +insufficient results. Even the identifications of Berliner in +his critical edition of the commentary on the Pentateuch are not +always exact and are rarely scientific. + +Arsene Darmesteter (1846-1888), one of the elect of French +Judaism and a remarkable scholar in the philology of the Romance +languages, realized that in the commentaries of Rashi "the +science of philology possesses important material upon which to +draw for the history of the language in an early stage of its +developinent." With the aim of utilizing this material, he +visited the libraries of England and Italy, and gathered much +that was important; but his numerous occupations and his +premature death prevented him from finishing and publishing his +work. In the interests of French philology as well as for a +complete understanding of the text of Rashi, it would be +advantageous to publish the notes that he collected. In fact, +such a work will appear, but unfortunately not in the proportions +Darmesteter would have given it. Nevertheless, it will be found +to contain information and unique information, upon the history, +the phonetics, and the orthography of medieval French; for the +first literary works, which go as far back as the eleventh +century, the life of Saint Alexius and the epic of Roland, have +not come down to us in the form in which they were written. "What +would the trouveres of Roland and the clerics of Saint Alexius +have said if they had been told that one day the speech of their +warrior songs and their pious homilies would need the aid of the +Ghetto to reach the full light of day, and the living sound of +their words would fall upon the ears of posterity through the +accursed jargon of an outlawed race?"[57] + +In this chapter I have made some general observations upon the +composition and the method of the Biblical and Talmudic +Commentaries of Rashi. Concerning their common characteristics +there is little to add, except to remark that the explanations +are generally simple, natural, and unforced. This is especially +true of the Talmudic commentaries. Rashi in large part owes the +foundations upon which his works are built to his predecessors, +and no higher praise could be accorded him than to say that he +knew the great mass of traditions and the explanations made +before him. + +However, Rashi rather frequently gave his own personal +explanation, either because he did not know another, or because +those propounded before him did not seem adequate or satisfying. +In the latter case, he usually put down the rejected explanation +before setting forth his own. Yet there are cases in which +intelligence and imagination fail to supply knowledge of some +special circumstance; and such lack of knowledge led Rashi into +many errors. On the whole, however, the commentaries contain +invaluable information, and are of the very highest importance +for Jewish history and literature, because of the citations in +them of certain lost works, or because of hints of certain facts +which otherwise would be unknown. Modern historians justly +recognize in Rashi one of the most authoritative representatives +of rabbinical tradition, and it is rare for them to consult him +without profit to themselves. + + CHAPTER VI + + THE BIBLICAL COMMENTARIES + +"Thanks to Rashi the Torah has been renewed. The word of the Lord +in his mouth was truth. His way was perfect and always the same. +By his commentary he exalted the Torah and fortified it. All wise +men and all scholars recognize him as master, and acknowledge +that there is no commentary comparable with his." This +enthusiastic verdict of Eliezer ben Nathan[58] has been ratified +by the following generations, which, by a clever play upon words, +accorded him the title of <I>Parshandata,</I> Interpreter of the +Law.[59] And, verily, during his life Rashi had been an +interpreter of the Law, when he explained the Scriptures to his +disciples and to his other co-religionists; and he prolonged this +beneficent activity in his commentaries, in which one seems to +feel his passionate love of the law of God and his lively desire +to render the understanding of it easy to his people. Yet it is +true that all scholars did not share in the general admiration of +Rashi, and discordant notes may be heard in the symphony of +enthusiasm. + +Of what avail these eulogies and what signify these reservations? + +If one reflects that the Bible is at the same time the most +important and the most obscure of the books that antiquity has +bequeathed to us, it seems natural that it should soon have been +translated and commented upon. The official Aramaic translation, +or Targum, of the Pentateuch is attributed to Onkelos and that of +the Prophets[60] to Jonathan ben Uzziel. Rashi constantly draws +inspiration from both these works, and possibly also from the +Targumim to the Hagiographa, which are much more recent than the +other two Targumim. Sometimes he simply refers to them, +sometimes he reproduces them, less frequently he remarks that +they do not agree with the text. + +For the establishment of the text Rashi scrupulously follows the +Massorah, the "Scriptural Statistics," the work of scholars who +lived in the period between the seventh and the tenth century, +and who assured the integrity of the Bible by counting the number +of verses in each book and the number of times each word, phrase, +or expression recurs. The Massorah soon came to have great +authority; and many scholars, such as R. Gershom, for example, +copied it with their own hands in order to have a correct and +carefully made text of the Bible. The Massorah was Rashi's +constant guide. From a calculation made, of the number of times +he transgressed its rules, the infractions do not appear to be +numerous, and sometimes they seem to have been involuntary. As a +consequence, variants from the text of the Bible are extremely +rare in Rashi, and the copyists eliminated them entirely. In +general at his time the text was definitely established to the +minutest details, and variants, if there were any, were due to +blunders of the copyists. Rashi, who probably carefully compared +manuscripts, once remarked upon such faulty readings. + +It is to the Massoretes that some attribute the accents which +serve to mark at once the punctuation and the accentuation of the +Biblical text. Rashi naturally conformed to this system of +accentuation, and if he departed from it, it seems he frequently +did so inadvertently. + + * * * * * + +But the two great sources upon which Rashi drew for his exegesis +were the Talmudic and the Midrashic literature, with their two +methods of interpreting the Scriptures. As a knowledge of these +two methods is indispensable to an understanding of Rashi's +exegesis, I will give some pages from the work of a recent French +exegete, L. Wogue, who presents an excellent characterization of +them in his <I>Histoire de la Bible et de l'exegese biblique:</I> + + Whatever diversities may exist in the point of view adopted by + the investigators of the Bible, in the aims they pursued, and + in the methods they employed, the methods are necessarily to + be summed up in the two terms, <I>peshat</I> and + <I>derash.</I> This is a fact which scarcely requires + demonstration. There are only two ways of understanding or + explaining any text whatsoever, either according to the + natural acceptation of its meaning, or contrary to this + acceptation. At first glance it seems as though the former + were the only reasonable and legitimate method, and as though + the second lacked either sincerity or common sense, and had no + right to the title of method. Yet we shall see how it came + about, and how it was bound to come about, that the Derash not + only arose in the Synagogue, but assumed preponderating + importance there. + +From very ancient times the Pentateuch and certain chapters of +the Prophets were read or translated in the synagogue every +Saturday. Accordingly, the interpretation of the Law could not +be slavishly literal. + + Destined for the edification of the ignorant masses inclined + to superstition, it perforce permitted itself some freedom in + order to avoid annoying misconceptions. Sometimes the literal + rendition might suggest gross errors concerning the Divine + Being, sometimes it might appear to be in conflict with + practices consecrated by the oral law or by an old tradition, + and sometimes, finally, it might in itself be grotesque and + unintelligible. Hence a double tendency in exegesis, each + tendency asserting itself in the synagogue at different epochs + and with varying force.... Two sorts of Midrash are to be + distinguished; if the question concerns jurisprudence or + religious practice, it is called Midrash Halakah, Halakic or + legal exegesis; if the subject bears upon dogmas, promises, + the consolations of religion, moral truths, or the acts of + daily life, the Midrash is called Midrash Haggadah, the + Haggadic or ethical exegesis. The first is intended to + regulate the form and the external exercise of religion; the + second, to sanctify and perfect man's inward being. Each + brings to the examination of the text a preconceived notion, as + it were; and it reconciles text and preconceived notion + sometimes by traditional, sometimes by arbitrary, methods, + often more ingenious than rational. The Peshat, on the + contrary, subordinates its own ideas to the text, wishes to + see in the text only what is actually there, and examines it + without bias.... + + The pious instructors of the people felt the need of utilizing + and applying to daily life as much as possible these Holy + Scriptures, the one treasure that had escaped so many + shipwrecks. That a word should have but one meaning, that a + phrase should have but one subject, this seemed mean, shabby, + inadequate, unworthy the Supreme Wisdom that inspired the + Bible. The word of God was perforce more prolific. Each new + interpretation of the Biblical text added richness and new + value to the precious heritage.... Another very important + circumstance, if it did not originate the Midrashic method, at + all events tended strongly to bring it into vogue. I speak of + the religious life, such as it was among the Israelites, + especially in the time of the second Temple. A number of + practices, more or less sacred and more or less obligatory, + were established in, or after this period, either by + rabbinical institution, or by virtue of the oral law or of + custom; and these practices, sanctioned by long usage or by + highly esteemed authorities, had no apparent basis in the + written law. To maintain them and give them solidity in the + regard of the people, it was natural to seek to prove by + exegesis <I>ad hoc</I> that the Holy Text had imposed or + recommended them in advance, if not expressly, at least by + hints and allusions.... The application of this method was + called forth not only by the religious practices, but also by + the ideas and opinions that had been formed or developed in + the same period. After the Babylonian Exile the successive + influence of the Chaldeans, the Persians, and the Greeks + produced among the Jews of Asia as well as among the Jews of + Egypt certain theories concerning cosmogony, angels, and the + government of the world, which rapidly gained credence, and + were generally held to be incontestable. These theories + provided a complete apparatus of doctrines so attractive and + so enthusiastically accepted even by our teachers, that the + people could not resign themselves to the belief that they + were not contained in the Bible, or, worse still, that they + were contradicted by this store-house of wisdom and truth. But + these doctrines - for the most part, at least - are not to be + found in the literal text of the Bible, and, as a consequence, + the scholars turned to the Midrashic method as the only one + calculated to read the desired meaning into the text. + +Now the general character of Judaism had not changed perceptibly +during ten centuries. In the eleventh century the Jews had the +same needs as in the first, and the same method of satisfying +their needs. They found it quite natural to bring their ideas +into agreement with the Bible - or, rather, they did so +unconsciously - and to twist the text from its natural meaning, +so as to ascribe to the Biblical authors their own ideas and +knowledge. + +Yet, however great the favor attaching to this method, the Peshat +was never entirely deprived of its rights. It was even destined +to soar high into prominence. The appearance of the Karaites +(eighth century), who rejected the Talmud and held exclusively to +the Scriptures, brought into existence, either directly or +indirectly, a rational, independent method of exegesis, though +the influence of this sect upon the development of Biblical +studies has been grossly magnified. It was the celebrated Saadia +(892-942) who by his translation of, and commentary upon, the +Bible opened up a new period in the history of exegesis, during +which the natural method was applied to the interpretation of +Biblical texts. The productions of this period deserve a +commanding position in Jewish literature, as much for their +intrinsic value as for their number. + +While, however, in the countries of Arabic culture, natural +exegesis made its way triumphantly, in the countries of Christian +Europe, it freed itself from the traditional Midrash only with +difficulty. Moreover, Derash - to carry a Jewish term into an +alien field - was the method always employed by the Christian +theologians. Throughout the medieval ages they adhered chiefly to +a spiritual, allegoric, moral, and mystic interpretation. In the +employment of this method the literary, grammatical, philologic, +and historical aspect is perforce neglected. Nevertheless, even +among Christian scholars the rational method found some worthy +representatives, especially among the Belgian masters.[61] + +The deplorable ease of the Midrashic method readily accounts for +its vogue. The Haggadist is not compelled to hold fast to his +text, his imagination has free play, and is untrammelled +[untrameled sic] by the leading-strings of grammar and good +sense. The task of the exegete properly so called is quite +different. He may not find in the text anything which is not +actually there. He must take heed of the context, of the +probable, and of the rules of the language. The exegete searches +for the idea in the text; the Haggadist introduces foreign ideas +into the text. + + "At the same time, whatever the attraction of the Midrashic + method for the Jews of France and Germany, and however great + the wealth of their material, neither this attraction nor this + wealth could take the place of a pure, simple explanation of + the genuine meaning of Scriptures, a meaning which often + served as a basis for the Midrash, and in a vast number of + cases would have remained obscure and incomplete. Here there + was a yawning gap in an essential matter, and the man who had + the honor of filling up this gap - and with marvellous + [marvelous sic] success, considering the insufficiency of his + scientific resources - was one of the most eminent scholars of + the Synagogue, the leader of Jewish science, Rashi."[62] + +It would be unjust to ignore the efforts of two of Rashi's +predecessors, Moses ha-Darshan (first half of the eleventh +century) and Menahem ben Helbo, who prepared the way and rendered +the task easier for him. The principal work of Moses ha-Darshan, +often cited by Rashi under the title of <I>Yesod,</I> +"Foundation," is a Haggadic and mystic commentary, giving, +however, some place to questions of grammar and of the natural +construction of the text. As to Menahem ben Helbo, a certain +number of his explanations and fragments of his commentaries have +been preserved; but Rashi probably knew him only through the +intermediation of his nephew Joseph Kara. Following the example +of Moses ha-Darshan and possibly, also, of Menahem ben Helbo, +Rashi used both the Peshat and the Derash in his Biblical +commentaries. "Rashi," says Berliner, "employed an in-between +method, in which the Peshat and the Derash were easily united, +owing to the care he exercised, to choose from the one or the +other only what most directly approximated the simple meaning of +the text. Rashi was free in his treatment of traditional legends, +now transforming, now lengthening, now abridging them or joining +several narratives in one, according to expediency." + +This opinion is comprehensive; but it is necessary to emphasize +and differentiate. + +As a rule, when the Midrash does no violence to the text, Rashi +adopts its interpretation; and when there are several Midrashic +interpretations, he chooses the one that accords best with the +simple sense; but he is especially apt to fall back upon the +Midrash when the passage does not offer any difficulties. On the +contrary, if the text cannot be brought into harmony with the +Midrash, Rashi frankly declares that the Midrashic interpretation +is irreconcilable with the natural meaning or with the laws of +grammar. He also rejects the Midrashic interpretation if it does +not conform to the context. "A passage," he said, "should be +explained, not detached from its setting, but according to the +context." In other cases he says, "The real meaning of the verse +is different," and again, "This verse admits of a Midrashic +interpretation, but I do not pretend to give any but the natural +meaning." Rashi was fond of repeating the following Talmudic +saying, which he elevated into a principle: "A verse cannot +escape its simple meaning, its natural acceptation." Rashi, then, +cherished a real predilection for rational and literal exegesis, +but when he could not find a satisfactory explanation according +to this method, or when tradition offered one, he resigned +himself to the Haggadic method, saying: "This verse requires an +explanation according to the Midrash, and it cannot be explained +in any other way." + +A few quotations will facilitate the comprehension of this +characteristic method. + + 1. CREATION OF THE WORLD (Genesis 1.1) + + <I>In the beginning</I>]. R. Isaac[63] says: The Law ought to + have begun with the rule enjoining the celebration of + Passover, which is the first of the Mosaic precepts. But God + "showed his people the power of His works, that He may give + them the heritage of the heathen."[64] If the heathen nations + say to Israel: You are robbers, for you have seized the land + of the seven nations (Canaanites), the Israelites can reply: + The entire earth belongs to God, who, having created it, + disposes of it in favor of whomsoever it pleases Him. It + pleased Him to give it to the seven nations, and it pleased + Him to take it away from them in order to give it to us. + <I>In the beginning, etc. Bereshit bara</I>]. This verse + should be interpreted according to the Midrash, and it is in + this way that our rabbis apply it to the Torah as having + existed "before His works of old,"[65] or to Israel, called + "the first-fruits of His increase."[66] But if one wishes to + explain these words in their natural meaning, it is necessary + to observe the following method. In the beginning of the + creation of the heaven and the earth, when the earth was + confusion and chaos, God said: "Let there be light." This + verse does not set forth the order of the creation. If it + did, the word <H>barishona (Bet Resh Alef Shin Nun He)</H> + would have been necessary, whereas the word <H>reshit (Resh + Alef Shin Yod Tav)</H> is always in the construct, as + in Jer. xxvii. 1, Gen. x. 10, Deut. xviii. 4;[67] likewise + <H>bara (Bet Resh Alef)</H> must here be taken as an + infinitive <H>(Bet Resh Alef with shin dot)</H>; the same + construction occurs in Hosea i. 2. Shall we assert that the + verse intends to convey that such a thing was created before + another, but that it is elliptical (just as ellipses occur in + Job iii. 10, Is. viii. 4, Amos vi. 12, Is. xlvi. 10)? But + this difficulty arises: that which existed first were the + waters, since the following verse says, that "the Spirit of + God moved upon the face of the waters," and since the text did + not previously speak of the creation of the waters, the waters + +Rashi's exegesis is a bit complicated, because his beliefs +prevented him from realizing that the narrative of Genesis +presupposes a primordial chaos; but his explanations are +ingenious, and do away with other difficulties. They have been +propounded again as original explanations by modern commentators, +such as Ewald, Bunsen, Schrader, Geiger, etc. Botticher even +proposed the reading <H>bara (Bet Resh Alef)</H>. I did not give +the preceding commentary in its entirety, because it is fairly +long and, in this respect, not typical. Consequently other +quotations will serve a purpose. + + 2. THE SACRIFICE OF ISAAC (Gen. xxii. 1) + + 1. <I>After these words</I>]. Some of our teachers explain + the expression: "after the words of Satan," who said to God Of + all his meals Abraham sacrifices nothing to Thee, neithe a + bull nor a ram. He would sacrifice his son, replied God if I + told him to do it. Others say: "after the words of Ishmael," + who boasted of having undergone circumcision when he was + thirteen years old, and to whom Isaac answered: If God + demanded of me the sacrifice of my entire being, I would do + what he demanded. Abraham said: <I>Behold, here I am</I>]. + Such is the humility of pious men; for this expression + indicates that one is humble, ready to obey. + + 2. God said: <I>Take now</I>]. This is a formula of prayer; + God seems to say to Abraham: I pray thee, submit thyself to + this test, so that thy faith shall not be doubted. <I>Thy + son</I>]. I have two sons, replied Abraham. <I>Thine only + son</I>]. But each is the only son of his mother. <I>Whom + thou lovest</I>]. I love them both. <I>Isaac</I>]. Why did not + God name Isaac immediately? In order to trouble Abraham, and + also to reward him for each word, etc. + +All these explanations are drawn from Talmudic (<I>Sanhedrim +89b</I>) and Midrashic (<I>Bereshit Rabba</I> and <I>Tanhuma</I>) +sources. The meaning of the passage being clear, Rashi has +recourse to Haggadic elaborations, which, it must be admitted, +are wholly charming. Rashi will be seen to be more original in +his commentary on the Song of the Red Sea, the text of which +offers more difficulties. + + + 3. SONG OF THE RED SEA (Ex. xv. 1) + + 1. <I>Then sang Moses</I>]. "Then": when Moses saw the + miracle, he had the idea of singing a song; similar + construction in Josh. x. 12, I Kings vii. 8. Moses said to + himself that he would sing, and that is what he did. Moses + and the children of Israel "spake, saying, I will sing unto + the Lord." The future tense is to be explained in the same way + as in Josh. x. 12 (Joshua, seeing the miracle, conceived the + idea of singing a song, "and he said in the sight of Israel," + etc.), in Num. xxi. 17 ("Then Israel sang this song, Spring + up, O well; sing ye unto it"), and in I Kings xi. 7 (thus + explained by the sages of Israel: "Solomon wished to build a + high place, but he did not build it"). The "yod" (of the + future) applies to the conception. Such is the natural + meaning of the verse. But, according to the Midrashic + interpretation, our rabbis see in it an allusion to the + resurrection, and they explain it in the same fashion as the + other passages, with the exception of the verse in Kings, + which they translate: "Solomon wished to build a high place, + but he did not build it." But our verse cannot be explained + like those in which the future is employed, although the + action takes place immediately, as in Job i. 5 ("Thus did + Job"); Num. ix. 23 ("The Israelites rested in their tents at + the commandment of the Lord") and 20 ("when the cloud was a + few days"), because here the action is continued and is + expressed as well by the future as by the past. But our song + having been sung only at a certain moment, the explanation + does not apply. + + <H>Ki gaoh gaah (Kaf Yod, Gimel Alef with holam He, Gimel with + qamats, Alef with qamats He)</H>]. As the Targum[68] translates. + Another explanation: "He is most exalted," above all + praise, and however numerous our eulogies, I could add to + them; such is not the human king whom one praises without + reason. <I>The horse and his rider</I>] - The one attached to + the other; the waters carried them off and they descended + together into the sea. <H>Ramah (Resh Mem He)</H> (hath He + thrown)] like <H>hishlich (He Shin Lamed Yod Final_Kaf)</H>; + the same as in Dan. iii. 21. The Haggadic Midrash[69] gives + this explanation: one verse employs the verb <H>(Yod Resh + He)</H> the other the verb <H>Ramah (Resh Mem He)</H> which + teaches us that the Egyptians mounted into the air in order + then to descend into the ocean. The same as in Job xxxviii. + 6, "who laid (<H>yarah (Yod Resh He)</H> ) the corner stone + thereof" from top to bottom? + + 2. <H>Ozi vezimrat yah vayei li lishuah (Ayin Zayin Yod, Vav + Zayin Mem Resh Tav, Yod He, Vav Yod He Yod, Lamed Yod, Lamed + Yod Shin Vav Ayin He)</H>]. Onkelos translates: my strength + and my song of praise. He therefore explains <H>ohzi + (Ayin with qamats Zayin with dagesh and hiriq Yod)</H> as + <H>uzi (Ayin with qubuts, Zayin with dagesh and hiriq Yod)</H> + and <H>vezimrat (Vav Zayin Mem Resh Tav)</H> as <H>vezimrati + (Vav Zayin Mem Resh Tav Yod)</H> But I am astonished at the + vowelling of the first word, which is unique in Scriptures, if + an exception is made of the three passages in which the two + words are joined. In all other places it is provided with the + vowel "u", for example in Jer. xvi. 19 and Psalms lix. 10. In + general, when a word of two letters contains the vowel "o", if + it is lengthened by a third letter, and if the second letter + has no "sheva", the first takes an "u": <H>oz (Ayin with holam + Zayin)</H> makes <H>rok, uzi (Resh with sin dot Qof, Ayin with + qubuts Zayin with dagesh Yod</H> makes <H>jok, ruki (Het Qof, + Resh with qubuts Qof with dagesh and hiriq Yod)</H> makes + <H>ol, juki (Ayin with holam Lamed, Het with qubuts Qof with + dagesh and hiriq Yod</H> makes <H>kol ulo (Kaf with holam + Lamed, Ayin with qubuts Lamed with dagesh Vav)</H>[70] makes + <H>kulo (Kaf with qubuts Lamed with dagesh Vav)</H>, as in + Exodus xiv. 7. On the contrary, the three other passages, + namely, our passage, the one in Is. (xii. 2), and that in + Psalms (cxviii. 14), have <H>ozi (Ayin Zayin Yod)</H> vowelled + with a short "o"; moreover, these verses do not have + <H>vezimrati (Vav Zayin Mem Resh Tav Yod)</H> but <H>vezimrat + (Vav Zayin Mem Resh Tav)</H>, and all continue with <H>vayei + li lishuah (Vav Yod He Yod, Lamed Yod, Lamed Yod Shin Vav Ayin + He)</H>. And to give a full explanation of this verse, it is + in my opinion necessary to say that <H>ohzi (Ayin with qamats + Zayin with dagesh Yod)</H> is not equivalent to <H>uzi (Ayin + with qubuts Zayin with dagesh Yod</H> nor <H>vezimrat (Vav + Zayin Mem Resh Tav)</H> to <H>vezimrati (Vav Zayin Mem Resh + Tav Yod),</H> but that <H>ohzi (Ayin with qamats Zayin with + dagesh Yod)</H> is a substantive (without a possessive suffix, + but provided with a paragogic "yod"), as in Psalm cxxiii. 1, + Obadiah 3, Deut. xxxiii. 16. The eulogy (of the Hebrews) + therefore signifies: it is the strength and the vengeance of + God that have been my salvation. <H>vezimrat (Vav Zayin Mem + Resh Tav)</H> is thus in the construct with the word God, + exactly as in Judges v.23, Is. ix. 18, Eccl. iii. 18. As for + the word <H>vezimrat (Vav Zayin Mem Resh Tav)</H> it has the + meaning which the same root has in Lev. xxv. 4 ("thou shalt + not prune") and in Is. xxv. 5; that is to say, "to cut". The + meaning of our verse, then, is: "The strength and the + vengeance of our Lord have been our salvation." One must not + be astonished that the text uses <H>vayehi (Vav Yod He + Yod)</H> (imperfect changed to past) and not <H>haiah (He Yod + He)</H> (perfect): for the same construction occurs in other + verses; for example, I Kings vi. 5, II Chron. x. 17[71], Num. + xiv. 16 and 36, Ex. ix. 21. + + <I>He is my God</I>]. He appeared to them in His majesty, and + they pointed Him out to one another with their finger.[72] + The last of the servants saw God, on this occasion, as the + Prophets themselves never saw Him. <H>veanvehu (Vav Alef Nun + Vav He Vav)</H>]. The Targum sees in this word the meaning of + "habitation"[73] as in Is. xxxiii. 20, lxv. 10. According to + another explanation the word signifies "to adorn," and the + meaning would be: "I wish to celebrate the beauty and sing the + praise of God in all His creatures," as it is developed in the + Song of Songs; see v.9 <I>et seq.</I>[74] <I>My father's + God</I>]. He is; <I>and I will exalt Him. My father's + God</I>]. I am not the first who received this consecration; + but on the contrary His holiness and His divinity have + continued to rest upon me from the time of my ancestors. + +In the above the text calls only for the embellishments of the +Haggadah. In the following passage from Rashi's commentaries the +place allotted to Derash is more limited. + + 4. CONSTRUCTION OF THE TABERNACLE (Ex. xxv. 1 <I>et seq.</I>) + + 2. <I>Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an + offering</I>]. To me; in my honor. An offering (<H>terumah + (Tav Resh Vav Mem He)</H>), a levy; let them make a levy upon + their goods. <I>Of every man that giveth it willingly with + his heart</I> (<H>idbenu (Yod Dalet Bet Nun Vav)</H>), same + meaning as <H>nedava (Nun Dalet Bet He),</H> that is to say, a + voluntary and spontaneous gift.[75] <I>Ye shall take my + offering</I>] Our sages say: Three offerings are prescribed by + this passage, one of a <I>beka</I> from each person, used for + a pedestal, as will be shown in detail in <I>Eleh + Pekude</I>[76]; the second, the contribution of the altar, + consisting of a <I>beka</I> from each person, thrown into the + coffers for the purchase of congre gational sacrifices; and, + third, the contribution for the Tabernacle, a free-will + offering. The thirteen kinds of material to be mentioned were + all necessary for the construction of the Tabernacle and for + the making of priestly vestments, as will be evident from a + close examination. + + 3. <I>Gold, and silver, and brass</I>]. All these were offered + voluntarily, each man giving what he wished, except silver, of + which each brought the same quantity, a half-shekel a person. + In the entire passage relating to the construction of the + Tabernacle, we do not see that more silver was needed; this is + shown by Ex. xxxviii. 27. The rest of the silver, + voluntarily offered, was used for making the sacred vessels. + + 4. <H>Tejelet (Tav Kaf Lamed Tav)</H>]. Wool dyed in the + blood of the <I>halazon</I>[77] and of a greenish color. + <H>viargaman (Vav Alef Resh Gimel Mem Final_Nun)</H>]. Wool + dyed with a sort of coloring matter bearing this name. + <H>Vasmesh (Vav Shin Shin)</H>]. Linen. <H>izim (Ayin Zayin + Yod Final_Mem)</H>]. Goats' hair; this is why Onkelos + translates it by <H>mazi (Mem Ayin Zayin Yod),</H> but not + "goats," which he would have rendered by <H>azia (Ayin Zayin + Yod Alef).</H> + + 5. <I>And rams' skins dyed red</I>]. Dyed red after having + been dressed. <H>techashim (Tav Het Shin Yod Final_Mem</H>]. + A sort of animal created for the purpose and having various + colors; that is why the Targum translates the word by + <H>isasgona (Yod Samekh Samekh Gimel Vav Nun Alef),</H> "he + rejoices in his colors and boasts of them."[78] <I>And + shittim wood</I>] - But whence did the Israelites in the + desert obtain it? R. Tanhuma explains: The patriarch Jacob, + thanks to a Divine revelation, had foreseen that one day his + de scendants would construct a Tabernacle in the desert. He, + therefore, carried shittim trees into Egypt, and planted them + there, advising his sons to take them along with them when + they left the country. + + 6. <I>Oil for the light</I>]. "Pure <I>oil olive</I> beaten + for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always."[79] + <I>Spices for anointing oil</I>]. Prepared for the purpose of + anointing both the vessels of the Tabernacle and the + Tabernacle itself. Spices entered into the composition of this + oil, as is said in K<I>Ki-Tissa.</I>[80] <I>And for sweet + incense</I>] which was burned night and morning, as is + described in detail in <I>Tezaweh.</I>[81] As to the word + <H>ketoret (Qof Mem Resh Tav),</H> it comes from the rising of + the smoke (<H>Kitor (Qof Mem Vav Resh)</H>). + + 7. <I>Onyx stones</I>]. Two were needed for the ephod, + described in <I>Tezaweh.</I>[82] <I>And stones to be set</I>] + for an ouch of gold was made in which the stones were set, + entirely filling it. These stones are called "stones to be + set." As to the bezel it is called <H>mishbetzet (Mem Shin + Bet Tsadi Tav.</H> <I>In the ephod, and in the + breastplate</I>]. Onyx stones for the ephod and "stones to be + set" for the breastplate. The breastplate as well as the + ephod are described in <I>Tezaweh</I>[83]; they are two sorts + of ornaments. + +If these citations did not suffice, his anti-Christian polemics +would furnish ample evidence of the wise use Rashi made of the +Peshat. The word polemics, perhaps, is not exact. Rashi does +not make assaults upon Christianity; he contents himself with +showing that a verse which the Church has adopted for its own +ends, when rationally interpreted, has an entirely different +meaning and application. Only to this extent can Rashi be said +to have written polemics against the Christians. However that +may be, no other course is possible; for the history of Adam and +Eve or the blessing of Jacob cannot be explained, unless one +takes a stand for or against Christianity. It was not difficult +to refute Christian doctrines; Rashi could easily dispose of the +stupid or extravagant inventions of Christian exegesis. +Sometimes he does not name the adversaries against whom he aimed; +sometimes he openly says he has in view the <I>Minim</I> or +"Sectaries," that is, the Christians. The Church, it is well +known, transformed chiefly the Psalms into predictions of +Christianity. In order to ward off such an interpretation and +not to expose themselves to criticism, many Jewish exegetes gave +up that explanation of the Psalms by which they are held to be +proclamations of the Messianic era, and would see in them +allusions only to historic facts. Rashi followed this tendency; +and for this reason, perhaps, his commentary on the Psalms is one +of the most satisfying from a scientific point of view. For +instance, he formally states: "Our masters apply this passage to +the Messiah; but in order to refute the Minim, it is better to +apply it to David." + +One would wish that Rashi had on all occasions sought the simple +and natural meaning of the Biblical text. That he clothed the +Song of Songs, in part at least, in a mantle of allegory, is +excusable, since he was authorized, nay, obliged, to do so by +tradition. In the Proverbs this manner is less tolerable. The +book is essentially secular in character; but Rashi could not +take it in this way. To him it was an allegory; and he +transformed this manual of practical wisdom into a prolonged +conversation between the Torah and Israel. Again, though Rashi +discriminated among the Midrashim, and adopted only those that +seemed reconcilable with the natural meaning, his commentaries +none the less resemble Haggadic compilations. This is true, +above all, of the Pentateuch. And if the Haggadah "so far as +religion is concerned was based upon the oral law, and from an +esthetic point of view upon the apparent improprieties of the +Divine word," it nevertheless "serves as a pretext rather than a +text for the flights, sometimes the caprice or digressions, of +religious thought."[84] Now, Rashi was so faithful to the spirit +of the Midrash that he accepted without wincing the most curious +and shocking explanations, or, if he rejected them, it was not +because he found fault with the explanations themselves. +Sometimes, when we see him balance the simple construction +against the Midrashic interpretation of the text, we are annoyed +to feel how he is drawn in opposite directions by two tendencies. +We realize that in consequence his works suffer from a certain +incoherence, or lack of equilibrium, that they are uneven and +mixed in character. To recognize that he paid tribute to the +taste of the age, or yielded to the attraction the Midrash +exercised upon a soul of naive faith, is not sufficient, for in +point of fact he pursued the two methods at the same time, the +method of literal and the method of free interpretation, seeming +to have considered them equally legitimate and fruitful of +results. Often, it is true, he shakes off the authority of +tradition, and we naturally query why his good sense did not +always assert itself, and free him from the tentacles of the +Talmud and the Midrash. + +Now that we have formulated our grievance against Rashi, it is +fair that we try to justify him by recalling the ideas prevailing +at the time, and the needs he wished to satisfy. + +The Midrashim, as I have said, have a double object, on the one +hand, the exposition of legal and religious practices, on the +other hand, the exposition of the beliefs and hopes of religion. +So far as the Halakic Midrash is concerned, it was marvellously +[marvelously sic] well adapted to the French-Jewish intellect, +penetrated as it was by Talmudism. The study of the Talmud so +completely filled the lives of the Jews that it was difficult to +break away from the rabbinical method. Rashi did not see in the +Bible a literary or philosophic masterpiece. Nor did he study it +with the unprejudiced eyes of the scholar. He devoted himself to +this study-especially of the Pentateuch-with only the one aim in +view, that of finding the origin or the explanation of civil and +ritual laws, the basis or the indication of Talmudic precepts. +Sometimes he kicked against the pricks. When convinced that the +rabbinical explanation did not agree with a sane exegesis, he +would place himself at variance with the Talmud for the sake of a +rational interpretation. What more than this can be expected? +Nor need we think of him as the unwilling prisoner of rules and a +victim of their tyranny. On the contrary, he adapted himself to +them perfectly, and believed that the Midrash could be made to +conform to its meaning without violence to the text. That he +always had reason to believe so was denied by so early a +successor as his grandson Samuel ben Meir. Samuel insisted that +one stand face to face with the Scriptures and interpret them +without paying heed and having recourse to any other work. This +effort at intellectual independence in which the grandson nearly +always succeeded, the grandfather was often incapable of making. +In commenting upon the Talmud Rashi preserved his entire liberty, +unrestrained by the weight of any absolute authority; but in +commenting on the Bible he felt himself bound by the Talmud and +the Midrash. Especially in regard to the Pentateuch, the +Talmudic interpretation was unavoidable, because the Pentateuch +either explicitly or implicitly contains all legal prescriptions. +In point of fact, in leaving the Pentateuch and proceeding to +other parts of the Bible, he gains in force because he gains in +independence. He no longer fears to confront "our sages" with +the true explanation. For example, there is little Derash in the +following commentary on Psalm xxiii: + + <I>A Psalm of David</I>]. Our rabbis say: The formula "Psalm + of David" indicates that David at first played the instrument, + then was favored by Divine inspiration. It, therefore, + signifies, Psalm to give inspiration to David. On the other + hand, when it is said "To David, a Psalm,"[85] the formula + indicates that David, having received Divine inspiration, sang + a song in consequence of the revelation. + + 1. <I>The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want</I>]. In this + desert in which I wander I am full of trust, sure that I shall + lack nothing. + + 2. <I>He maketh me to lie down in green pastures</I>]. In a + place to dwell where grass grows. The poet, having begun by + comparing his sustenance to the pasturing of animals, in the + words, "The Lord Is my Shepherd," continues the image. This + Psalm was recited by David in the forest of Hereth, which was + so called because it was arid as clay (<I>heres</I>), but it + was watered by God with all the delights of the next world + (Midrash on the Psalms). + + 3. <I>He will restore my soul</I>]. My soul, benumbed by + misfortunes and by my flight, He will restore to its former + estate. <I>He will lead me in the paths of righteousness</I>] + along the straight highway so that I may not fall into the + hands of my enemies. + + 4. <I>Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of + death, I will fear no evil</I>]. In the country of shadows + this applies to the wilderness of Ziph.[86] The word + <H>tzalmavet (Tsadi Lamed Mem Vov Tav)</H> here employed + always signifies "utter darkness"[87]; this is the way in + which it is explained by Dunash ben Labrat[88]. <I>Thy rod + and thy staff they comfort me</I>]. The sufferings I have + undergone and my reliance, my trust, in Thy goodness are my + two consolations, for they bring me pardon for my faults, and + I am sure that + + 5. <I>Thou wilt prepare a table before me</I>], that is, + royalty. <I>Thou hast anointed my head with oil</I>]. I have + already been consecrated king at Thy command. <I>My cup + runneth over</I>]. An expression signifying abundance. + +From this commentary one realizes, I do not say the perfection, +but the simplicity, Rashi could attain when he was not obliged to +discover in Scriptures allusions to laws or to beliefs foreign to +the text. As Mendelssohn said of him, "No one is comparable with +him when he writes Peshat." Even though Rashi gave too much space +to the legal exegesis of the Talmud, Mendelssohn's example will +make us more tolerant toward him - Mendelssohn who himself could +not always steer clear of this method. + +Moreover, the commentary on the Bible is not exactly a scholarly +work; it is above all a devotional work, written, as the Germans +say, <I>fur Schule und Haus,</I> for the school and the family. +The masses, to whom Rashi addressed himself, were not so +cultivated that he could confine himself to a purely grammatical +exposition or to bare exegesis. He had to introduce fascinating +legends, subtle deductions, ingenious comparisons. The Bible was +studied, not so much for its own sake, as for the fact that it +was the text-book of morality, the foundation of belief, the +source of all hopes. Every thought, every feeling bore an +intimate relation to Scriptures. The Midrash exercised an +irresistible attraction upon simple, deeply devout souls. It +appealed to the heart as well as to the intelligence, and in +vivid, attractive form set forth religious and moral truths. +Granted that success justifies everything, then the very method +with which we reproach Rashi explains the fact that he has had, +and continues to have, thousands of readers. The progress of +scientific exegesis has made us aware of what we would now +consider a serious mistake in method. We readily understand why +Derash plays so important a role in Rashi's commentaries, and to +what requirements he responded; but that does not make us any +more content with his method. To turn from Rashi to a more +general consideration of the Midrashic exegesis, we also +understand its long continuance, though we do not deprecate it +less, because it is unscientific and irrational. + +In spite of all, however, the use of the Derash must be +considered a virtue in Rashi. Writing before the author of the +<I>Yalkut Shimeoni,</I>[89] he revealed to his contemporaries, +among whom not only the masses are to be included, but, owing to +the rarity of books, scholars as well, a vast number of legends +and traditions, which have entered into the very being of the +people, and have been adopted as their own. Rashi not only +popularized numerous Midrashim, but he also preserved a number +the sources of which are no longer extant, and which without him +would be unknown. This Biblical commentary is thus the store- +house of Midrashic literature, the aftermath of that luxuriant +growth whose latest products ripened in the eighth, ninth, and +even tenth centuries. + +It is hardly proper, then, to be unduly severe in our judgment of +Rashi's work. In fact, why insist on his faults, since he +himself recognized the imperfections of his work, and would have +bettered them if he had had the time? The testimony of his +grandson upon this point is explicit: + + "The friends of reason," said Samuel ben Meir, "should steep + themselves in this principle of our sages, that natural + exegesis can never be superseded. It is true that the chief + aim of the Torah was to outline for us rules of religious + conduct, which we discover behind the literal meaning through + Haggadic and Halakic interpretation. And the ancients, moved + by their piety, occupied themselves only with Midrashic + exegesis as being the most important, and they failed to dwell + at great length upon the literal meaning. Add to this the + fact that the scholars advise us not to philosophize too much + upon the Scriptures. And R. Solomon, my maternal + grandfather, the Torch of the Captivity, who commented on the + Law, the Prophets, and the Hagiographa, devoted himself to the + development of the natural meaning of the text; and I, Samuel + son of Meir, discussed his explanations with him and before + him, and he confessed to me that if he had had the leisure, he + would have deemed it necessary to do his work all over again + by availing himself of the explanations that suggest + themselves day after day."[90] + +It seems, therefore, that Rashi only gradually, as the result of +experience and discussion, attained to a full consciousness of +the requirements of a sound exegesis and the duties of a Biblical +commentator. What the grandfather had not been able to do was +accomplished by the grandson. The commentary of Samuel ben Meir +realized Rashi's resolutions. Though Rashi may not have been +irreproachable as a commentator, he at least pointed out the way, +and his successors, enlightened by his example, could elaborate +his method and surpass it, but only with the means with which he +provided them. We must take into account that he was almost an +originator, and we readily overlook many faults and flaws in +remembering that he was the first to prepare the material. + + * * * * * + +Grammar and lexicography are the two bases of exegesis. Rashi +was as clever a grammarian as was possible in his time and in his +country. At all events he was not of the same opinion as the +Pope, who rebuked the Archbishop of Vienna for having taught +grammar in his schools, because, he said, it seemed to him rules +of grammar were not worthy the Sacred Text, and it was unfitting +to subject the language of Holy Scriptures to these rules. Rashi +in his explanations pays regard to the laws of language, and in +both his Talmudic and Biblical commentaries, he frequently +formulates scientific laws, or, it might be said, empiric rules, +regarding, for instance, distinctions in the usage of words +indicated by the position of the accent, different meanings of +the same particle, certain vowel changes, and so on. Thus, we +have been able to construct a grammar of Rashi, somewhat +rudimentary, but very advanced for the time. + +Nevertheless, in this regard, a wide gap separates the +commentaries of Rashi and the works of the Spanish school of +exegetes, which shone with such lustre [luster sic] in that +epoch. Under the influence and stimulus of the Arabs, scientific +studies took an upward flight among the Jews of Moslem Spain. +The Midrash was abandoned to the preachers, while the scholars +cultivated the Hebrew language and literature with fruitful +results. In France, on the contrary, though rabbinical studies +were already flourishing, the same is not true of philological +studies, which were introduced into France only through the +influence of the Spaniards. French scholars soon came to know +the works, written in Hebrew, of Menahem ben Saruk and Dunash ben +Labrat,[91] and Rashi availed himself of them frequently, and not +always uncritically. Thus, like them, he distinguishes +triliteral, biliteral, and even uniliteral roots; but contrary to +them, he maintains that contracted and quiescent verbs are +triliteral and not biliteral. Unfortunately, he could have no +knowledge of the more important works of Hayyoudj, "father of +grammarians," and of Ibn Djanah, who carried the study of Hebrew +to a perfection surpassed only by the moderns;[92] for these +works were written in Arabic, and the translations into Hebrew, +made by the scholars of Southern France, did not appear until the +twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Though the Spanish Jews did +not yet cultivate the allegoric and mystic exegesis, their +philosophic sense was rather refined and they did not always +approach the study of the Bible without seeking something not +clearly expressed in the text, without <I>arriere-pensee</I> so +to speak. Rashi's exegesis was more ingenuous and, therefore, +more objective. + +Moreover, even if Rashi was not in complete possession of +grammatical rules, he had perfectly mastered the spirit of the +Hebrew language. Like the Spaniards, he had that very fine +understanding for the genius of the language which arises from +persevering study, from constant occupation with its literature. +We have cited the sources upon which he drew; it would be unjust +not to remark that he made original investigations. For example +(and the examples might be multiplied) apropos of a difficult +passage in Ezekiel, he asserted that he had drawn the explanation +from inner stores, and had been guided only by Divine inspiration +- a formula borrowed from the Geonim. He was frequently +consulted in regard to the meaning of Biblical passages, and one +response has been preserved, that given to the scholars of +Auxerre when they asked for an explanation of several chapters of +the Prophets. This fact shows that the Jews gave themselves up +with ardor to the study of the Bible, men of education making it +their duty to copy the Bible with the most scrupulous care and +according to the best models, to the number of which they thus +made additions. Among these copies are the ones made by Gershom, +by Joseph Tob Elem, and by Menahem of Joigny. The Jews were +almost the only persons versed in the Bible. I have mentioned +how much the Church feared the sight of the Bible in the hands of +the common people, and in clerical circles an absolutely +antiscientific spirit reigned in regard to these matters. It was +the triumph of symbolism, allegory, and docetism. All the less +likely, then, were they to know Hebrew. An exception was the +monk Sigebert de Gemblours, a teacher at Metz in the last quarter +of the eleventh century, who maintained relations with Jewish +scholars. He is said to have known Hebrew. + +Rashi's thorough knowledge of Hebrew enabled him to depend upon +his memory for quoting the appropriate verses, and in all his +citations there is scarcely a mistake, natural though an error +would have been in quoting from memory. Distinguishing between +the Hebrew of the Bible and that of the Talmud, he sees in the +Hebrew of the Mishnah a transition between the two. Often, for +the purpose of explaining a word in the Bible, he has recourse to +Talmudic Hebrew or to the Aramaic. He pays careful attention to +the precise meaning of words and to distinctions among synonyms, +and he had perception for delicate shading in syntax and +vocabulary. Owing to this thorough knowledge of Hebrew he +readily obtained insight into the true sense of the text. By +subjecting the thought of the Holy Scriptures to a simple and +entirely rational examination, he not seldom succeeds in +determining it. Thus, as it were by divination, he lighted upon +the meaning of numerous Biblical passages. A long list might be +made of explanations misunderstood by his successors, and +revived, consciously or unconsciously, by modern exegetes. An +illustration in point is his explanation of the first verse of +Genesis, quoted above. Long before such Biblical criticism had +become current it was he who said that the "servant of God" +mentioned in certain chapters of the second part of Isaiah +represents the people of Israel. + +Needless to say Rashi never tampers with the text. At most, as +is the case with Ibn Djanah, he says that a letter is missing or +is superfluous. Sometimes, too, he changes the order of the +words. Neither copyists' mistakes nor grammatical anomalies +existed for him. Yet he believed in all sincerity that the +ancient sages could have corrected certain Biblical texts to +remove from them a meaning startling or derogatory when applied +to the Divinity. + +Rashi wholly ignored what modern criticism calls the Introduction +to the Scriptures, that is to say, the study of the Bible and the +books of which it is composed from the point of view of their +origin, their value, and the changes they have undergone. But +rarely, here and there in his commentaries, does one find any +references to the formation of the canon. To give an example +showing how he justified a classification of the Hagiographa +given by a Talmudic text and disagreeing with the present +classification: Ruth comes first, because it belongs to the +period of the Judges; Job follows, because he lived at the time +of the Queen of Sheba; then come the three books of Solomon, +Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, both gnomic works, and the Song of Songs, +written in Solomon's old age; Lamentations, Daniel, Esther, Ezra +(comprising the present Nehemiah), and Chronicles are likewise +placed in chronological order. In the same passage of the Talmud +the question is put as to why the redaction of the prophecies of +Isaiah is attributed to King Hezekiah and his academy. Rashi +explained that the prophets collected their speeches only a short +time before their death, and Isaiah having died a violent death, +his works could not enjoy the benefit of his own redaction. + +Still less need one expect to find in Rashi modern exegesis, that +criticism which applies to Scriptures an investigation entirely +independent of extraneous considerations, such as is brought to +bear upon purely human works. Rashi's candid soul was never +grazed by the slightest doubt of the authenticity of a Biblical +passage. We can admire the genial divinations of an Abraham Ibn +Ezra, but we also owe respect to that sincere faith of Rashi +which was incapable of suspecting the testimony of tradition and +the axioms of religion. + +Ibn Ezra[93] and Rashi present the most vivid contrast. Though +Ibn Ezra was open-minded and clear-sighted, he was restless and +troubled. He led an adventurous existence, because his character +was adventurous. Rashi's spirit was calm, without morbid +curiosity, leaning easily upon the support of traditional +religion, frank, throughout his life as free from the shadows of +doubt as the soul of a child. Ibn Ezra had run the scientific +gamut of his time, but he also dipped into mysticism, astrology, +arithmolatry, even magic. Rashi, on the contrary, was not +acquainted with the profane sciences, and so was kept from their +oddities. With his clear, sure intelligence he penetrated to the +bottom of the text without bringing it into agreement with views +foreign to it. But the characteristic which distinguishes him +above all others from Ibn Ezra is the frankness of his nature. +He never seemed desirous of knowing 'what he did not know, nor of +believing what he did not believe. Finally, and in the regard +that specially interests us, Ibn Ezra, who belonged to the school +of Arabic philosophers and scholars, who knew the Spanish +grammarians, and was their inheritor, always employed the Peshat +- that is, when he was not biassed by his philosophic ideas. In +this case he saw the true meaning of the text, perhaps more +clearly than any other Jewish commentator. Rashi did not possess +the same scientific resources. He knew only the Talmud and the +Midrash, and believed that all science was included in them. +Moreover, though he stated in so many words his preference for a +literal and natural interpretation of the text, he fell short of +always obeying his own principle. + + * * * * * + +There is one characteristic of Rashi's Bible commentaries which I +have already touched upon, but to which it is well to revert by +way of conclusion, since it makes the final impression upon a +student of the commentaries. I refer to a certain intimacy or +informality of the work, a certain easy way of taking things. +The author used no method. Now he explains the text simply and +naturally; now he enjoys adorning it with fanciful +embellishments. One would say of him, as of many an author of +the Talmud, that in writing his work he rested from his Talmudic +studies; and one seems to hear in these unceremonious +conversations, these unpretentious homilies, the same note that +even in the present day is sometimes struck in synagogues on +Saturday afternoons. What clearly shows that Rashi unbent a +little in composing his Biblical commentaries are the flashes of +wit and humor lighting them, the display of his native grace of +character, his smiling geniality. If he yielded some credence to +the most naive inventions, this does not mean that he was always +and entirely their dupe. They simply gave him the utmost +delight. He did not refrain from piquant allusions; and the +commentary on the Pentateuch presents a number of pleasantries, +some of which are a bit highly-spiced for modern taste. +Fundamentally, they are a heritage of the old Midrashic spirit +grafted upon the gaiety of "mischievous and fine Champagne," as +Michelet said. Assuredly, there were hours in which good humor +reigned over master and pupils, and we seem to see the smile that +accompanied the witty sallies, and the radiance of that kindly +charm which illuminated the dry juridic discussions. All this +forms an attractive whole, and everyone may feel the attraction; +for the commentaries on the Bible, which can be read with +pleasure and without mental fatigue, are intelligible to persons +of most mediocre mind and cultivation. The words of a certain +French critic upon another writer of Champagne, La Fontaine, +might be applied to Rashi, though a comparison between a poet and +a commentator may not be pressed to the utmost. "He is the milk +of our early years, the bread of the adult, the last meal of the +old man. He is the familiar genius of every hearth." + +For many centuries the Biblical commentaries held a position - +and still hold it - similar to that of La Fontaine's Fables. Few +works have ever been copied, printed, and commented upon to the +same extent. Immediately upon their appearance, they became +popular in the strongest sense of the word. They cast into the +shade the work of his disciples, which according to modern +judgment are superior. Preachers introduced some commentaries of +his into their sermons, and made his words the subject of their +instruction; and Rashi was taught even to the children. The mass +of readers assimilated the Halakic and Haggadic elements. Those +who were not students, through Rashi got a smattering of a +literature that would otherwise have been inaccessible to them; +and the commentaries threw into circulation a large number of +legends, which became the common property of the Jews. Rashi's +expressions and phrases entered into current speech, especially +those happy formulas which impress themselves on the memory. His +commentary is printed in all the rabbinical Bibles; it has become +to the Jews inseparable from the text, and even Mendelssohn's +commentary, which has all of Rashi's good qualities and none of +his faults, did not succeed in eclipsing it. In short, it is a +classic. + + CHAPTER VII + + THE TALMUDIC COMMENTARIES + + +The commentaries on the Bible, especially those on the +Pentateuch, constitute a work for general reading and for +devotion as well as for scientific study. Their general scope +explains both their excellencies and their defects. On the other +hand, the commentary on the Talmud is an academic work. It +originated in the school of Rashi, and was elaborated there +during a long time. The one is a popular work for the use of the +masses, the other, a learned treatise for the use of students. +The explanation of the Scriptures was written for the benefit of +the faithful in popular, attractive, and comprehensible form; the +explanation of the Talmud constituted matter for serious study in +the academies. Or, rather, after the long, exhaustive, and often +dry-as-dust Talmudic discussion, the master took pleasure in +interrupting his instruction in the school to give his +interpretation of Biblical passages. + +This is the reason why the Talmudic commentaries,[94] which are, +as it were, the summing-up of Rashi's teachings, of his own +studies, and of the observations of his pupils, have a more +mature, more thoughtful character than the Biblical commentaries. +They undoubtedly represent a greater amount of labor. It seems +that Rashi himself made two or three recensions of his +commentary, at least for many of the Talmudic treatises. +Testimony to this fact is given by the variations of certain +passages in the extant text and that cited by the ancient +authors, notably the Tossafists. Moreover, the Tossafists +explicitly mention corrections made by Rashi in his own work. +The query naturally arises whether the corrections indicate that +Rashi worked the entire commentary over and over again. The +answer is no; for certain treatises remained incomplete, and +others seem never to have been begun. Presumably, then, Rashi +revised a treatise according to the needs of the occasion, as, +for instance, when it came under his eyes in the course of +instruction. However that may be, the work that we now possess +is a mixture of the first and the last recension, though we +cannot always tell which is the later and which the earlier. + +Another fact explains the difference I have pointed out between +the Biblical and the Talmudic commentaries. For the Biblical +commentaries there had been no precedent, and if they possess the +merit of originality, they also illustrate the errors of a man +who tries his powers in a field of work devoid of all tradition. +For the Talmudic commentaries, on the contrary, models were not +lacking. The example of Gershom was sufficiently notable to evoke +imitation, though his work was not so complete as to discourage +it. We must not forget Rashi's predecessors because he eclipsed +them. This would be contrary to his intentions, since he +frequently cites them, rendering value in return for value +received. In fact, he knew well how to use their works to +advantage. He submitted them to a judicial and minute +examination, collecting all the material he needed furnished by +the Geonim as well as by his immediate masters. It would be as +inexact to assert that he only made a <I>resume</I> of their +works as to say that he worked along entirely original lines and +relied solely upon his own resources. If we could compare his +commentaries with previous commentaries (for some this comparison +has been made), we should be forced into the admission that his +part is smaller than one would suppose. The best proof of this +fact is that the usual basis of his commentary for each treatise +was the explanation of the master under whom he had studied it. +He often cites the writings of his masters, to which he gives the +title <I>Yesod,</I> "Foundation," probably either collections +made by the teachers themselves or notebooks edited by their +pupils. As a result of the love of brevity which is one of +Rashi's marked characteristics, he does not quote in its entirety +the source upon which he draws, but more frequently reproduces +the sense rather than the exact words. + +I must hasten to add that the Talmudic commentaries of Rashi's +masters were inadequate, and did not meet all needs. We can judge +of the lacunae in them both from the commentaries that have been +preserved and from the criticisms which Rashi frequently added as +an accompaniment to his citations. Sometimes the commentaries +were too diffuse, sometimes too concise; their language was +obscure and awkward; no stress was laid upon explaining all +details, and the commentaries themselves stood in need of +explanation; they addressed themselves to accomplished Talmudists +rather than to students. Rashi's commentaries, on the contrary, +could be understood by men of small learning-hence their +influence and popularity. Moreover, the commentaries of his +masters often contradicted one another, coming as they did from +scholars who did not shrink from discussion. Rashi wished to put +an end to these debates and introduce some unity into rabbinical +tradition, and generally his purpose in refraining from a +quotation of his predecessors was exactly to avoid an opening +into the field of controversy. Finally, their commentaries, it +seems, were not comprehensive; they bore upon only one or several +treatises; whereas Rashi's bore on all or nearly all the +treatises of the Gemara.[95] With Rashi execution rose to the +height of his conception. + +Rashi availed himself so little of the work of his masters that +he began by establishing a correct text of the Talmud and +subjecting it to a severe revision. The mistakes of his +predecessors oftenest arose from the faultiness of the texts, +marred by ignorant copyists or presumptuous readers. What is +more, the use to which the Talmud was put in the academies and +the discussions to which it gave rise, far from sheltering it +from alterations made by way of correction, modified it in every +conceivable fashion, according to the views of the chiefs of the +schools. Like every book in circulation, the Talmud was exposed +to the worst changes, and this all the more readily, because at +that time no one had a notion of what we call respect for the +text, for the idea of the author. As rigidly as the text of the +Bible was maintained intact in the very minutest details, so lax +was the treatment of the Talmud, which was at the mercy of +individual whim. Naturally, the less scrupulous and less +clearsighted allowed themselves the most emendations. +Accordingly, Rabbenu Gershom felt called upon to put a severe +restriction upon such liberties. Though he succeeded in +moderating the evil, it could not be suppressed retroactively. +Rashi realized that corrections made wittingly were +indispensable, and that it was necessary to clear the Talmudic +forest of entangling briers. Moreover, as we learn from Rashi +himself, Gershom had already undertaken the task. Rashi also +tells us that he had Gershom's autograph manuscript before him, +not to mention other copies he was consulting and collating. +Further testimony, apart from this internal evidence, is provided +by Rashi's references to texts parallel to the Talmud, among them +the Tosefta. Sometimes he records two readings without giving +either the preference, though as a rule the reasoning or the +context shows that he leans one way or the other, so that his +alterations, which are usually correct, do not necessarily +represent the early text. When Rashi has good cause for deciding +a point in a certain way, he does not pay attention to possible +errors or contradictions on the part of the Talmudists. In other +words, though his text may be the most rational, it is not always +the most authentic. + +Rashi exercised this criticism of the text to a wide extent, yet +prudently. I have already mentioned what Isaac of Vienna said +concerning the numerous erasures that covered an autograph +manuscript of his.[96] Many readings that Rashi rejected might +have been kept - in fact they sometimes were kept - by force of +finesse and subtlety. His method affords a striking contrast to +that of the Talmudist Hananel,[97] who either eliminates the +phrases unacceptable to him or preserves them only by doing +violence to the sense. Rashi, on the contrary, compared the +different versions of difficult or suspicious passages and +prefers the one not requiring a subtle explanation. It is only +when no reading satisfies him that he assumes an interpolation or +an error, in this event frequently resorting to the Responsa of +the Geonim. Needless to say, he also paid heed to the revision +of Gershom; but since he deemed that Gershom had himself +preserved faulty readings, he took up the work again, despite +Gershom's prohibition. He realized that this careful and +detailed critical revision of his predecessor, however ungrateful +the soil might appear, was nevertheless fertile ground, and might +serve as the solid basis of a thorough commentary. + +He acquitted himself of the task with such success that his has +become the official text, the "Vulgate," of the Talmud. In fact, +his disciples inserted into the body of the Gemara the greater +part of his corrections or restitutions (but not all; and one +does not always comprehend the reasons for their choice), which +have now become an integral part of the text. Thus a single, +definite, and official text was established - a thing of great +value in assuring the stability of rabbinical tradition in France +and Germany. + +From what I have already said, the reader can gather how +individual was Rashi's method. The foundation for his +commentaries, it is true, was provided by tradition and by the +instruction he received from his masters. But over and above the +circumstance that he preserved only what seemed fitting to him, +is the fact that value attached rather to the setting given the +material than to the material itself. Herein resides Rashi's +merit - and the merit is great. He was occupied not so much in +extracting from the discussion of the Talmud the essential ideas, +the principles indicating rules of practice, as in rendering the +discussion comprehensible both in its entirety and in its +details. He wrote a grammatical commentary which provides the +exact meaning, not only of the opinions set forth, but also of +the phrases and expressions employed. A Jewish scholar of our +day, I. H. Weiss, who has accomplished much toward acclimatizing +the scientific study of the Talmud in Eastern Europe, justly +remarked - and what he says is a lesson to the rabbis of his +country: + + How many Talmudists are there nowadays who take pains to + understand exactly the meaning of such and such a passage of + the Talmud, or who are capable of explaining it grammatically? + They do like the predecessors of Rashi, whose method it was to + give an exposition of an entire discussion merely by + simplifying its terms. They wrote consecutive commentaries, + not notes; and they often failed to explain difficult words. + Rashi, on the contrary, always definitely determined the + meaning of the various terms. + +He does this with a sure touch, and the precision of his +explanations is all the more remarkable as he did not know - +whatever one may say to the contrary - the Talmudic lexicon of +Nathan ben Jehiel, of Rome, which was not brought to a conclusion +until four years after Rashi's death. It is a favorite trick of +legend to establish relations between illustrious contemporaries, +especially when their activities were exercised in the same +field, and tradition has made Rashi the pupil of Nathan. The +idea of such a relationship, however, is purely fantastic, the +two rabbis probably not having ever known each other.[98] + +Rashi carried the same spirit of exactness and precision into the +whole of this work - qualities indispensable but difficult of +attainment; for as A. Darmesteter well says: + + Whoever has opened a page of the Talmud understands how + necessary is a commentary upon a text written in Aramaic and + treating of often unfamiliar questions in concise, + exasperatingly obscure dialectics. The language, too, is + obscure, and the lack of punctuation renders reading difficult + to novices. No mark separates question from answer, + digressions from parenthetical observations. The phrases form + only a long string of words placed one after the other, in + which one distinguishes neither the beginning nor the end of + the sentences. + +The difficulty presented by the obscurity of the style is +increased by allusions to facts and customs which are no longer +known and cannot always be guessed at. Now, thanks to Rashi's +commentary, a reader possessing a knowledge of the elements of +the language and some slight knowledge of Jewish law, can +decipher it without overmuch difficulty. + +Rarely superficial, Rashi explains the text simply yet +thoroughly. He sifts his matter to the bottom. His reasoning is +free from subtleties and violations of the sense. This +characteristic comes out in bold relief when we compare Rashi +with his disciples, the Tossafists, who carry their niceties to +an excess. It would be wrong to hold Rashi responsible for the +abuse later made of controversy; while, on the other hand, praise +is owing to him for the happy efforts he made to unravel the +texts, not only for the purpose of explaining their meaning, but +also to indicate possible objections and reply to them in a few +words. One must marvel at the clearsighted intelligence, the +sureness, the mastery with which Rashi conveys the gist of a +discussion as well as the value of the details, easily taking up +each link in the chain of question and answer, pruning away +superfluities, but not recoiling before necessary supplementary +developments. In addition, rather than resort to forced +explanations, he did not hesitate to avow that certain passages +puzzled him, or that his knowledge was insufficient - a scruple +not always entertained by his successors. + +To determine the meaning of a text, Rashi frequently referred to +parallel passages, contained not only in the Gemara itself, but +also in other collections, such as the Tosefta, or the Halakic +Midrashim.[99] Sometimes the Gemara cites them, or refers to +them, at other times it makes no allusion whatsoever to them. In +the latter case, it may be stated, Rashi, even when he does not +say so explicitly, himself found the text for comparison and was +inspired by it. + +Moreover, on occasion, he points out general rules to which he +conforms, some of them indicated in the Talmud itself, others +provided by the Geonim, and others again evolved by himself in +the course of his studies. Those who are competent to judge +admire the precision with which he lays down these principles. By +combining them, an excellent, although very incomplete, Talmudic +methodology might be drawn up. + +Some examples will give a better idea than a mere description of +Rashi's method. I will separate his commentary from the text of +the Gemara by square brackets, so as to show how he inserts his +commentary, and how perfectly he adapts it to the Gemara. + +The following passages deal with the proclamation of the new +moon, made by the supreme tribunal, upon the evidence of two +persons who declare that they have seen the new moon. + + Mishnah: If he is not known [if the tribunal does not know the + witness, does not know if he is honest and worthy of + confidence], they [the tribunal of his city] will send another + person with him [to bear witness concerning the new moon before + the great tribunal, which proclaims the new month]. At first, + evidence concerning the new moon was accepted from any and + every body; since the Boethusians[100] turned to evil [this is + explained in the Gemara], it was decided that only the + testimony of persons who were known would be taken. + + Gemara: What does "another" signify? Another individual? Does + it mean that a single person is thought [worthy of confidence + in declaring the first night of the new moon]? Is it not + taught in a Baraita: "It once happened that a man came [to the + tribunal, on the Sabbath, in order to give evidence concerning + the new moon], accompanied by <I>his witnesses,</I> to testify + concerning himself" [to declare him worthy of confidence]? Rab + Papa replies: "Another" signifies "another couple of + witnesses." This explanation seems to be the true one; for + otherwise what would these words signify: "If he is not known?" + If this individual is not known? But does it mean that + a single person is believed [in bearing witness in regard to + the new moon]? In connection with this, do not the Scriptures + use the word law [in the verse: For this was a statute for + Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob[101]]? Here, then, "the + witness" signifies "the couple" of witnesses; similarly the + previous "another" signifies "another couple." But is it + quite certain that a single man is not enough? However, it is + taught in a Baraita: "It once happened on a Sabbath that R. + Nehoral accompanied a witness to give evidence concerning him + at Usha" [at the time when the Sanhedrin had its seat in that + city, and the new moon was proclaimed there]. R. Nehorai was + accompanied by another witness, and if this witness is not + mentioned, it is out of regard for R. Nehorai [for R. Nehorai + is mentioned only that we may infer from his case that so + prominent an authority inclined to leniency in the + circumstances stated; but it is not fitting for us to appeal + to the authority of his less important companion]. Rab Ashi + replies: There was already another witness at Usha [who knew + the one that was coming to give evidence], and R. Nehorai went + to join him. If this is so, what is it that is meant to be + conveyed to us? This: we might have thought in case of doubt + [possibly this second witness might not be at home], the + Sabbath must not be trangressed; we are thus taught that one + should do it, etc. (<I>Rosh ha-Shanah</I> 22a bottom). + +The following passage deals with the <I>Lulab,</I> which is used +at the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles, and must be +flawless. + + <I>Mishnah:</I> A Lulab [referring to the palm branch; farther + on it will be stated that the myrtle and the willow of the + brook are dealt with separately] that has been stolen [is + unfit; for it is said:[102] "And ye shall take you": what + belongs to you], or is dry [we demand that the ritual be + carried out with care, in conformity with the words of + Scripture:[103] "I will exalt Him "], is unfit. Coming from + an Ashera [a tree adored as an idol; the Gemara gives the + reason for the prohibition] or from a city given up to idolatry + [for it is considered as burnt down, as it is said: "And thou + shalt gather all the Spoil of it."[104] Now, the Lulab should + have the length of four palms, as will be said farther + on,[105] and since it is destined to be given up to the + flames, it no longer has the desired length, being considered + as burnt], it is unfit. If its end is cut [it is unfit; for + it is not "beautiful"], or if its leaves have fallen off [from + the central stem, and are united only by a band like the + broom, in French called "escoube."[106] In this case, also, + it is not "beautiful"], it is unfit. If its leaves are + separated [attached to the stem, but at the top separated on + each side, like the branches of a tree], it is good. R. Judah + says: It should be bound [if its leaves are separated, they + should be bound so that they are fixed to the stem as with + other Lulabim]. The stony palm of the mountain - of - iron + [the Gemara explains that these are palms] are good [they are + Lulabim, although their leaves are very small and do not + extend the length of the stem]. A Lulab having the length of + three palms, so that it can be shaken [the Gemara explains: + the stem should measure three palms, as much as the myrtle + branch, and, in addition, another palm for shaking, for we + require that the Lulab be shaken in the way told farther on + (37b): "It is shaken vertically and horizontally," so as to + exorcise the evil spirits and evil shades), is good. + + Gemara: The Tanna is brief in showing [that the Lulab is + unfit] without distinguishing between the first day of the + festival [the celebration of which is made obligatory by the + Torah] and the second day [for which the ceremony of the Lulab + is prescribed only by the Rabbis, Scriptures saying "on the + first day"[102]]. It must certainly refer to the dry Lulab + [it may be unfit, even from a rabbinical point of view, for + since it is a rite instituted in commemoration of the Temple, + we require that it be practiced with care], for we require + that it be "beautiful," and in this case the condition is not + fulfilled. But so far as the stolen Lulab is concerned, I + understand that it should not be used the first day, for in + regard to the first day it is written: "And ye shall take + you:" of what belongs to you; but why not the second day + [whence does one know that one may not use it then?]? R. + Johanan replies in the name of R. Simon ben Yohai: because + then a regulation would be fulfilled through the commission of + a transgression, for it is said [for we find a verse which + forbids the fulfilment of a regulation through committing a + transgression]: "And ye brought that which was stolen, and the + lame, and the sick."[107] The stolen animal is likened to the + lame; and just as it is irremediably unfit [it can never be + offered as a sacrifice, because its imperfection is + perpetual], so the one that is stolen is irremediably unfit + [we deduce from this verse that it can never more become of + use, even if there has been a renunciation; that is, if we + have heard the owner renounce the object by saying, for + example, "Decidedly, I have lost this purse;" although in + regard to the ownership of the animal, we said, in the + treatise <I>Baba Kama (68a),</I> that the holder became the + possessor, if the first owner renounced it; however, he cannot + offer it as a sacrifice upon the altar], whether this be + before or after the renunciation. If before the renunciation, + because the Torah says, "If any man of you bring an + offering;[108] now, the stolen animal does not belong to him, + but after the renunciation the holder becomes the possessor of + it through the fact of this renunciation [why, then, does the + prophet forbid its being used as an offering?]. Is it not + exactly because this would be to fulfil [fulfill sic] a + regulation by committing a transgression? R. Johanan says + again in the name of R. Simon ben Yohai: what does this verse + signify: "For I the Lord love judgment, I hate robbery for + burnt offering"?[109] [for the burnt offering that you bring + me, I hate the theft of which you make yourself guilty in + stealing these animals, although everything belongs and always + has belonged to Me]. Let us compare this case with that of a + mortal king, who, passing before the house of a publican, says + to his servants: "Give the toll to the publican." They object + and say: "But is it not to thee that all the tolls return?" + To which the king replies: "May all travellers [sic] take an + example from me and not escape the payment of toll." In the + same way God says: "I hate robbery for burnt offerings; may My + children take an example from Me and escape the temptation to + theft." + + It has likewise been shown [that the motive of the Mishnah in + declaring the stolen Lulab unfit for use on the second day of + the festival, is that It would be the fulfilment of a + regulation through the commission of a transgression]. Rabbi + Ammi says: etc., (<I>Sukkah 29b</I>). + +From these two citations it is evident that Rashi does not shrink +from complicated explanations, and that he does not comment on +the easy passages. In the following quotation, the discussion is +somewhat more difficult to follow. + + <I>Mishnah:</I> A slave [non-Jewish] who has been made + prisoner and ransomed [by other Jews] in order to remain a + slave, remains a slave [this will be explained by the Gemara]; + In order to be free, becomes free. R. Simon ben Gamaliel + says: In the one case as in the other, he remains a slave. + + <I>Gemara:</I> With which case do we concern ourselves? If it + is before the renunciation of the right of possession [by the + first master, who has bought him from the hands of the non- + Jew], ransomed in order to become free, why should he not + remain a slave? It is, then, after this renunciation. But, + bought to be a slave, why should he remain a slave? + [Understand: of his first master; why should he remain a + slave, since there was a renunciation by which rights upon him + as a slave have been renounced?]. Abaye says: The case under + debate is always that In which the first owner has not yet + renounced his rights upon the slave, and if the slave has been + bought to remain a slave [on condition of being restored to + his first master, or even upon condition of belonging to him + who bought him], he remains the slave of his first master [the + second, in fact, has not acquired him, for he knows that his + master remains his master, until the master has given him up; + he would, therefore, be stealing the slave]; if the slave is + ransomed to become free, he is the slave neither of the first + nor of the second; not of the second, since he ransomed the + slave to set him free, nor of the first who possibly abandoned + him and did not buy him back. R. Simon b. Gamaliel, on the + other hand, says: In one case as in the other he remains a + slave; in fact, he admits that just as it is a duty to ransom + free men, so it is a duty to ransom slaves [it is not, + therefore, to be supposed that the first master would have + abstained from buying back his slave]. + + Raba says: We are always dealing with the case in which the + first master has already renounced his right of possession. + And if the slave has been ransomed in order to be a slave, he + serves his second master [farther on the question will be + asked, from whom the second master bought him]; if ransomed to + be free, he serves neither his first nor his second master; + not his second master, since he bought the slave to give him + his liberty; and not the first, since he had already renounced + the slave. R. Simon b. Gamaliel, on the other hand, says: In + the one case as in the other he remains a slave [of his first + master], according to the principle of Hezekiah, who said: Why + is it admitted that he remains a slave in either case? So + that it should not be possible for any slave whatsoever to + deliver himself up to the enemy and thus render himself + independent of his master. + + It is objected: R. Simon b. Gamaliel [we have been taught] + said to his colleagues: "Just as it is a duty to ransom free + men, so it is a duty to ransom slaves." This Baraita is to be + understood according to Abaye, who takes it that there had + been no renunciation [who applies the Mishnah to the case in + which there has been previous renunciation; then the first + paragraph of the Mishnah is motived by the abstention of the + owner, who did not ransom his slave]: we thus explain to + ourselves the expression "just as" [of R. Simon b. Gamaliel, + for he does not suppose that the owner abstained, granted that + it is a duty to ransom the slave]. But, according to Raba, + who takes it that there has been renunciation [who applies the + Mishnah to the case in which there was renunciation, and the + first paragraph of the Mishnah is motived by the abstention of + the owner, which is equivalent to a renunciation], this "just + as" [of R. Simon b. Gamaliel, what does it signify?], since R. + Simon b. Gamaliel bases his opinion upon the principle of + Hezekiah [since the reason of R. Simon b. Gamaliel is the + principle of Hezekiah: "so that the slave should not go and + deliver himself up to the enemy"]. Raba replies, etc., + (Gittin 37b). + +What one least expects to find in a Talmudist is historic +veracity. Yet it is not lacking in Rashi, either because he was +guided by ancient and authentic traditions, or because he was +inspired by his clear - sightedness, or - but this is apt to have +been the case less frequently because he was well served by his +power of divination. Rashi took good care not to confound the +different generations of Tannaim and Amoraim, or the different +rabbis in each. He knew the biographies of all of them, the +countries of their birth, their masters and disciples, the period +and the scene of their activity. Such knowledge was necessary +not only in order to grasp the meaning of certain passages, but +also in order to decide which opinion was final and had the force +of law. Rashi also tried to understand, and in turn render +comprehensible, the customs and the by-gone institutions to which +the Talmud alludes. He gave information concerning the +composition of the Mishnah and the Gemara, and the relations of +the Mishnahs and the Baraitas. Because it contains all these +data, Rashi's commentary is still a very valuable historical +document, and Jewish historians of our days continue frequently +to invoke its authority. + +Yet in spite of this scattered information, the commentary is +marked by certain deficiencies which indicate a deficiency in his +mental make-up. When he explains an historical passage of the +Talmud, he is incapable of criticising [criticizing sic] it. +Apart from the fact that he would not believe legend to be +legend, nor the Gemara capable of mistakes, he had neither the +knowledge nor the scientific culture requisite for an historian. +To be convinced of this, it is necessary to read only the +following passage, in which the Talmud characteristically relates +the final events before the downfall of the Jewish State. As +before, I reproduce the Gemara along with the commentary of +Rashi; but in translating the Gemara I anticipate what Rashi +says. It must be borne in mind that Rashi explains in Hebrew - +in rabbinical Hebrew - text written in Aramaic. + + R. Johanan says: what signifies this verse (Prov. xxviii. 14): + "Happy is the man that feareth always [who trembles before the + future and says to himself: provided that no misfortune befall + me if I do such and such a thing], but he that hardeneth his + heart shall fall into mischief"? For Kamza and Bar Kamza + Jerusalem was destroyed; for a cock and a hen the Royal + Tower[110] was destroyed; for the side of a litter (<H>rispak + (Resh Yod Samech Pe Qof)</H>) [the side of a lady's chariot, + called <I>reitwage</I> (?) in German, as is said in the + chapter "The mother and her young":[111] If thou yokest the + mule to the litter <H>rispak (Resh Yod Samech Pe Qof)</H> for + me], Betar was destroyed. For Kamza and Bar Kamza [names of + two Jews] Jerusalem was destroyed. A man whose friend was + Kamza [the name of whose friend was Kamza] and whose enemy was + Bar Kamza prepared a banquet. He said to his servant: "Go, + invite Kamza." The servant went to Bar Kamza. Finding him + seated, the host said: "Since this man is (thou art) my enemy, + why comest thou hither? Go, leave me." The other replied: + "Since I have come, let me remain here, and I will give the + price of what I shall eat and drink." "No," he answered [I + will not let thee remain here]. "I will give thee," he [the + other] insisted, "the half of the cost of the banquet." "No." + "I will give thee the price of the entire banquet." But he + took him by the arm, and made him rise and go out. [The + expelled man] said to himself: "Since the rabbis present at + this scene did not protest, it must be that it pleased them. + Very well! I shall go and eat the morsel [of calumny] upon + them in the presence of the governor." He went to the + governor and said to Caesar: "The Jews are revolting against + thee." Caesar replied: "Who told it thee?" "Send to them," + replied the other, "a victim [to sacrifice it upon the altar; + for we deduce from the repetition of the word "man" (in Lev. + xvii.) that the non-Jews can offer voluntary sacrifices, like + the Israelites]; thou wilt see if they sacrifice it." Caesar + sent a calf without a blemish, but in transit a blemish + appeared on the large lip [the upper lip], others say on the + lid of the eye (<H>dokin (Dalet Vav Qof Yod Final_Nun)</H>) + ["tela,"[112] as in Is. xl. 22 <H>Dok (Dalet Vav Qof)</H>], + which constitutes a blemish for us, but not for the Romans + [they could offer it to their gods on the high places, + provided it did not lack a limb]. The rabbis were in favor of + sacrificing the animal in the interest of public peace. Rabbi + Zechariah b. Eukolos objected: "It will be said that you offer + imperfect victims upon the altar." Then they wanted to kill + [the messenger] so that he could not return and report what + had happened. R. Zechariah objected: "It will be said that he + who causes a blemish on a victim should be condemned to death" + [it will be thought that because he caused a blemish on the + victim, and because he thus trangressed [transgressed sic] the + prohibition: "There shall be no blemish therein" (Lev. xxii. + 21), he was put to death]. R. Johanan concluded: It is this + complai sance of R. Zechariah b. Eukolos [who did not wish to + put the messenger to death] which destroyed our Temple, burned + our Sanctuary, and exiled us from the land of our fathers + (Gittin 55b) + +This passage is less historic than legendary in character; it +forms part of the Haggadic element of the Talmud, In the +explanation of the Haggadah Rashi has preserved its method, so +wise, yet so simple. Others have attempted to be more profound +in interpreting it allegorically. Rashi, with his fund of common +sense, was nearer to the truth. His conception of the naive +tales and beliefs was in itself naive. Moreover, before his time +it was the legislative part of the Talmud that received almost +exclusive attention. The rabbis occupied themselves with +questions of practice and with making decisions, and they tried +to unknot the entanglements of the discussions for the sake of +extracting the norm, the definitive law. This is the case with +Hananel, Rashi's predecessor, as well as with Alfasi,[113] +Rashi's contemporary. Although, as we shall see, the French +rabbi had studied the Talmud for the sake of practical needs, he +adopted, so to speak, a more disinterested point of view. He did +not pretend to write a manual of Talmudic law, but an +uninterrupted running commentary for the use of all who wanted to +make a consecutive study of the Talmud. + +In the treatise <I>Baba Batra</I> (73a), the Gemara having +exhausted the few observations it had to present upon the +Mishnah, which speaks of the sail of a vessel and its rigging, +falls back upon some popular narratives, "Tales of the Sea." + + Raba said [all the facts that will be recounted are in + illustration of the verse (Psalms civ. 24), "O Lord, how + manifold are thy works!" Some of the facts show that the + righteous are recompensed in the world to come, or they serve + to explain the verses of Job that speak of large birds, of the + Behemot, and of the large cetaceans; in fact, "even the simple + conversations of the rabbis must be instructive"]: Some + sailors reported to me what follows: "The wave which engulfs + [which tries to engulf] a vessel seems to have at its head + [seems to be preceded by] a ray of white fire [a white flame, + which is a wicked angel]. But we beat it with rods (<H>alvata + (Alef Lamed Vav Vav Tav Alef</H>) [rods, as in these words + 'neither with a rod (<H>(Alef Lamed He)</H>) nor with a lance' + in the treatise Shabbat (63a)], which bear these words graven + on them: 'I am He who is, Yah, Eternal Zebaet, Amen, Selah' + [such is the lesson of the text[114] and then it is laid to + rest" [from its agitation]. + + Raba recounts: Some sailors related to me that which follows: + "Between one wave and another wave there are three hundred + parasangs[115] [it is necessary to give us this detail, for + later on it will be said that the one wave raised its voice to + speak to the other; now, one can make oneself heard at a + distance of three hundred parasangs], and the height of a wave + is likewise three hundred parasangs. Once we were on a voyage, + when a wave raised us [up to the heavens, higher than its own + height; or the heat of the heavens is so great that it extends + to a distance which one could traverse in nearly five hundred + years, the distance of the heavens from the earth[116], so + high that we saw the encampment [the dwelling] of a little + star [of the smallest of stars]; it appeared so large to us, + that one would have been able to sow on its surface forty + measures of mustard seed [which is larger than other seeds], + and if it had raised us more, we would have been burned by its + fumes [by the heat of the star]. Then a wave raised its voice + [that is, called, just as it is said, "Deep calleth unto deep" + (Psalms xlii. 7); or it may mean angels placed over the stars] + and said to its companion: 'My companion, have you left + something in the world which you have not swallowed up [for it + had lifted itself so high, you might have thought it had + sprung from the bed of the sea and had engulfed the world]? + In that case I will go destroy it' [on account of the sins of + man] - It said [the one wave replied to the other]: 'Behold + the might of the Lord: I cannot by one thread [by the breadth + of a thread] go beyond the sand '[that is to say: I cannot + leave the bed of the sea]; thus it is said [it is the Gemara + that cites this verse]: 'Fear ye not me?' saith the Lord. + 'Will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the + sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it + cannot pass it?'" (Jer. v. 22). + + Raba says: Hormin appeared to me, the son of Lillit [Hormin + with an "n," such is the text which should be adopted, and + which I get from my father; but I have learned from my masters + that it should be read "Hormiz," with a "z," a word which + means demon, as we see in <I>Sanhedrin</I> (39a) "the lower + half of thy body belongs to Hormiz[117], running along the + edge of the wall of Mahuza [This account makes us realize the + goodness of God who loves his creatures and does not permit + evil spirits to injure them; it also teaches us that one must + not risk oneself alone on a voyage]; at the same moment a + horseman galloped by [without thinking of evil], and he could + not catch up to him [for the demon ran so quickly, that the + horseman could not think of overtaking him]. + +In conclusion I will give one more extract, from the last chapter +of <I>Sanhedrin</I> (92b), which contains a vast number of +curious legends. + + Our rabbis taught: Six miracles occurred on that day [the day + on which Nebuchadnezzar threw the friends of Daniel into the + furnace]. These are: the furnace raised itself [for it was + sunk in the ground, like a lime-kiln; on that day it raised + itself to the surface of the ground, so that all could see the + miracle]; the furnace was rent in two [a part of its walls was + riven so that all could look in]; <H>humak suro (He Vav Mem + Qof, Samech Vav Resh Vav)</H> [its height was lowered, as in + the phrase <H>suro ka (Samech Vav Resh Vav, Resh Ayin)</H> + (<I>Kiddushin</I> 82a); another reading <H>humak duso (He Vav + Mem Qof, Dalet Vav Samech Vav)</H> like <H>yesodo (Yod Samech + Vav Dalet Vav)</H> its base was thrown. This is the + explanation taught me by R. Jacob ben Yakar; but my + master[118] reads <H> (He Vav Samech Qof, Samech Yod Dalet, + Vav)</H>: the lime of the furnace melted as a result of the + great heat. Such are the explanations of my masters. It was + from the heat thrown out by the lime that those men were + consumed who cast Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah into the + burning fiery furnace and that the golden image of the king + was transformed before his eyes]; the image of the king was + transformed before his eyes; the four empires were consumed by + the flames [the kings and their subjects, who aided + Nebuchadnezzar in casting Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah into + the fire]; finally, Ezekiel brought the dead to life in the + plain of Dura.[119] + +What has been said up to this point indicates the position taken +by Rashi with regard to the Halakah. Unlike Maimonides in his +commentary of the Mishnah, he did not as a rule concern himself +with the fixation of legal principles and practice, or with the +definite solution of questions under controversy. He confined +himself to his task of commentator and interpreter. The brevity +he imposed upon himself made it an obligation not to enter into +long and detailed discussions; for he would have had to dispose +of varying opinions and justify his choice. He carried his +principle to such an extent that it could be said of him, "Rashi +is a commentator, he does not make decisions."[120] + +But there are numerous exceptions to the rule. Often Rashi deems +it necessary to state a definite solution, either because it has +been the subject of controversies on the part of his masters, or +because it was difficult to separate it from the rest of the +discussion, or because it served as the point of departure for +another discussion. Finally, the explanation of such and such a +passage of the Talmud presupposes the solution of a question, +unless the solution changes with the explanation of the passage. +When the question is left in suspense by the Talmud, Rashi +usually determines it in the strictest sense; but when it +receives contradictory solutions, he either falls back upon +analogous cases or adduces rules of Talmudic methodology. Often, +however, his conclusion is nothing else than a statement of the +practice observed in his time. + +In all these cases Rashi's authority carries great weight; so +much so, in fact, as to overbalance that of Alfasi and +Maimonides. Frequent appeal was made to it by casuists of a later +date, and it would have been invoked still oftener had his +Decisions been gathered together, like those of the Spanish and +German rabbis, instead of having been scattered through a large +number of compilations. + + * * * * * + +By reason of these and other qualities the Talmudic commentaries +of Rashi without doubt outweigh his Biblical commentaries. I +should be inclined flatly to contradict the opinion ascribed to +Jacob Tam, Rashi's grandson: "So far as my grandfather's +commentary on the Talmud is concerned, I might do as much, but it +would not be in my power to undertake his commentary upon the +Pentateuch." The Biblical commentary is not always absolutely +sure and certain, and the defects are marked. The Talmudic +commentary remains a model and indispensable guide. Although +numerous Biblical commentaries have been composed with Rashi's as +a standard and in order to replace it, no one has dared provide a +substitute for his Talmudic commentary. From an historical point +of view, the value of the Talmudic commentary is no less great. +At the same period, in three countries, three works were composed +which complemented one another and which came to form the basis +of Talmudic studies. At the time when Rashi commented on the +Talmud, Nathan ben Jehiel[121] composed the Talmudic lexicon, +which is still used to a great extent, while Isaac Alfasi in his +Halakot codified all the Talmudic regulations. Of the three +works the first was the most celebrated. The exaggerated +statement was made of Rashi, that "without him the Talmud would +have remained a closed book."[122] And Menahem ben Zerah[123] +said: "There was no one so illuminating, and so concise as Rashi +in the commentary he wrote as if by Divine inspiration. Without +him, the Babylonian Talmud would have been forgotten in Israel." +The echo of this enthusiastic opinion is heard in the words of +the Hebrew scholar H. L. Strack, a Christian, and the modern +Jewish scholar A. Darmesteter. The one says: "Rashi wrote a +commentary which the Jews hold in extraordinarily high regard and +which all must concede is of the greatest value." Darmesteter +wrote: "Suppress the commentary of Rashi, that masterwork of +precision and clearness, and even for a trained Talmudist, the +Talmud becomes almost enigmatical." + +Can more be said? The commentary has become, in brief, +<I>The</I> Commentary, the Commentary <I>par excellence, Konteros +(Gommentarius).</I> + + CHAPTER VIII + + THE RESPONSA + +In the previous chapter we saw that Rashi, though chiefly +concerned with the mere explanation of the Talmud, nevertheless +intrenched sometimes upon the domain of practice. It must not be +forgotten that at that epoch the life of the Jews was based upon, +and directed by, rabbinical jurisprudence and discipline. The +study of the Talmud was taken up for the sake of finding in it +rules for the daily conduct of existence. Apart from certain +questions purely theoretic in character and having no practical +application, Talmudic studies, far from being confined to the +school, responded to the needs of life and were of real, vital +interest. But since the Talmud is not allcomprehensive, the +rabbis in drawing inspiration from its rules, from precedents it +had already established, and from analogous instances contained +in it, were justified in rendering decisions upon new points +arising out of circumstances as they occurred. Thus, measures +are cited passed by Rashi upon the payment of taxes, Christian +wine, the <I>Mezuzah,</I> phylacteries, etc. These measures +resulted not so much from his own initiative as from the requests +preferred to him by his disciples, or by other rabbis, or even by +private individuals. + +The Responsa addressed by rabbinical authorities to individuals +or to communities who had submitted difficult cases and questions +to them for solution, constitute a special genus of post-Biblical +literature. Not to mention their legislative value, how precious +they are as documents in proof of the fact that no distances were +too long, no obstacles too great to prevent the people from +obtaining the opinion of a scholar! They even sent special +messengers to him, when there were no favoring circumstances, +such as a fair at the rabbi's place of residence, or a journey to +be undertaken thither for other reasons than the purpose of the +consultation. Thus lively relations were established among the +Jews of the most widely separated countries; and an active +correspondence went on between scholars of Babylon, Northern +Africa, Spain, France, Germany, and Italy. + +The circle of Rashi's connections, however, was limited to France +and Lorraine. His chief correspondents were his teachers and +their disciples.[124] It was only after Rashi's day, when +communication between the Christian and the Moslem worlds became +more frequent, that rabbinical authorities were appealed to from +all the corners of Europe and Africa. + +Though his correspondents were not so widely scattered, the +subjects touched upon by Rashi in his Responsa are very varied in +character. He was consulted on the meaning of a Biblical or a +Talmudic passage, on the text of the liturgy, on rules of +grammar, on Biblical chronology, and, especially, on new cases +arising in the practice of religion. These Responsa, inspired, +so to speak, by actualities, by the come and go of daily affairs, +introduce the reader to the material and intellectual life of the +Jews of the time, besides furnishing interesting information +concerning the master's method. + +One of the questions most frequently agitated regarded wine of +the Gentiles, the drinking of which was prohibited to the Jews +because it was feared that the wine had been employed for +idolatrous libations. Cases of this kind turned up every day, +because the Jews occupied themselves with viticulture[125] and +maintained constant communication with the Christians. Rashi +showed himself rather liberal. Though, of course, forbidding +Jews to taste the wine, he permitted them to derive other +enjoyment from it, the Christians not being comparable to the +pagans, since they observed the Noachian laws. Rashi's grandson, +Samuel ben Meir, explicitly states in Rashi's name that the laws +set forth by the Talmud against the Gentiles do not apply to the +Christians. + +The brother of Samuel, Jacob Tam, tells us that Rashi forbade the +payment of a tax by using a sum of money left on deposit by a +Christian. This decision, Jacob Tam adds, was intended to apply +to the whole kingdom and, in fact, was accepted throughout +France. This testifies not only to the great authority Rashi +enjoyed, but also to the uprightness, the honesty of his +character. Another of his qualities becomes apparent in a second +Responsum treating of the relations between Jews and Christians. +They carried on trade with each other in wheat and cattle. Now, +the Mishnah forbids these transactions. "When this prohibition +was promulgated," wrote Rashi, "the Jews all dwelt together and +could carry on commerce with one another; but at present, when we +are a minority in the midst of our neighbors, we cannot conform +to so disastrous a measure." Rashi, it is therefore evident, +knew how to take into account the needs of the moment, and +accommodate rules to conditions. + +Relations, then, between the Jews and their fellow citizens were +cordial. The horizon seemed serene. But if one looked closer, +one could see the gathering clouds slowly encroaching upon the +calm sky, clouds which were soon to burst in a storm of bloody +hate and murderous ferocity. Although the change came about +imperceptibly and the Jews enjoyed the calm preceding the +tempest, despite this and despite themselves, they entertained a +smothered distrust of the Christians. For instance, they used +ugly expressions to designate objects the Christians venerated. +The Christians responded in kind. The ecclesiastical works of +the time are full of insults and terms of opprobrium aimed at the +Jews. If one reads the narrative of the Crusades, during which +the blood of innocent massacred Jews flowed in streams, one must +perforce excuse, not so much real hostility toward the +Christians, as the employment of malicious expressions directed +against their worship. The feeling that existed was rather the +heritage of tradition, the ancient rivalry of two sister +religions, than true animosity. As for tolerance, no such thing +yet existed. It was difficult at that time for people to +conceive of benevolence and esteem for those who professed a +different belief. The effect of the First Crusade upon the inner +life of the communities was to create anomalous situations within +families, necessitating the intervention of rabbinical +authorities. The Responsa of Rashi dealing with martyrs and +converts no doubt sprang from these sad conditions. A woman, +whose husband died during the persecution, married again without +having previously claimed her jointure from the heirs of her dead +husband; but she wanted to insist on her rights after having +contracted the new union. Rashi, in a Responsum, the conclusions +of which were attacked after his death by several rabbis, +declared that the claim of the woman was entitled to +consideration. + +The echo of the Crusades is heard in other instances. I have +already spoken of the liberal, tolerant attitude[126] assumed by +Rashi in regard to the unfortunates who deserted the faith of +their fathers in appearance only, and sought refuge in that of +their persecutors. He excused the hypocrisy of these weak +beings, who accepted baptism only externally and in their hearts +remained Jews. + +In general, so far as questions in regard to lending on interest, +to giving testimony, and to marriage relations were concerned, +Rashi held the apostate to be the same as the Jew. He was once +asked if the testimony of an apostate was valid in law. "It is +necessary," he replied "to distinguish in favor of those who +follow the Jewish law in secret and are not suspected of +transgressing the religious precepts which the Christians oblige +them to transgress outwardly. At bottom they fear God. They +weep and groan over the constraint put upon them, and implore +pardon of God. But if there is a suspicion that they committed +transgressions without having been forced to do so, even if they +have repented with all their heart, and all their soul, and all +their might, they cannot bring evidence ex post facto concerning +facts which they witnessed before they repented." + +Rashi, then, was indulgent above all toward those who had been +converted under the compulsion of violence, and who sincerely +regretted their involuntary or imposed apostasy. On one +occasion, he was asked if the wine belonging to such unfortunates +should be forbidden, though they had proved their return to the +Jewish faith by a long period of penitence. Rashi replied: "Let +us be careful not to take measures for isolating them and thereby +wounding them. Their defection was made under the menace of the +sword, and they hastened to return from their wanderings." +Elsewhere Rashi objects to recalling to them their momentary +infidelity. A young girl was married while she and her +bridegroom were in the state of forced apostasy. Rashi declared +the union to be valid, for "even if a Jew becomes a convert +voluntarily, the marriage he contracts is valid. All the more is +this true in the case of those who are converted by force, and +whose heart always stays with God, and especially, as in the +present case, if they have escaped as soon as they could from the +faith they embraced through compulsion." + +Since internal union is the surest safeguard against persecution +from without, Rashi earnestly exhorted his brethren to shun +intestine strife. "Apply yourselves to the cultivation of +peace," he once wrote. "See how your neighbors are troubled by +the greatest evils and how the Christians delight in them. +Concord will be your buckler against envy and prevent it from +dominating you." In a community, doubtless that of Chalons- +sur-Saone, in Burgundy,[127] there were two families that +quarrelled [quarreled sic] continually. The community had +intervened to stop the strife, but one of the two families +declared in advance that it would not submit to its decision. A +member of the other family, irritated, reproached one of his +enemies with having been baptized. Now Rabbenu Gershom, under +penalty of excommunication, had forbidden people to recall his +apostasy to a converted Jew. Rashi was asked to remove this +prohibition; but he declined, not wishing to intervene in the +internal administration of a strange community. "What am I that +I should consider myself an authority in other +places?... I am a man of little importance, and my +hands are feeble, like those of an orphan. If I were in the +midst of you, I would join with you in annulling the +interdiction." From this it is evident that the strongest weapon +of the rabbinical authorities against the intractable was, as in +the Church, excommunication; but that sometimes individuals +asserted, and even swore in advance, that they would not yield to +the decree against them. Rashi considered that this oath, being +contrary to law, was null and void. + +Rashi, guided by the same feelings, was pitiless in his +condemnation of those who fomented trouble, who sowed discord in +families, sometimes in their own households. A man, after having +made promise to a young girl, refused to marry her and was upheld +in his intrigues by a disciple of Rashi. Rashi displayed great +severity toward the faithless man for his treatment of the girl, +and he was not sparing even in his denunciation of the +accomplice. Another man slandered his wife, declaring that she +suffered from a loathsome disease, and through his lying charges +he obtained a divorce from her. But the truth came to light, and +Rashi could not find terms sufficiently scathing to denounce a +man who had recourse to such base calumnies and sullied his own +hearth. "He is unworthy," Rashi wrote, "to belong to the race of +Abraham, whose descendants are always full of pity for the +unfortunate; and all the more for a woman to whom one is bound in +marriage. We see that even those who do not believe in God +respect the purity of the home, - and here is a man who has +conducted himself so unworthily toward a daughter of our Heavenly +Father." After indicating what course is to be pursued in case +of divorce, Rashi concluded: "But it would be better if this man +were to make good his mistake and take back his wife, so that God +may take pity on him, and he may have the good fortune to build +up his home again and live in peace and happiness." + +The Responsa, providing us, as we have seen, with interesting +information concerning Rashi's character, are no less important +for giving us knowledge of his legal and religious opinions. As +a result of the poise of his nature, and in the interest of +order, he attached great importance to traditional usages and +customs. Innovations are dangerous, because they may foment +trouble; to abide by custom, on the contrary, is the surest +guarantee of tranquillity [tranquility sic]. In casuistical +questions not yet solved, he did not adopt as his principle the +one prevailing with so many rabbis, of rendering the strictest +decision; on the contrary, in regard to many matters, he was more +liberal than his masters or his colleagues. Nevertheless, he +congratulated those whose interpretation in certain cases was +more severe than his own. In his scrupulous piety, he observed +certain practices, although he refused to set them up as laws for +others, since, one of his disciples tells us, he did not wish to +arrogate to himself the glory of instituting a rule for the +future. He contented himself with saying: "Blessed be he who +does this." Since he stuck to the rigid observance of religion, +and feared to open the door to abuses, he advised his pupils not +to give too much publicity to certain of his easy interpretations +of the Law. + +If he did not approve of laxity, he had still less sympathy with +the extreme piety bordering on folly of those whom he called +"crazy saints." Enemy to every exaggeration, he blamed those +who, for example, imposed upon themselves two consecutive fast +days. Once when the Fast of Esther fell on a Thursday, a woman +applied to Rashi for advice. She told him she was compelled to +accompany her mistress on a trip, and asked him whether she might +fast the next day. Rashi in his Responsum first recalled the +fact that the Fast of Esther was not mentioned either in the +Bible or in the Talmud, and then declared that the over- +conscientious Jews who fast on Friday in order to make a feast +day follow close upon a fast day, deserve to be called fools who +walk in darkness.[128] + +Finally, although Rashi was very scrupulous in matters of +religion, he was tolerant toward faults and failings in others. +Sinners and, as I have shown, even apostates found grace with +him. He liked to repeat the Talmudic saying to which, in +generalizing it, he gave a new meaning, "An Israelite, even a +sinful one, remains an Israelite." + +There is little to say concerning the style of Rashi's Responsa. +In the setting forth and the discussion of the questions under +consideration, his usual qualities are present - precision, +clearness, soberness of judgment. But the preambles - sometimes a +bit prolix - are written after the fashion prevailing among the +rabbis of the time, in a complicated, pretentious style, often +affecting the form of rhymed prose and always in a poetic jargon. +With this exception, the Responsa do not betray the least +straining after effect, the least literary refinement. The very +fact that Rashi did not himself take the precaution to collect +his Responsa, proves how little he cared to make a show with +them, though, it is true, the custom of gathering together one's +Responsa did not arise until later, originating in Spain, and +passing on to Germany. As I shall immediately proceed to show, it +was Rashi's disciples who collected the Responsa of their master +and preserved them for us, at least in part. + + CHAPTER IX + + WORKS COMPOSED UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF RASHI + +After having passed in review the works which are the result of +Rashi's own labor and which have come down to us in the shape in +which they emerged from his hands, or nearly so, several works +remain to be described that present a double character; they did +not spring directly from Rashi's pen, but were written by his +pupils under his guidance, or, at least, as the result of his +inspiration and influence. They have reached us in altered form, +amplified, and sometimes improved, sometimes spoiled by various +authors. The confusion reigning in these works has contributed +toward an inexact appreciation of their function. From the first +they were meant to be compilations, collections of rules, rather +than works having a specified object. + +To point out the fact once again, Rashi's pupils became his +collaborators; and, it must be added, they established a +veritable cult of their master. They neglected nothing +concerning him; they carefully noted and piously recorded his +slightest deed and gesture, on what day they had seen him, under +what circumstances, how he felt that day, and how he conducted +himself at the table. When a case similar to some previous one +arose, they contented themselves with referring to the former and +reproducing the discussion to which it had given rise. + +It is to this veneration, bordering on religious devotion, that +we owe the preservation of Rashi's Responsa and Decisions. Some +entered into the collections of the Babylonian Geonim, - a fact +which shows how highly people regarded the man who was thus +ranked with the greatest rabbinical authorities, - but most of +them formed the basis of several independent works: the <I>Sefer +ha-Pardes</I> (Book of Paradise), the <I>Sefer ha-Orah</I> (Book +of Light?), the <I>Sefer Issur-we-Heter</I> (Book of Things +Prohibited and Things Permitted), and the <I>Mahzor Vitry.</I> +The first work was edited at the beginning, the last, at the end, +of the nineteenth century, and part of the second was introduced +into the first by the editor of the first. The whole of the +second has just been published by Mr. Solomon Buber. The third +work, which offers many resemblances to the <I>Mahzor Vitry,</I> +is still in manuscript; but Mr. Buber has recently promised us +its publication in the near future, as well as a <I>Siddur,</I> +or ritual, of Rashi, related to the <I>Mahzor Vitry</I> and to a +<I>Sefer ha-Sedarim.</I> + +In all these collections it is sometimes difficult to determine +what is Rashi's handiwork, or which of his pupils is responsible +for certain passages. The composition of the works is, in fact, +original and merits brief characterization. + +The <I>Sefer ha-Pardes,</I> though commonly attributed to Rashi +himself, cannot possibly have been his work, since it contains +rules, decisions, and Responsa made by several of his +contemporaries, and even by some of his successors. Among others +are additions by Joseph Ibn Plat or his disciples (second half of +the twelfth century). But in respect of one of its constituent +elements, it was a creation of Rashi's. It was formed, in fact, +by the fusion of two collections. The author of the one +containing the customs of the three cities of Speyer, Worms, and +Mayence, must have been one of the Machirites; while the author +of the other, comprising Rashi's practices and Responsa, must +have been his disciple Shemaiah.[129] + +The <I>Sefer ha-Pardes</I> is a widely-read book, and it has been +used, sometimes under other titles, by the greater number of +legal compilations made in France and Germany. It passed through +various redactions, and the one now extant is not the most +complete. + +The <I>Sefer ha-Orah<I>, the redaction of which is sometimes +attributed, though wrongly so, to Nathan haMachiri, is a +compilation of several works, which seem to have been written in +Spain at the beginning of the fourteenth century. It consists of +two principal elements; the first, German in origin, is similar +to the Pardes now extant; the second is the work of the Spaniard, +Judah ben Barzillai, of Barcelona (twelfth century). It is, of +course, in the first that one finds fragments of works which date +back to the disciples of Rashi. + +The <I>Mahzor Vitry</I> is a more or less homogeneous work. It +contains rules of jurisprudence and of religious practice, +Responsa by Rashi, by his predecessors, and by his +contemporaries, prayers and liturgic poems, "Minor" Talmudic +treatises, the whole divided into chapters following the yearly +cycle, and bearing upon the various circumstances of life. The +work contains many additions due to Isaac ben Durbal, or Durbalo, +who visited the countries of Eastern Europe and was the disciple +of Rabbenu Tam (about 1150). He is wrongly considered to be the +redactor of the <I>Mahzor Vitry.</I> The author of the work is, +without doubt, Simhah ben Samuel, of Vitry, a disciple of Rashi +(about 1100), who availed himself, moreover, of the works of +other pupils of the master. + +The <I>Mahzor Vitry</I> is of great importance not only for the +historian of Rashi, but also for the historian of Franco - Jewish +culture and literature at that time. The same may be said of the +<I>Sefer ha-Pardes.</I> Yet this material must be used with the +utmost caution; for it has come to us in a sad condition, +disfigured by the compilers and copyists, who introduced elements +from various sources and different epochs. The original works +disappeared during the persecutions and <I>autos-da-fe</I> which +followed one another in France and Germany. The redactions now +extant come from Spain and Italy. + +These short analyses may give an idea of the collections not yet +edited; for they all stand in relation one with the other, and +are in great part formed of the same elements and derived from +the same material. + + CHAPTER X + + POETRY ATTRIBUTED TO RASHI + + +Almost immediately upon the birth of liturgical poetry in the +time of the Geonim, an illustrious representative arose in the +person of Eleazar ha-Kalir,[130] who came to exercise a profound +influence upon his successors, and in Rashi's day this poetry +attained a high degree of development. That was the time when +Jews, instead of merely listening to the officiating minister, +commenced to accompany him with their voices in antiphonal +chants. + +Like most of the rabbis of his time, Rashi wrote liturgical +poems, the number of which Zunz, with more or less surety, places +at seven. Three are still preserved in some rituals. According +to Luria, Rashi composed more than this number. + +It is fair to question whether a Talmudist is fashioned to be a +poet, and whether it is possible for love of discussion and +dialectics to accord with poetic sensibility and imagination. +Indeed, the liturgical poetry of the Jews of France and Germany +has not the least artistic value. It shows neither concern for +originality, nor knowledge of composition, and the poets were +strangers to the conception of art and beauty. Moreover, they +imposed upon themselves rather complicated rules, the most simple +forms adopted being rhyme and acrostic. Sometimes they +accomplished veritable feats of mental gymnastics, whose merit +resided in the mere fact that a difficulty was overcome. Too +often a play upon words or alliteration takes the place of +inspiration, and ideas give way to factitious combinations. + +These defects disappear in a translation, which is all the more +acceptable for the very reason that it does not reproduce the +vivid coloring of the original. The following, recited on the +Fast of gedaliah (<H>az terem nimteju (Alef zayin, Mem resh +Final_Mem, Nun mem Tav Het Vav)</H>), may serve as an example. +Rashi uses certain Midrashim in it which describe the throne of +God and the heavenly court. Such poetry as there is - and there +is some - is overlaid and submerged by the slow development of +the thought and the painfully detailed enumerations, strongly +reminiscent of the Bible. It should be said that the language of +Rashi is far simpler than that of his contemporaries. + + Before yet the clouds were gathered in a canopy, + Before yet the earth was rounded as a sphere, + Thou didst prepare seven in Thy abode: + The sacred Law, the splendid throne, the backslider's return, + Paradise in all its beauty, and insatiable hell, + The atonement place for sacrificial offerings, + And the resplendent name of him who delays to come because of + all our sins. + Two thousand years before our globe were these, + Set as jewels in the sky, whence earthward gleamed their + light; + In the realms above they ready stand round Him enthroned + between the Cherubim. + Firm established is the heavenly throne for the King supreme + Whose glory is shed upon all within His presence: + By His right hand the Law engraved with flaming letters + He caresses like a child beloved. + Toward the south lies the ever-fragrant Garden, + Hell with its ever-burning flames to the north, + Eastward Jerusalem built on strong foundations, + In the midst of it the sanctuary of God, + And in the sanctuary the altar of expiation, + Weighted with the corner-stone of the world, + Whereon is graven the Messiah's holy name + Beside the great Ineffable Name. + In the centre [center sic] before Him who is the source of all + blessings stands Repentance, + The healing balm for the suffering and afflicted soul, + Appointed to remove each blemish, array the repentant in + unsoiled garments, + And pour precious oil on the head of sorrowing sinners. + Thus we all, both old and young, appear before Thee. + Wash off our every taint, our souls refine from every sin. + Backsliding children, we come to Thee as suppliants, + Seeking Thee day by day with humble, urgent prayers. + Account them unto us as blood and fat of offerings, + Like sacrificial steers and rams accept our contrite words. + O that our sins might be sunk in abysmal depths, + And Thy brooding infinite mercy bring us near to Thee. + +In the first part of this poem the imagination displayed cannot +be said to call forth admiration either by reason of fertility or +by reason of brilliance. Any ordinary student of the Talmud and +the Midrash might have produced it. Nevertheless Rashi awakens a +certain sort of interest, it may even be said that he touches the +emotions, when he pours out all his sadness before God, or rather +- for his grief is impersonal - the sadness of the Jew, the +humble sinner appealing to the mercy of God. When his feelings +rise to their most solemn pitch, their strong pulsations visible +through the unaccustomed poetic garb, the cloak of learned +allusions drops of itself, and emotion is revealed under the +strata of labored expressions. All the poems by Rashi belong +under the literary form called <I>Selihot</I>, penitential +psalms, recited on fast days. + +What has been said of the first specimen quoted applies equally +to the next (<H>Hashem Elohei Hatzevaot Bore Baolionim (Yod Yod, +Alef Lamed He Yod, He Tsadi Bet Alef Vav Tav, Bet Vav Resh Alef, +Bet Ayin Lamed Yod Vav Nun Yod Final_Mem)</H>), for the eve of +the Day of Atonement. It would have been more effective, had +there been less emphasis and a more consecutive development of +the thought. + + ... Of all bereft we appear before Thee, -- + Thine is the justice, ours the sin, -- + Our faces flushed with shame we turn to Thee, + And at Thy gates we moan like doves. + Vouchsafe unto us a life of tranquil joy, + Purge us of our stains, make us white and pure. + O that our youthful faults might vanish like passing clouds! + Renew our days as of old, + Remove defilement hence, set presumptuous sins at naught; + The purifying waters of truth sprinkle upon us, + For we confess our transgressions, we rebellious, faithless + children. + + * * * * * + + O that a contrite spirit, a broken, repentant heart + Be acceptable to Thee as the fat of sacrifices! + Accomplish for the children Thy promise to the fathers. + From Thy celestial abode hearken unto us who cry to Thee! + Strengthen the hearts of those inclined to pay Thee homage, + Lend Thy ear unto their humble supplication. + Yet once more rescue Thy people from destruction. + Let Thy olden mercy speedily descend on them again, + And Thy favored ones go forth from judgment justified, -- + They that hope for Thy grace and lean upon Thy loving-kind ness. + +The final specimen (<H>tefilah lekadma (Tav Pe Lamed He, Lamed +Qof Dalet Mem Final_Nun</H>) is still more pathetic in its +tearful contrition. The last lines even rise to unusual beauty +when they point down a shining vista of happy, serene days. + + At morn we order our prayers, and wait to offer them to Thee. + Not sacrificial rams we bring to Thee, but hearts contrite and + tender. + O that the tribute of our lips might plead our cause, + When suppliants we stand before Thy threshold, watching and + waiting. + The early dawn awakens us, and our faces are suffused with + shame. + Our hearts beat fast, we whisper softly, hoarse and weary with + calling on Thee. + We are cast down, affrighted, -- Thy judgment comes. + To Thy teaching we turned deaf ears, + And unto evil were seduced. + Rebellious were we, when Thou camest to guide us aright, + And now we stand abashed with lowered eyes. + + Our ruin Thou didst long past see -- + Is Thy fiery wrath still unappeased? + We sinned in days agone, we suffer now, our wounds are open, + Thy oath is quite accomplished, the curse fulfilled. + Though long we tarried, we seek Thee now, timid, anxious, + --we, poor in deeds. + Before we perish, once more unto Thy children join Thyself. + A heavenly sign foretells Thy blessing shall descend on us. + Brute force is shattered, and with night all round about, + Thy affianced spouse, loving, yearning, + Calls on Thy faithfulness; she pleads with her eyes, and asks, + is still she Thine, + Is hers Thy love for aye? + +The uniformity and monotony of this poetry, it must be admitted, +weary the reader. The author never goes beyond a narrow circle of +ideas, and general ideas at that. It is impossible to make out +whether the allusions are to contemporaneous events, the +persecutions connected with the First Crusade, for instance, or +whether they refer to the ancient, traditional wrongs and +sufferings. Nowhere is Rashi's poetry relieved by a touch of +personal bias. It cannot be denied, however, that the poems +testify to a fund of sincerity and enthusiasm, and that is +noteworthy in a period of literary decadence, when it often +happens that sincerity of sentiment fails by a good deal to find +sincere expression for itself. Esthetic inadequacy should by no +means be taken as synonymous with insincerity. Rashi proves, +that without being an artist one can be swayed by emotion and +sway the emotions of others, particularly when the dominant +feeling is sadness. "The prevailing characteristic of Rashi's +prayers," says Zunz, the first historian of synagogue poetry as +well as the first biographer of Rashi, "is profound sadness; all +of them are filled with bitter plaints." Finally, if the +<I>Selihot</I> by Rashi fall far short of our idea and our ideal +of poetry, they at least possess the interest attaching to all +that relates to their illustrious author. + + BOOK III + + THE INFLUENCE OF RASHI + + + + CHAPTER XI + + FROM RASHI'S DEATH TO THE EXPULSION + + OF THE JEWS FROM FRANCE + +The preceding chapters show how voluminous and varied was Rashi's +work. And yet we are far from possessing everything he wrote; a +number of texts have disappeared, perhaps are lost forever. But +this fertility is not Rashi's sole literary merit. If the +excellence of a work is to be measured not only by its intrinsic +value, but also by its historical influence, by the scientific +movement to which it has given the impulse, by the literature +which it has called into being, in short, by its general effect, +no work should receive a higher estimate than that of Rashi, for, +it may be said without exaggeration, no other work was ever the +occasion of so much comment and discussion, and none exerted an +influence so far reaching and enduring. From the moment of their +appearance his writings spread rapidly, and were read with +enthusiasm. After profoundly affecting his contemporaries, Rashi +continued to guide the movement he had started. His influence +upon rabbinical literature is comparable only with that of +Maimonides. Indeed, it was more wholesome than his. The +Talmudic codex established by Maimonides aimed at nothing less +than to shut off the discussions and to give the oral law firm, +solid shape. Rashi, on the contrary, safeguarded the rights of +the future, and gave his successors full play. Again, not having +introduced into his work philosophic speculations, he was +shielded against criticism, and his renown was therefore more +immaculate than that of the author of the Mishneh Torah, who had +to undergo furious attacks. + +Rashi dominates the entire rabbinical movement in France and +Germany. Generally, the influence of a writer wanes from day to +day; but as for Rashi's, it may he said to have increased by +force of habit and as the result of events, and to have broadened +its sphere. Limited at first to French, Lotharingian, and German +centres [centers sic] of learning, it soon extended to the south +of Europe, to Africa, and even to Asia, maintaining its force +both in the field of Biblical exegesis and of Talmudic +jurisprudence. + +Since it is impossible to mention all the authors and works +following and preceding Rashi, it must suffice to point out some +characteristic facts and indispensable names in order to bring +into relief the vitality and expansive force of his achievement, +and to show how it has survived the ravages of time, and, what is +more, how it has overcome man's forgetfulness - <I>edax tempus, +edacior homo.</I> We shall see that Rashi directed the course of +the later development at the same time that he summed up in his +work all that had previously been accomplished. + + "The example of a man as revered as Rashi for his piety, his + character, and his immense learning was bound to make a + profound and lasting impression upon his contemporaries. His + descendants and his numerous disciples, pursuing with equal + zeal the study of the Talmud and that of Scriptures, took as + their point of departure in either study the commentaries of + their ancestor and master, to which they added their own + remarks, now to enlarge upon and complete the first work, now + to discuss it, refute it, and substitute new views. Thus + arose the Tossafot, or additional glosses upon the Talmud, and + thus in the following generations arose new commentaries upon + the Pentateuch or upon the entire Bible, in which the rational + spirit evoked by Rashi assumed a more and more marked and + exclusive form."[131] + +Finally, Rashi's influence was not confined either within the +walls of the Jewries or within the frontiers of France, but it +radiated to foreign lands and to ecclesiastical circles. + + I + +It may be said without exaggeration that Rashi's Talmudic +commentary renewed rabbinical studies in France and in Germany. +It propagated knowledge of the Talmud there and multiplied the +academies. In fact, schools were founded in all localities +containing Jewish communities no matter how insignificant; and it +is difficult for us to obtain any idea of the number and +importance of these "Faculties," scattered over the length and +breadth of Northern France, which thus became a very lively +centre [center sic] of Jewish studies and the chief theatre +[theater sic] of the intellectual activity of the Occidental +Jews. Its schools eclipsed those of the Rhenish countries and +rivalled [rivaled sic] in glory those of Spain. + +What in the first instance contributed to the success of the +movement begun by Rashi, is the fact that he moulded [molded sic] +numerous disciples - in this more fortunate than Maimonides, who +was unable to found a school and who sowed in unploughed land. +It was only with the lapse of time that his work little by little +made its way, while Rashi through his teaching exerted an +absolutely direct and, as it were, living influence. Rashi's +authority was such that Troyes became the chief centre [center +sic] of studies. Many pupils flocked to it and there composed +important works, casting into sure and permanent form the +intellectual wealth they had gathered while with their master. +They put the finishing touches to his work and labored to +complete it, even during his life, and as though under his +protection. + +I have already spoken of Simhah ben Samuel de Vitry, author of +the liturgical and ritual collection, <I>Mahzor Vitry.</I>[132] +Among other disciples not so well known are Mattathias ben Moses, +of Paris, Samuel ben Perigoros, Joseph ben Judah, and Jacob ben +Simson (1123), who lived at Paris or Falaise and wrote Responsa +at the dictation of his master, and, besides commentaries, a +Mahzor, and an astronomic work. He was in turn the master of +Jacob Tam. + +Judah ben Abraham, of Paris, aided by suggestions from his +master, wrote a ceremonial for the Passover. In carrying out his +task, he availed himself of the notes of his older fellow +disciple Simhah, and his collaborator was Shemaiah, who had +already worked on Rashi's commentary on Ezekiel. Besides, +Shemaiah made additions to Rashi's Talmudic commentaries, and +composed several commentaries under his guidance. He also +collected and edited Rashi's Decisions and Responsa, serving, as +it were, as Rashi's literary executor. Moreover, he was a +relative of Rashi's, though the degree of kinship is not known, +the evidence of authors upon the subject being contradictory. +Some maintain he was Rashi's grandson, or son-in-law, or the son- +in-law of his sister; according to others - and this seems more +exact he was the father-in-law of a brother of Jacob Tam. + +At all events, it was Rashi's relatives who contributed most to +his renown. "In regard to his family Rashi enjoyed unexampled +good fortune," says Zunz. "It was not only through his +disciples, but also through his family that the founder of +rabbinical literature in France and Germany established his +reputation, spread his works, and added to the lustre [luster +sic] of his name." A fact which no doubt helped to assure the +direction of the studies made by Rashi's descendants, is that +they possessed the manuscripts written and corrected by their +ancestor; and these autographs were veritable treasures at a time +when books were rare and copies inexact. + +One of Rashi's sons-in-law, Judah ben Nathan,[133] was a +scholarly and highly esteemed Talmudist. At the suggestion of +his father-in-law, he completed Rashi's commentaries and +continued the work after Rashi's death, using as his chief aid +the oral explanations he had received from him. The son of +Judah, Yomtob, was also a good Talmudist. + +The other son-in-law, Meir ben Samuel (about 1065-1135), was +originally from the little town of Rameru,[134] which through him +and his sons became an important intellectual centre [center sic] +for more than a half century. Meir was a distinguished scholar +whom his sons sometimes cite as an authority. He wrote Responsa +in association with his master and father-in-law. As I have +already stated, Meir ben Samuel married a daughter of Rashi, +Jochebed, by whom he had four sons and a daughter, Miriam, the +wife of Samuel of Vitry. One of the sons, Solomon, has been +known to us for only about twelve years, although he had a +reputation as a Talmudic and Biblical scholar, chiefly the +latter, having received the surname of "father of grammarians." +His reputation, however, was eclipsed by that of his three +brothers, who have poetically been called the three vigorous +branches of the tree of which Rashi was the trunk. These were +Samuel ben Meir, surnamed Rashbam, Jacob ben Meir, surnamed Jacob +Tam, or Rabbenu Tam, and finally Isaac ben Meir, surnamed Ribam. +The last, who lived without doubt at Rameru and there composed +<I>Tossafot,</I>[135] died during the life-time of his father, +leaving seven young children. He did not equal his brothers +either in knowledge or renown. + +Samuel ben Meir (about 1085-1158) studied under his grandfather. +As we have seen[136] he discussed exegetic questions with Rashi, +and went so far as to express opinions in his presence concerning +points of casuistry. On Rashi's death, it seems, he assumed the +direction of the school at Troyes; but he was more prominently +identified with the academy which he, following in the steps of +his master, founded at Rameru, and which soon became prosperous. +It was at Rameru, too, that he wrote his valuable Talmudic +commentaries.[137] Among his pupils are said to have been Isaac +ben Asher ha-Levi, of Speyer, and Joseph Porat ben Moses, known +also as Don Bendit. Samuel ben Meir's was a bold, independent +spirit. In some instances he sacrificed a Talmudic explanation +for the sake of one that seemed more natural to him. In addition +he had a fair amount of scientific and philosophic knowledge, and +he was very productive in the field of literature. + +But Rashbam's authority, if not his knowledge, was exceeded by +that of his younger brother Jacob. Jacob Tam, born about 1100, +was still a very young child when Rashi died. He studied under +the guidance of his father, on whose death he assumed the +direction of the academy of Rameru in his father's place. Then +he went to Troyes, where he was surrounded by numerous pupils, +some from countries as distant as Bohemia and Russia. One of his +best known disciples was Eliezer ben Samuel, of Metz (died about +1198), author of the <I>Sefer Yereim</I> (Book of the Pious). +Other pupils of his mentioned were Moses ben Abraham, of +Pontoise, to whom he wrote in particularly affectionate terms, +and Jacob of Orleans, a scholar held in high regard, who died at +London in 1189 in the riot that broke out the day of Richard I's +coronation. A year later, in 1190, the liturgical poet and +Biblical commentator Yomtob de Joigny died at York. It seems +that Jacob Tam, like his successors, had to suffer from the +popular hate and excesses. In fact he tells how, on one +occasion, on the second day of Pentecost (possibly at the time of +the troubles resulting from the Second Crusade), he was robbed +and wounded, and was saved from death only through the +intervention of a lord. The end of his life was saddened by the +<I>auto-da-fe</I> of Blois, at which numerous Jews suffered +martyrdom. He perpetuated the memory of that occasion by +instituting a fast day. He died in 1171, universally regretted +for his clear and accurate intellect, his piety, uprightness, +amiability, and modesty. His contemporaries considered him the +highest rabbinical authority, and he was consulted by persons as +remote as in the south of France and the north of Spain. He +possessed a remarkably original, broad yet subtle intellect, and +his writings display keen penetration and singular vigor of +thought. He devoted himself chiefly to Biblical exegesis; but in +this domain he obtained a reputation less through the purely +exegetical parts than through the critical work in which he +defended the grammarian Menahem against the attacks of +Dunash.[138] His liturgical compositions and the short poems +with which he sometimes prefaced his Responsa show that he was a +clever poet, an imitator of the Spaniards. Abraham Ibn Ezra +while on his rovings in France was one of his correspondents. + +However, Jacob Tam, or, to call him by his title of honor, +Rabbeun Tam, - in allusion to Gen. xxv. 27, where Jacob is +described as "tam," a man of integrity - owed his renown to his +Talmudic activity, which he exerted in an original line of work +though he was not entirely free from the influence of Rashi. If +he was not the creator of a new sort of Talmudic literature, he +was at least one of its first representatives. Either because he +considered the commentaries of his grandfather impossible to +imitate, or because he could not adapt himself to their +simplicity and brevity, he took pleasure in raising ingenious +objections against them and proposing original solutions. These +explanations joined to his Decisions and Responsa were collected +by him in a work called <I>Sefer ha-Yashar</I> (Book of the +Just), of which he himself made two redactions. The one we now +possess was put together - rather inaccurately - after the death +of the author according to the second recension. The <I>Sefer +ha-Yashar</I> was used a great deal by later Talmudists. It may +be said to have inaugurated the form of literature called +<I>Tossafot.</I> + +As the word signifies, the Tossafot are "additional notes," +"Novellae," upon the Talmud. They display great erudition, +ingenuity, and forcible logic, and they represent a prodigious +effort of sharp analysis and hardbound dialectics. The authors +of the Tossafot, the Tossafists, were marvellously [marvelously +sic] skilful [skillful sic] at turning a text about and viewing +it in all its possible meanings, at discovering intentions and +unforeseen consequences. Their favorite method was to raise one +or more objections, to set forth one or more contradictions +between two texts, and then to propound one or more solutions, +which, if not marked by simplicity and verisimilitude, none the +less bear the stamp of singularly keen insight. In their hands +the study of the Talmud became a sturdy course in intellectual +gymnastics. It refined the intellect and exercised the sense of +logic. Yet it would be a mistake to see in the Tossafot nothing +but the taste for controversy and love of discussion for the sake +of discussion. The Tossafists, even more than Rashi, sought to +deduce the norm, especially the practical norm, from the Talmudic +discussions, and discover analogies permitting the solution of +new cases. Thus, while Rashi's commentary is devoted to the +explanation of words, and, more generally, of the simple meaning +of the text, the Tossafot enter into a searching consideration of +the debates of the Talmud. Moreover, Rashi composed short but +numerous notes, while the Tossafists wrote lengthier but less +consecutive commentaries. At the same time one of Rashi's +explanations is a fragment of the Tossafot explanation. Thus, +the commentary of the Tossafists exists in abridged form, as it +were, in germ, in the commentary of Rashi. Rashi was the +constant guide of the Tossafists. His commentary, "the +Commentary," as they called it, was ever the basis for their +"additions." They completed or discussed it; in each case they +made it their point of departure, and his influence is apparent +at every turn. The species of literature called Tossafot is not +only thoroughly French in origin, but, it may said, without Rashi +it would never have come into existence. The authors of the +Tossafot are as much the commentators of Rashi as they are of the +Talmud.[139] The Tossafot bear the same relation to his Talmudic +commentary as the Gemara to the Mishnah. Like the Amoraim in +regard to the Tannaim, the Tossafists set themselves the task of +completing and correcting the work of the master; for, despite +their veneration for Rashi, they did not by any means spare him +in their love of truth. + +The first Tossafists, both in point of age and worth, were not +only the disciples, but also, as we have seen, even the +descendants of Rashi. "We drink," said R. Tam, "at the source +of R. Solomon." One of the most celebrated Tossafists was a +great-grandson of Rashi, Isaac ben Samuel (about 1120-1195) +surnamed the Elder, son of a sister of R. Tam and grandson, on +his father's side, of Simhah, of Vitry. Born without doubt at +Rameru, he attended the school of his two uncles, Samuel ben Meir +and Jacob Tam. When Jacob Tam left for Troyes, Isaac ben Samuel +took his place. Later he founded a school at Dampierre,[140] +where, it is said, he had sixty pupils, each of whom knew one of +the treatises of the Talmud by heart. Through his departure, +Rameru lost its importance as a centre [center sic] of study. He +collected and co-ordinated various explanations growing out of +Rashi's commentaries. Thus he established the foundations for +the Tossafot, on every page of which his name appears. + +He was the teacher of the most learned Talmudists of the end of +the twelfth and the beginning of the thirteenth century. His son +and collaborator Elhanan, a highly esteemed rabbi, died before +him, some say as a martyr. Among his disciples are said to have +been Baruch ben Isaac, originally from Worms, later resident of +Ratisbon, author of the <I>Sefer ha-Terumah</I> (Book of the +Heave-Offering), one of the first and most influential casuistic +collections (about 1200); Isaac ben Abraham, called the Younger +to distinguish him from his master, whom he succeeded and who +died a little before 1210; and the brother of Isaac, Samson of +Sens (about 1150-1230), whose commentaries, according to the +testimony of Asheri, exercised the greatest influence upon the +study of the Talmud. He was one of the most illustrious +representatives of the French school, and his authority was very +great. His usual abiding place was Sens in Burgundy, but about +1211 he emigrated to Palestine in the company of some other +scholars. He met his death at St. Jean d'Acre. + +By this time Champagne had proved too contracted a field for the +activity of so many rabbis. Flourishing schools arose in Ile-de- +France and Normandy; and it is related that at Paris, in the +first half of the twelfth century, lived the scholarly and pious +Elijah ben Judah, who carried on a controversy about phylacteries +with his kinsman Jacob Tam. But the most celebrated Tossafist of +Paris without reserve was Judah Sir Leon, born in 1166 and died +in 1224, a descendant of Rashi. The school of Paris having been +closed after the expulsion of 1181, Judah went to study at +Dampierre under the guidance of Isaac and his son Elhanan. Among +his fellow-disciples, besides the rabbis already mentioned, were +Samson Sir of Coucy, Solomon of Dreux, Simon of Joinville, +Abraham ben Nathan, of Lunel, and others. In 1198 Philip +Augustus recalled the Jews he had expelled, and the community +again prospered. Judah re-established the school, which soon +assumed the first place in the list of academies. Among his +numerous pupils mention is made of Moses ben Jacob, of Coucy, +brother-in-law of Samson and 'author of the famous <I>Sefer +Mizwot Gadol</I> (Great Book of Precepts), abbreviated to +<I>Semag,</I> which shows the mingled influence of the <I>Mishneh +Torah</I> of Maimonides and of the Tossafot of the French +masters; Isaac ben Moses, of Vienna, who carried into Austria the +methods and teachings of his French masters, surnamed <I>Or +Zarua</I> after the title of his work, a valuable ritual +compilation; and Samuel ben Solomon Sir Morel,[141] of Falalse +(about 1175-1253), whose most celebrated pupil was Meir of +Rothenburg, the greatest authority of his country and his time, +known for his dramatic end as well as for his great intellectual +activity (1225-1293). + +The successor of Judah Sir Leon was Jehiel ben Joseph, or Sir +Vives, of Meaux. At this time the school is said to have counted +three hundred pupils. In the disputation of 1240,[142] Jehiel +ben Joseph together with Moses of Coucy, Samuel of Falaise, and +another less well-known rabbi, Judah ben David, of Melun, +represented the Jews. A Christian source calls Jehiel "the +cleverest and most celebrated of all the Jews." When he left for +Palestine in 1260 the school of Paris was closed not to be opened +again. + +Jehiel left behind him in France two important disciples, his +son-in-law, Isaac ben Joseph, of Corbeil (died in 1280), who in +1277 published the "Columns of Exile," also called <I>Sefer +Mizwot Katan</I> (Little Book of Precepts), abbreviated to +<I>Semak,</I> a religious and ethical collection, which enjoyed +great vogue; and Perez ben Elia, of Corbeil (died about 1295), +who mentions Isaac as his master also. Perez visited Brabant and +Germany, where he maintained relations with Meir of Rothenburg. +Among his pupils there was Mordecai ben Hillel, an authority +highly esteemed for his decisions, who died a martyr at Nuremberg +in 1298. Another master of his was Samuel ben Shneor, of Evreux +(about 1225), a much-quoted Tossafist, who studied under the +guidance of his elder brother Moses, editor of the "Tossafot of +Evreux," largely used for the present printed editions of the +Tossafot. In the second half of the thirteenth century, Eliezer +of Touques compiled the Tossafot of Sens, of Evreux, etc., adding +his own explanations on the margin. His work forms the chief +basis for our present Tossafot to the Talmud. + +As always with redactions and compilations, these mentioned here +are a sign of the discontinuance of studies, worn threadbare by +two centuries of intense activity. Decadence, moreover, was +brought about more rapidly, as we shall see, by the misfortunes +that successively befell the Jews of France. + + II + +Rashi's influence was no less enduring and no less wholesome in +the province of Biblical exegesis. An idea of the impression he +made may be gained from the fact that more than fifty super- +commentaries were written on his commentary on the Pentateuch, to +explain or to complete it, to defend it, and occasionally to +combat it. But Rashi's influence was productive of still more +than this. It called into being original works superior even to +his own. His disciples shook off the yoke of Talmudic and +Midrashic tradition that had rested upon him. But even when they +surpassed him, it was nevertheless his influence that was acting +upon them and his authority to which they appealed. + +Samuel ben Meir, diffuse as were his Talmudic commentaries, was +admirably brief in his commentary on the Pentateuch, which is a +model of simplicity and accuracy, and is marked by insight and +subtlety. It is possibly the finest product of the French +exegetic school. It sets forth general rules of interpretation, +as, for instance, that the Bible should be explained through +itself and without the aid of the Haggadic or even Halakic +Midrash. Literal exegesis, said Samuel ben Meir, is more +forceful than Halakic interpretation. He so resolutely pursued +the method of Pesbat, that Nahmanides felt justified in declaring +he sometimes overdid it. The same admirable qualities exist in +Rashbam's commentaries on the Prophets and the Hagiographa, in +which he everywhere turns to excellent account the works of his +ancestor, sometimes merely referring to them, but also combating +Rashi's explanations, though in this case he does not mention +Rashi. + +Eliezer of Beaugency and Moses of Paris (middle of the twelfth +century) were doubtless among the disciples of Samuel ben Meir. +Moses of Paris, in turn, had a pupil by the name of Gabriel. + +Occasionally Rashbam did not disdain the Midrash. But the same +cannot be said of his friend and collaborator Joseph ben Simon +Kara (born about 1060-1070, died about 1130-1140), a nephew and +disciple of Menahem ben Helbo, and the friend if not the disciple +of Rashi, to whom he acknowledges himself indebted. He wrote +additions to Rashi's commentaries, and on Rashi's advice wrote a +part of his Biblical commentaries, several of which have been +published. They enjoyed great vogue, and in certain manuscripts +they are set alongside of, or replace, Rashi's commentaries. +They fully deserve the honor; for, in fact, Joseph Kara surpasses +Rashi and rivals Rashbam in his fair-minded criticism, his +scrupulous attachment to the literal meaning, and his absolutely +clear idea of the needs of a wholesome exegesis, to say nothing +of his theological views, which are always remarkable and +sometimes bold. He frankly rejected the Midrash, and compares +the person making use of it to the drowning man who clutches at a +straw. Contrary to tradition he denies that Samuel was the +author of the Biblical book bearing his name. + +Side by side with Joseph Kara belongs his rival and younger +contemporary Joseph Bekor-Shor, doubtless the same person as +Joseph ben Isaac, of Orleans, who was a disciple of Rabbenu Tam, +and must, therefore, have lived in the middle of the twelfth +century. His commentary on the Pentateuch, which has been +published in part, is frequently cited by later exegetes, and its +reputation is justified by its keen insight and its vein of odd +originality. Joseph Bekor-Shor had felt the influence of the +Spaniards, but he had yielded to the attractions of Talmudic +dialectics, which he had acquired at a good school, although, +like his master, he cites, in connection with the Bible, a +certain Obadiah. + +<I>Quae secutae sunt magis defieri quam narrari possunt.</I> In +the works of the second half of the twelfth century this fault +becomes more and more perceptible, and signs of decadence begin +to appear. Moreover, the writings at this time were very +numerous, fostering, and, in turn, stimulated by, anti-Christian +polemics. The greater number of the Tossafists study the Bible +in conjunction with the Talmud. Citations are made of +explanations or Biblical commentaries by Jacob of Orleans, Moses +of Pontoise, Isaac the Elder, Isaac the Younger, Judah Sir Leon, +Jehiel of Meaux, and Moses of Coucy. All these rabbis wrote +Tossafot to the Bible as well as to the Talmud. This comparative +study of Bible and Talmud was continued for some time, untill +[until sic] at the beginning of the thirteenth century +intellectual activity was exhausted. Original works were +replaced by a large number of compilations, all related to one +another, since the authors copied without scruple and pillaged +without shame. + +Chief among these works, which bear the general title of Tossafot +to the Torah and some of which have been printed, are +<I>Hazzekuni,</I> by Hezekiah ben Manoah (about 1240), +<I>Gan</I>[143] (Garden), by Aaron ben Joseph, (about 1250), +<I>Daat Zekenim</I> (Knowledge of the Ancients), in which many +exegetes are cited (after 1252), <I>Paaneah Razah</I> (Revealer +of the Mystery), by Isaac ben Judah ha-Levi (about 1300), +<I>Minhat Yehudah</I> (Offering of Judah), by Judah ben Eliezer +(or Eleazar), of Troyes (1313), <I>Hadar Zekenim</I> (Glory of +the Ancients; beginning of the fourteenth century), and <I>Imre +Noam</I> (Pleasant Words), by Jacob of Illescas (middle of the +fourteenth century). + +All these works were more or less inspired by Rashi, and some, +such as <I>Hazzekuni,</I> might be called super-commentaries to +Rashi. But these disciples were not true to the spirit of the +master. They gave themselves up to the Haggadah more than he +did, and also to a thing unknown to him, Gematria and mystical +exegesis. Thus this French school, which for nearly a century had +shone with glowing brilliance, now threw out only feeble rays, +and abandoned itself more and more to the subtleties of the +Midrash, to the fancifulness of the Gematria. It almost +consigned to oblivion the great productions in rational exegesis, +always excepting Rashi's commentaries, the popularity of which +never waned, as much because of the author's renown as because of +his concessions to the Midrash. + +It remained for a Christian exegete to free rational exegesis +from the discredit into which it had fallen. The ecclesiastical +commentators even more than the authors of the Biblical Tossafot +were steeped in allegorism and mysticism; but among them were +some who cultivated the interpretation of the literal meaning of +Scriptures, and even appealed to Jewish scholars for +explanations'. Unfortunately, Rashi's works, written in a +language unintelligible to the Christians, could not in any +degree influence a general intellectual movement. + +However, exception must be made of the celebrated Franciscan monk +Nicholas de Lyra (born about 1292, died in 1340), author of the +<I>Postillae perpetuae</I> on the Bible which brought him the +title of <I>doctor planus et utilis.</I> Nicholas de Lyra +possessed knowledge rare among Christians, knowledge of the +Hebrew language, and he knew Hebrew so well that he was thought +to be a converted Jew. In his works, polemical in character, he +comes out against the mystical tendencies in the interpretations +of the rabbis, and does not spare Rashi, even attributing to him +explanations nowhere existing in Rashi's writings. But these +criticisms of his, as he himself says, are "extremely rare." +Moreover he does not refrain from accepting for his own purposes +a large number of Midrashim borrowed from Rashi. It was from +Rashi's commentaries, in fact, that he learned to know rabbinical +literature - only to combat it. On one occasion he said, "I +usually follow Rabbi Solomon, whose teachings are considered +authoritative by modern Jews." He sometimes modified the text of +the Vulgate according to the explanations of the rabbi, and his +commentary on the Psalms, for instance, is often only a +paraphrase of Rashi's. For this reason Nicholas de Lyra was +dubbed, it must be admitted somewhat irreverently, <i>simia +Salomonis,</I> Rashi's Ape. Nevertheless, he exercised great +influence in ecclesiastical circles, comparable to that of Rashi +among the Jews. His commentary was called "the common +commentary." Possibly it was in imitation of Nicholas's work +that the name <I>glosa hebraica</I> (the Hebrew commentary), or +simply <I>glosa,</I> was bestowed upon Rashi's work by a +Christian author of the thirteenth century, who, if not the +famous scholar and monk Roger Bacon, must have been some one of +the same type. Another Christian exegete of the same period, +William of Mara, cites Rashi's commentary under the title of +Perus. The admiration felt for Nicholas de Lyra, which now seems +somewhat excessive, is expressed in the well-known proverb: <I>Si +Lyra non lyrasset, totus mondus delirasset.</I> A modification +of the proverb, <i>si Lyra non lyrasset, Lutherius non +saltasset,</I> is not an exaggeration; for the works of the +Franciscan monk were soon translated into German, and they +exercised a profound influence on the leader of the Reformation +when he composed the translation of the Bible, epoch-making in +the history of literature as well as of religion. It is known +that Luther had large knowledge of the Hebrew and a strong +feeling for it, a quality he owed to Nicholas de Lyra and, +through him, to the Jewish exegetes, although his scornful pride +would never permit him to concede that "Rashi and the Tossafists +made Nicholas de Lyra and Nicholas de Lyra made Luther." + +At the time when Rashi's influence was thus extended to Christian +circles, the Jewish schools called into being by his work and his +teachings fell into decay on account of the persecutions that +shook French Judaism to its foundations and almost deprived it of +existence. This shows how firmly intellectual activities are +bound up with temporal fortunes - a truth manifested in the +period of growth and maturity and illustrated afresh in the +period of decadence. + +Even after the First Crusade, the situation of the jews of +France had remained favorable. It did not perceptibly change as +a result of the various local disorders marking the Second +Crusade. Nevertheless, the second half of the twelfth century +witnessed the uprise of accusations of ritual murder and +piercings of the host. Popular hatred and mistrust were +exploited by the greedy kings. Philip Augustus expelled the Jews +from his domain in 1181, though he recalled them in 1198. Yet +the example had been set, and the security of the Jews was done +for. The lords and bishops united to persecute them, destroy +their literary treasures, and paralyze their intellectual +efforts. They found the right king for their purposes in St. +Louis, a curious mixture of tolerance and bigotry, of charity and +fanaticism. "St. Louis sought to deprive the Jews of the book +which in all their trials was their supreme consolation, the +refuge of their souls against outside clamor and suffering, the +only safeguard of their morality, and the bond maintaining their +religious oneness - the Talmud." In 1239 an apostate, Nicholas +Donin, of La Rochelle, denounced the Talmud to Gregory IX. The +Pope ordered the seizure of all copies, and an investigation of +the book. In France the mandate was obeyed, and a disputation +took place at Paris. Naturally, the Talmud was condemned, and +twenty - four cartloads of Hebrew books were consigned to the +flames. The <I>auto-da-fe</I> of 1242 marks the decadence of an +entire literature, the ruin of brilliant schools, and the check +to the movement so gloriously inaugurated by Rashi. All the +living forces of French Judaism were deeply affected. + +But the fall was neither complete nor sudden. It was not until +1306 that the Jews were exiled from France by Philip the Fair, +and a hundred thousand persons had to leave the country in which +their nation had long flourished and to whose prosperity they had +materially contributed. + +The expulsion of 1306 withdrew French Judaism to the provinces +directly attached to the crown. In vain were the Jews recalled +in 1315 "at the general cry of the people." Only a very few +profited by the tolerance shown them. After that their existence +was troubled by riots, and broken in upon by expulsions. The +schools, of old so flourishing, fell into a state of utter decay. +About 1360 France could not count six Jewish scholars, and the +works of the time show to what degree of degradation rabbinical +studies had sunk. With the expulsion of 1394 Charles VI dealt +the finishing stroke. Thereafter French Judaism was nothing but +the shadow of itself. Having received a mortal wound in 1306, +its life up to the final expulsion in 1394 was one long +death-agony. + +Thus disappeared that French Judaism which contributed so large a +portion to the economic and intellectual civilization of its +fatherland during the time the sun of tolerance shone on its +horizon, but which was destined to perish the moment the greed of +princes and the fanaticism of priests, hoodwinking the masses, +united to overwhelm it. Nevertheless the three centuries of +fruitful activity were not entirely lost to the future; and the +Jews of France, who had gone in numbers to foreign lands, carried +with them their books and their ideals. + + III + +For a long time previous to the events just recorded, Rashi and +the Tossafists - the two words summing up the whole intellectual +movement of the Jews of France - had brought to all Judaism the +reputation of the academies of Champagne and of Ile-de-France. +"He brew literature in France," wrote E. Carmoly, "exercised +upon the Jewish world the same influence that French literature +exercised upon European civilization in general. Everywhere the +Biblical and Talmudic works of Troyes, Rameru, Dampierre, and +Paris became the common guides of the synagogues." Rashi's +commentaries, in especial, spread rapidly and were widely copied, +sometimes enlarged by additions, sometimes mutilated and +truncated. It is for this reason that certain commentaries of +his no longer exist, or exist in incomplete form. + +In view of the fact that at the beginning of the thirteenth +century relations between remote countries and Christendom were +rare, and that the Christian and the Mohammedan worlds had +scarcely begun to open up to each other and come into contact, it +is readily understood why Rashi was not known in Arabic countries +in his life-time, or even immediately after his death, and why he +exercised no influence upon Maimonides, who died exactly a +hundred years after him. In the Orient there are no signs of his +influence until the end of the twelfth century. In 1192, barely +eighty years after Rashi's death, an exilarch had one of his +commentaries copied; and at the beginning of the thirteenth +century we find the commentator Samuel ben Nissim, of Aleppo, +making a citation from Rashi. + +But it is naturally in the regions nearest to France that Rashi's +influence made itself most felt. The profound Talmudist, Zerahiah +ha-Levi, who lived at Lunel (1125-1186), rather frequently cites +"R. Solomon the Frenchman," and contents himself with merely +referring to Rashi's commentary without quoting in full, a fact +which shows that the work was widely spread in the Provence. A +number of years later, about 1245, Meir, son of Simon of +Narbonne, wrote in his apologetic work, "The Holy War": "The +commentaries are understood by all readers, for the least as well +as the most important things are perfectly explained in them. +Since their appearance, there is not a rabbi who has studied +without using them." I have already referred to the testimony of +Menahem ben Zerah;[144] to his may be added that of another +Provencal, Estori Parhi, who left France in 1306 to visit Spain, +and wrote an interesting book of Halakah and of recollections of +his travels. About 1320, David d'Estella, philosopher and poet, +wrote: "It is from France that God has sent us a bright light for +all Israel in the person of R. Solomon ben Isaac." Rashi was +also cited in terms of praise by the brilliant commentator and +philosopher Menahem ben Solomon Meiri, of Perpignan (1249-1306), +and by the casuist and theologian Jacob de Bagnols (about 1357- +1361), grandson of David d'Estella. + +From the Provence, Rashi's renown spread on the one side to +Italy, and on the other to Spain. His Biblical commentary was +used by Benjamin ben Abraham Anaw (about 1240), of Rome, whose +brother Zedekiah was the author of the Halakic and ritual +collection <I>Shibbole ha-Leket</I> (The Gleaned Sheaves), a work +written in the second half of the thirteenth century, which owes +much to Rashi and his successors. The celebrated scholar and +poet Immanuel ben Solomon Romi (about 1265-1330) seems to have +known Rashi, one of whose Biblical explanations he cites for the +purpose of refuting it. The influence of the French commentator +is more apparent in the works of the Italian philosopher and +commentator Solomon Yedidiah (about 1285-1330) and the +commentator Isaiah da Trani (end of the thirteenth century). + +Rashi's influence was more fruitful of results in Spain, where +intellectual activity was by far more developed than in Italy. +His renown soon crossed the Pyrenees, and, curiously enough, the +Spanish exegetes, disciples of the Hayyoudjes and the Ibn-Djanahs +availed themselves of his Biblical commentary, despite its +inferiority from a scientific point of view. They did not fail, +it is true, occasionally to dispute it. This was the case with +Abraham Ibn Ezra, who possibly came to know Rashi's works during +his sojourn in France, and combated Rashi's grammatical +explanations without sparing him his wonted sharp-edged +witticisms. To Abraham Ibn Ezra has been attributed the following +poem in Rashi's honor, without doubt wrongfully so, although +Abraham Ibn Ezra never recoiled from contradictions. + + A star hath arisen on the horizon of France and shineth afar. + Peaceful it came, with all its cortege, from Sinai and Zion. + .... The blind he enlightens, the thirsty delights with his + honey-comb, + He whom men call Parshandata, the Torah's clear interpreter. + All doubts he solves, whose books are Israel's joy, + Who pierceth stout walls, and layeth bare the law's mysterious + sense. + For him the crown is destined, to him belongeth royal homage. + +When one sees with what severity and injustice Abraham Ibn Ezra +treats the French commentator, one may well doubt whether this +enthusiastic eulogy sprang from his pen, capricious though we +know him to have been. "The Talmud," he said, "has declared that +the Peshat must never lose its rights. But following generations +gave the first place to Derash, as Rashi did, who pursued this +method in commenting upon the entire Bible, though he believed he +was using Peshat. In his works there is not one rational +explanation out of a thousand." As I have said, Rashi and Ibn +Ezra were not fashioned to understand each other.[145] The +commentaries of David Kimhi[146] contain no such sharp +criticisms. By birth Kimhi was a Provencal, by literary +tradition a Spaniard. He often turned Rashi's Biblical +commentaries to good account for himself. Sometimes he did not +mention Rashi by name, sometimes he referred to him openly. + +A pompous eulogy of Rashi was written by Moses ben Nahman, or +Nahmanides,[147] in the introduction to his commentary on the +Pentateuch; and the body of the work shows that he constantly +drew his inspiration from Rashi and ever had Rashi before his +eyes. At the same time he also opposes Rashi, either because the +free ways of the French rabbi shocked him, or because the +Frenchman's naive rationalism gave offense to his mysticism. In +fact, it is known that Nahmanides is one of the first +representatives of Kabbalistic exegesis, and his example +contributed not a little toward bringing it into credit. Even +the author of the Zohar - that Bible of the Kabbalah, which under +cover of false authority exercised so lasting an influence upon +Judaism - whether or not he was Moses of Leon (about 1250-1305) +used for his exegesis the commentary of Rashi, without, of +course, mentioning it by name, and sometimes he even reproduced +it word for word. The Kabbalist exegete Bahya or Behaia ben +Asher, of Saragossa, in his commentary on the Pentateuch (1291) +cites Rashi as one of the principal representatives of Peshat - +behold how far we have gotten from Ibn Ezra, and how Rashi is +cleared of unjust contempt. + +Although Nahmanides was wrongly held to have been the disciple of +Judab Sir Leon, it was he who introduced into Spain the works and +the method of French Talmudists, whom he possibly came to know +through his masters. Thus the Spanish Talmudists, though they +boasted such great leaders as Alfasi and Maimonides, nevertheless +accepted also the heritage of the French academies. Rashi's +influence is perceptible and acknowledged in the numerous +Talmudic writings of Solomon ben Adret,[148] and it is clearly +manifest in the commentary on Alfasi by Nissim Gerundi (about +1350), who copies Rashi literally, at the same time developing +his thought, not infrequently over-elaborating it. He also +refutes Rashi at times, but his refutation is often wrong. The +man, however, who best represents the fusion of Spanish and +French Talmudism was assuredly Asher hen Jehiel,[149] who, a +native of the banks of the Rhine, implanted in Spain the spirit +of French Judaism, and in his abridgment of the Talmud united +Spanish tradition, whose principal representative was Alfasi, +with Franco-German tradition, whose uncontested leader was Rashi. + +Since that time Talmudic activity, the creative force of which +seems to have been exhausted, has been undergoing a change of +character. Asher ben Jehiel, or, as he has been called, Rosh, +terminated an important period of rabbinical literature, the +period of the <I>Rishonim.</I> We have seen how during this +period Rashi's reputation, at first confined within the limits of +his native province, extended little by little, until it spread +over the surrounding countries, like the tree of which Daniel +speaks, "whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight +thereof to all the earth; whose leaves were fair, and the fruit +thereof much" (Dan. iv. 20-21). + + CHAPTER XII + + FROM THE EXPULSION OF THE JEWS FROM + FRANCE TO THE PRESENT TIME + + +It might be supposed that the Jews of France, chased from their +fatherland, and so deprived of their schools, would have +disappeared entirely from the scene of literary history, and that +the intellectual works brought into being by their activity in +the domains of Biblical exegesis and Talmudic jurisprudence would +have been lost forever. Such was by no means the case. It has +been made clear that the French school exerted influence outside +of France from the twelfth to the fourteenth century, and we +shall now see how the Jews of France, saving their literary +treasures in the midst of the disturbances, carried their +literature to foreign countries, to Piedmont and to Germany. +When the Jews of Germany were expelled in turn, Poland became the +centre [center sic] of Judaism, and the literary tradition was +thus maintained without interruption up to the present time. It +is an unique example of continuity. The vitality of Judaism +gained strength in the misfortunes that successively assailed it, + + Per damna, per caedes, ab Ipso + Ducit opes auimumque ferro. + +A large number of Jews exiled from France established themselves +in the north of Italy, where they formed distinct communities +faithful to the ancient traditions. Thus they propagated the +works of the French rabbis. Rashi's commentaries and the ritual +collections following his teachings were widely copied there, and +of course, truncated and mutilated. They served both as the +text-books of students and as the breviaries, so to speak, of +scholars. + +They also imposed themselves, as we have seen, upon the Spanish +rabbis, who freely recognized the superiority of the Jews of +France and Germany in regard to Talmudic schools. Isaac ben +Sheshet[150] said, "From France goes forth the Law, and the word +of God from Germany." Rashi's influence is apparent in the +Talmudic writings of this rabbi, as well as in the works, both +Talmudic and exegetic in character, of his successor Simon ben +Zemah Duran,[151] and in the purely exegetic works of the +celebrated Isaac Abrabanel (1437-1509), who salutes in Rashi "a +father in the province of the Talmud." It was in the fifteenth +century that some of the supercommentaries were made to Rashi's +commentary on the Pentateuch. The most celebrated-and justly +celebrated-is that of Elijah ben Abraham Mizrahi, a Hebrew +scholar, mathematician, and philosopher, who lived in Turkey. +His commentary, says Wogue, "is a master-piece of logic, keen- +wittedness, and Talmudic learning." + +However, as if the creative force of the Jews had been exhausted +by a prolific period lasting several centuries, Rashi's +commentaries were not productive of original works in a similar +style. Accepted everywhere, they became the law everywhere, but +they did not stimulate to fresh effort. Scholars followed him, +as the poet said, in adoring his footsteps from afar. + +For if his works had spent their impulse, his personality, on the +other hand, became more and more popular. Legends sprang up +ascribing to him the attributes of a saint and universal scholar, +almost a magician.[152] He was venerated as the father of +rabbinical literature. In certain German communities, he, +together with a few other rabbis, is mentioned in the prayer +recited in commemoration of the dead, and his name is followed by +the formula, "who enlightened the eyes of the Captivity by his +commentaries." Rashi's commentaries not only exercised profound +influence upon the literary movement of the Jews, but also wove a +strain into the destinies of the Jews of France and Germany. +During this entire period of terror, the true middle ages of the +Jews, for whom the horrors of the First Crusade, like a +"disastrous twilight," did not draw to an end until the bright +dawn of the French Revolution, the thing that sustained and +animated them, that enabled them to bear pillage and +exploitation, martyrdom and exile, was their unremitting study of +the Bible and the Talmud. And how could they have become so +passionately devoted to the reading of the two books, if Rashi +had not given them the key, if he had not thus converted the +books into a safeguard for the Jews, a lamp in the midst of +darkness, a bright hope against alien persecutions? + +Rashi's prestige then became so great that the principal Jewish +communities claimed him as their own,[153] and high-standing +families alleged that they were connected with him. It is known +that the celebrated mystic Eleazar of Worms (1160-1230) is a +descendant of his. A certain Solomon Simhah, of Troyes, in 1297 +wrote a casuistic, ethical work in which he claims to belong to +the fourth generation descended from Rashi beginning with Rashi's +sons-in-law. The family of the French rabbi may be traced down +to the thirteenth century. At that time mention is made of a +Samuel ben Jacob, of Troyes, who lived in the south of France. +And it is also from Rashi that the family Luria, or Loria, +pretends to be descended, although the titles for its claim are +not incontestably authentic. The name of Loria comes, not, as +has been said, from the river Loire, but from a little city of +Italy, and the family itself may have originated in Alsace. Its +head, Solomon, son of Samuel Spira (about 1375), traced his +connection with Rashi through his mother, a daughter of +Mattathias Treves, one of the last French rabbis. The daughter +of Solomon, Miriam (this name seems to have been frequent in +Rashi's family), was, it appears, a scholar. It is certain that +the family has produced illustrious offspring, among them +Yosselmann of Rosheim (about 1554), the famous rabbi and defender +of the Jews of the Empire; Elijah Loanz (about 1564-1616), +wandering rabbi, Kabbalist, and commentator; Solomon Luria[154] +(died in 1573 at Lublin), likewise a Kabbalist and Talmudist, but +of the highest rank, on account of his bold thinking and sense of +logic, who renewed the study of the Tossafists; and Jehiel +Heilprin (about 1725), descended from Luria through his mother, +author of a valuable and learned Jewish chronicle followed by an +index of rabbis. He declared he had seen a genealogical table on +which Rashi's name appeared establishing his descent from so +remote an ancestor as Johanan ha-Sandlar and including Rashi in +the steps.[155] This family, which was divided into two +branches, the Heilprins and the Lurias, still counts among its +members renowned scholars and estimable merchants. + +As if the numberless copies of his commentaries had not sufficed +to spread Rashi's popularity, the discovery of printing lent its +aid in giving it the widest possible vogue. The commentary on +the Pentateuch is the first Hebrew work of which the date of +printing is known. The edition was published at Reggio at the +beginning of 1475 by the printer Abraham ben Garton. Zunz +reckoned that up to 1818 there were seventeen editions in which +the commentary appeared alone, and one hundred and sixty in which +it accompanied the text. Some modifications were introduced +into the commentary either because of the severity of the censors +or because of the prudence of the editors. Among the books that +the Inquisition confiscated in 1753 in a small city of Italy, +there were twenty-one Pentateuchs with Rashi's commentary. + +All the printed editions of the Babylonian Talmud are accompanied +by Rashi's commentaries in the inner column and by the Tossafot +in the outer column. + +Rashi's authority gained in weight more and more, and he became +representative in ordinary, as it were, of Talmudic exegesis. +This fact is made evident by a merely superficial survey of the +work <I>Bet Yosef</I> (House of Joseph), which is, one may say, +an index to rabbinical literature. Rashi is mentioned here on +every page. He is the official commentator of the Talmudic text. +The author of the <I>Bet Yosef</I>, the learned Talmudist and +Kabbalist Joseph ben Ephraim Karo (born 1448, died at Safed, +Palestine, at 87 years of age), places Rashi's Biblical +commentary on the same plane as the Aramaic translation of the +Bible. He recommends that it be read on the Sabbath, at the same +time as the Pentateuch and the Targum. Luria goes even further. +According to him, when the Targum and Rashi cannot be read at the +same time, preference should be given to Rashi, since he is more +easily understood, and renders the text more intelligible. + +Rashi's commentary, therefore, entered into the religious life of +the Jews. It is chiefly the commentaries on the Five Books of +Moses and the Five Megillot, the Scriptural books forming part of +the synagogue liturgy, that were widely circulated in print and +were made the basis of super-commentaries. The best of these are +the super-commentary of Simon Ashkenazi, a writer of the +seventeenth century, born in Frankfort and died at Jerusalem, and +the clear, ingenious super-commentary of Sabbatai ben Joseph +Bass, printer and bibliographer, born in 1641, died at Krotoszyn +in 1718. + +The other representatives of the French school of exegetes have +fallen into oblivion. Rashi alone survived, and what saved him, +I greatly fear, were the Halakic and Haggadic elements pervading +his commentary. An editor who ventured to undertake the +publication (in 1705) of the commentary on the Pentateuch by +Samuel ben Meir,[156] complains in the preface that his +contemporaries found in it nothing worth occupying their time. +Rashi's commentary was better adapted to the average intellects +and to the Talmudic culture of its readers. + +Rashi's Talmudic commentary, also, was more generally studied +than other commentaries, and gave a more stimulating impulse to +rabbinical literature. Teachers and masters racked their brains +to discover in it unexpected difficulties, for the sake of +solving them in the most ingenious fashion. This produced the +kind of literature known as <I>Hiddushim</I>, Novellae, and +<I>Dikdukim</I>, subtleties. A rabbi, for example, would set +himself the task of counting the exact number of times the +expression "that is to say" occurs in the commentary on the first +three Talmudic treatises. Jacob ben Joshua Falk (died 1648), who +believed Rashi had appeared to him in a dream, attempted in his +"Defense of Solomon" to clear the master of all attacks made upon +him. Solomon Luria and Samuel Edels (about 1555-1631), or, as is +said in the schools, the Maharshal and the Maharsha, explain the +difficult passages of Rashi's Talmudic commentary, sometimes by +dint of subtlety, sometimes by happy corrections. Still more +meritorious are the efforts of Joel Sirkes (died in 1640 at +Cracow), who often skilfully altered Rashi's text for the better. + +By a curious turn in affairs it was the Christians who in the +province of exegesis took up the legacy bequeathed by Rashi. +While grammar and exegesis by reason of neglect remained +stafionary among the Jews, the humanists cultivated them eagerly. +Taste for the classical languages had aroused a lively interest +in Hebrew and a desire to know the Scriptures in the original. +The Reformation completed what the Renaissauce had begun, and the +Protestants placed the Hebrew Bible above the Vulgate. Rashi, it +is true, did not gain immediately from this renewal of Biblical +studies; greater inspiration was derived from the more methodical +and more scientific Spaniards. But his eclipse was only +momentary. Richard Simon, who gave so vigorous an impulse to +Biblical studies in France, and who, if Bossuet had not +forestalled him, would possibly have originated a scientific +method of exegesis, profited by the commentaries of the man he +called <I>major et praestantior theologus</I>. All the +Christians with pretensions to Hebrew scholarship, who endeavored +to understand the Bible in the original, studied Rashi, not only +because he helped them to grasp the meaning of the text, but also +because in their eyes he was the official rabbinical authority. +He was quoted, abridged, and plagiarized - a clear sign of +popularity. Soon the need arose to render him accessible to all +theologians, and he was translated into the academic language, +that is, into Latin. Partial translations appeared in great +number between 1556 and 1710. Finally, J. F. Breithaupt made a +complete translation, for which he had recourse to various +manuscripts. His work is marked by clear intelligence and great +industry. This translation as well as the commentary of Nicholas +de Lyra might still be consulted with profit by an editor of +Rashi. + +Since the Christians did not devote themselves to the Talmud as +much as to the Bible, they made but little use of the Talmudic +commentaries of the French rabbi. Nevertheless John Buxtorf the +Elder, who calls Rashi <I>consummatissimus ille theologiae +judaicae doctor</I>, frequently appeals to his authority in the +"Hebrew and Chaldaic Lexicon." Other names might be mentioned +besides Buxtorf's. + +Nor did Rashi fail to receive the supreme honor of being censored +by the Church. Under St. Louis <I>autos-da-fe</I> were made of +his works, and later the Inquisition pursued them with its +rigorous measures. They were prohibited in Spain and burnt in +Italy. The ecclesiastical censors eliminated or corrected +whatever seemed to them an attempt upon the dignity of religion. +At the present time many French ecclesiastics know Rashi only for +his alleged blasphemies against Christianity. + +While the Catholics and Protestants who possessed Hebrew learning +applied themselves to the study of Rashi, among the Jews + + "he was always revered, always admired, even as an exegete, + but he was admired to so high a degree that no one thought of + continuing his work and of deepening the furrow he had so + vigorously opened. It seemed as though his commentary had + raised the Pillars of Hercules of Biblical knowledge and as + though with him exegesis had said its last word. During this + period the grammatical and rational study of the word of God + fell Into more and more neglect, and its real meaning became + Increasingly obscured. The place of a serious and sincere + exegesis was taken by frivolous combinations, subtle + comparisons, and mystical interpretations carried out + according to preconceived notions and based on the slightest + accident of form in the text. Rashi had many admirers, but + few successors."[157] + +Isaiah Horwitz (1570-1630), whose ritual and ethical collection +is still very popular in Eastern Europe, compares Rashi's +commentaries to the revelation on Sinai. "In every one of his +phrases," he says, "marvellous [marvelous sic] things are +concealed, for he wrote under Divine inspiration." His son +Sabbatai Sheftel is even more striking in his expressions; he +says, "I know by tradition that whoever finds a defect in Rashi, +has a defect in his own brain." It was related that when Rashi +was worried by some difficult question, he shut himself up in a +room, where God appeared to throw light upon his doubts. The +apparition came to him when he was plunged in profound sleep, and +he did not return to his waking senses until some one brought him +an article from the wall of his room. Thus a superstitious, +sterile respect replaced the intelligent and productive +admiration of the earlier centuries. + +To revive the scientific spirit and the rational study of the +Scriptures, a Moses Mendelssohn (1729-1786) was needed. With the +year 1780, when his translation of the Pentateuch and his +commentary upon it appeared, the renaissance of Jewish learning +commenced; even the study of the Talmud, regenerated by the +critical spirit of the time, was resumed. Mendelssohn himself +drew largely upon Rashi's commentary, correcting the text when it +seemed corrupt, trying to decipher the French <I>laazim</I>, and +paying attention to the essential meaning of Rashi's +explanations, either for the sake of completing or defending +them, or for the sake of refuting them in the name of taste and +good sense. His collaborators and disciples, the Biurists,-as +they are called, after Biur, the general title of their works- +desirous of reconciling the natural meaning of the text with the +traditional interpretations, often turned to good account the +views of the French commentator. These writings, which renewed +the rational study of Hebrew and the taste for a sound exegesis, +worthily crown the work begun by the rabbi of the eleventh +century. At this day the Perush of Rashi and the Biur of +Mendelssohn are the favorite commentaries of orthodox Jews. + +Since Mendelssohn the glorious tradition of learning has not been +interrupted again, and Rashi's work continues to be bound up with +the destinies of Jewish literature. The nineteenth century will +make a place for itself in the annals of this literature; for the +love of Jewish learning has inspired numerous scholars, and the +renown of most of them is connected with Rashi. Zunz (1794- +1886) became known in 1823 through his essay on Rashi, a model of +critical skill and learning, despite inevitable mistakes and +omissions. Geiger 158 won a name for himself by his studies on +the French exegetic school. Heidenheim[159] wrote a work +distinguished for subtlety, to defend the explanations of Rashi +from the grammatical point of view. Samuel David Luzzatto (1800- +1865), with his usual brilliancy, made a warm defense of Rashi; +and, finally, I. H. Weiss[160] dedicated to him a study dealing +with certain definite points in Rashi's life and work. When +Luzzatto took up the defense of Rashi with ardor, it was to place +him over against Abraham Ibn Ezra, who, in Luzzatto's opinion, +was too highly exalted. The considerable progress made by +exegesis and philology rendered many scholars aware of the +defectiveness of Rashi's Biblical commentaries; while Ibn Ezra +was more pleasing to them on account of his scientific intellect +and his daring. But the French commentator lost nothing of his +authority in the eyes of the conservative students of Hebrew, who +continued to see in him an indispensable help. This influence +of Rashi's contains mixed elements of good and evil. In some +measure he created the fortune of Midrashic exegesis, and he is +in a slight degree responsible for the relative stagnation of +Biblical as compared with Talmudic studies in Eastern Europe. + +In Talmudic literature, on the contrary, Rashi's authority is +uncontested, in fact, cannot be contested. Its stimulating +impulse is not yet exhausted. While the Talmudists of the old +school saw in him the official, consecrated guide, the +Rapoports,[161] the Weisses, the Frankels,[162] all who +cultivated the scientific and historic study of the Talmud, lay +stress upon the excellence of his method and the sureness of his +information. About twelve years ago, an editor wanted to publish +the entire Talmud in one volume. He obtained the authorization +of the rabbis only upon condition that he printed Rashi's +commentary along with the text. + +Thus Rashi's reputation has not diminished in the course of eight +centuries. On the first of August, 1905, it was exactly eight +hundred years that the eminent scholar died at Troyes. As is +proper, the event was marked by a commemoration of a literary and +scientific character. Articles on Rashi appeared in the Jewish +journals and reviews. Such authorities as Dr. Berliner, Mr. W. +Bacher, and others, sketched his portrait and published +appreciations of his works. Dr. Berliner, moreover, issued a new +edition of Rashi's Pentateuch Commentary in honor of the +anniversary, and, as was mentioned above, Mr. S. Buber celebrated +the occasion by inaugurating the publication of the hitherto +unedited works of Rashi, beginning with the <I>Sefer ha-Orah</I>. + + CONCLUSION + +The beautiful unity of his life and the noble simplicity of his +nature make Rashi's personality one of the most sympathetic in +Jewish history. The writings he left are of various kinds and +possess various interests for us. His Decisions and Responsa +acquaint us with his personal traits, and with the character of +his contemporaries; his religious poems betray the profound faith +of his soul, and his sensitiveness to the woes of his brethren. +But above all Rashi was a commentator. He carved himself a niche +from which he has not been removed, and though his work as a +commentator has been copied, it will doubtless remain impossible +of absolute imitation. Rashi, then, is a commentator, though as +such he cannot aspire to the glory of masters like Maimonides and +Jehudah ha-Levi. But the task he set himself was to comment upon +the Bible and the Talmud, the two living sources that feed the +great stream of Judaism, and he fulfilled the task in a masterly +fashion and conclusively. Moreover he touched upon nearly all +branches of Jewish literature, grammar, exegesis, history, and +archaeology. In short his commentaries became inseparable from +the texts they explain. For, if in some respects his work +despite all this may seem of secondary importance and inferior in +creative force to the writings of a Saadia or a Maimonides, it +gains enormously in value by the discussion and comment it evoked +and the influence it exercised. + +Rashi, one may say, is one of the fathers of rabbinical +literature, which he stamped with the impress of his clear, +orderly intellect. Of him it could be written: "With him began a +new era for Judaism, the era of science united to profound +piety." + +His influence was not limited to scholarly circles. He is one of +the rare writers who have had the privilege of becoming truly +popular, and his renown was not tarnished, as that of Maimonides +came near being on account of bitter controversies and violent +contests. He was not the awe-inspiring master who is followed +from afar; he was the master to whom one always listens, whose +words are always read; and the writers who imitate his work - +with more or less felicity - believe themselves inspired by him. +The middle ages knew no Jewish names more famous than those of +Jehudah ha-Levi and Maimonides; but how many nowadays read their +writings and understand them wholly? The "Diwan" as well as the +"Guide of the Perplexed" are products of Jewish culture grafted +upon Arabic culture. They do not unqualifiedly correspond to +present ideas and tastes. Rashi's' work, on the contrary, is +essentially and intimately Jewish. Judaism could renounce the +study of the Bible and of that other Bible, the Talmud, only +under penalty of intellectual suicide. And since, added to +respect for these two monuments, is the difficulty of +understanding them, the commentaries holding the key to them are +assured of an existence as along [long sic] as theirs. + +Rashi's writings, therefore, extend beyond the range of merely +occasional works, and his influence will not soon die out. His +influence, indeed, is highly productive of results, since his +commentaries do not arrest the march of science, as witness his +disciples who enlarged and enriched the ground he had ploughed so +vigorously, and whose fame only adds to the lustre [luster sic] +of Rashi's name. The field he commanded was the entire Jewish +culture of France - of France, which for a time he turned into +the classic land of Biblical and Talmudic studies. "In him," +says M. Israel Levi, "is personified the Judaism of Northern +France, with its scrupulous attachment to tradition, its naive, +untroubled faith, and its ardent piety, free from all mysticism." +Nor was Rashi confined to France; his great personality dominated +the whole of Judaism. Dr. M. Berliner writes: "Even nowadays, +after eight hundred years have rolled by, it is from him we draw +our inspiration,- we who cultivate the sacred literature,- it is +his school to which we resort, it is his commentaries we study. +These commentaries are and will remain our light in the principal +department of our intellectual patrimony." + +Doubtless Rashi is but a commentator, yet a commentator without +peer by reason of his value and influence. And, possibly, this +commentator represents most exactly, most powerfully, certain +general propensities of the Jewish people and certain main +tendencies of Jewish culture. Rashi, then, has a claim, +universally recognized, upon a high place of honor in our history +and in our literature. + +NOTE (ESW): This graphic has been reformatted to fit within 66 + columns. + + + APPENDIX I + + THE FAMILY OF RASHI + | + ____________________|_____________ + / \ + Simon the Elder Daughter=Isaac + | +Samuel Samuel Solomon (Rashi) Nathan + | | 1040-1105 | + | | ___________|____________ | + | | / \ | +Simhah Meir=Jochebed Rachel Miriam=Judah (Ribam) +of Vitry about| (or Bellassez) | Azriel + | 1065- | divorced by Eliezer | + | 1135 | (or Jocelyn) | + | | __|_______ + | _____|___________________________ / \ (?) + | / \ Yomtob Miriam +Samuel=Miram Samuel Jacob Isaac Solomon | | + | (Rashbam) about (Ribam) | | + | about 1100-1171 Left 7 Judah | + | 1085-1158 children | | + | / | +Isaac (Ri the Elder) / Dolce=Eleazar + About 1120-1195 Isaac of Worms + | | d.1195 d.1220 + | | + Elhanan | + d. 1184 | + | Judah Sir Leon of Paris + | 1166-1224 + Samuel + + + + APPENDIX II + + BIBLIOGRAPHY + + A. THE WORKS OF RASHI + + +A critical revision of Rashi's works remains to be made. They +were used to such an extent, and, up to the time when printing +gave definiteness to existing diversities, so many copies were +made, that some of the works were preserved in bad shape, others +were lost, and others again received successive additions. + +1. BIBLICAL COMMENTARIES. - They cover nearly all the twenty - + four books of the Bible. + + <I>Job</I>. - "On Job the manuscripts are divided into series, + according to whether or not they break off at xl. 28 of the + text. The one Series gives Rashi's commentary to the end; the + other, on the ground that Rashi's death prevented him from + finishing his work, completes the commentary with that of + another rabbi, R. Jacob Nazir" (Arsene Darmesteter). Geiger + attributes this Supplementary commentary, which exists in + several versions, to Samuel ben Meir; others attribute it to + Joseph Kara. Some regard it as a compilation; others, again, + assert that the entire commentary was not written by Rashi. + + <I>Ezra</I> and <I>Nehemiah</I>.- Some authors deny that Rashi + composed commentaries on <I>Ezra</I> and <I>Nehemiah</I>. + + <I>Chronicles</I>. - It is certain that the commentary on + <I>Chronicles</I>, which does not occur in the good + manuscripts, and which was published for the first time at + Naples in 1487, is not to be ascribed to Rashi. This was + observed by so early a writer as Azulal, and it has been + clearly demonstrated by Weiss (<I>Kerem Hemed</I>, v., 232 + <I>et seq</I>.). It seems that Rashi did not comment upon + <I>Chronicles</I> at all (In spite of Zunz and Weiss). + Concerning the author of the printed commentary there is + doubt. According to Zunz <I>(Zur Geschichte und + Literatur</I>, p.73), it must have been composed at Narbonne + about 1130-1140 by the disciples of Saadla (?). + +2. TALMUDIC COMMENTARIES. - Rashi did not comment on the + treatises lacking a Gemara, namely, <I>Eduyot, Middot</I> (the + commentary upon which was written by Shemaiah), and + <I>Tamid</I> (in the commentary on which Rashi is cited). It + is calculated that, in all, Rashi commented on thirty + treatises (compare Azulai, <I>Shem ha-Gedolim</I>, s. v., + Weiss, and below, section B, 2). + + <I>Pesahim</I>. - The commentary on Pesahim from 99b on is the + work of Rashbam. + + + <I>Taanit</I>. - So early a writer as Emden denied to Rashi the + authorship of the commentary on <I>Taanit</I>; and his + conclusions are borne out by the style. There was a commentary + on <I>Taanit</I> cited by the Tossafot, which forms the basis + of the present commentary; and this may have belonged to the + school of Rashi. + + <I>Moed Katan<I>. - The commentary on <I>Moed Katan</I> is + attributed by Reifmann to Gershom (<I>Monatsschrift</I>, III). + According to B. Zomber (Rashi's Commentary on <I>Nedarim</I> + and <I>Moed Katan</I>, Berlin, 1867), who shows that Gershom's + commentary is different, the extant commentary is a first + trial of Rashi's and was later recast by him. This would + explain the differences between the commentary under + consideration and the one joined to the <I>En Jacob</I> and to + Rif, which is more complete and might be the true commentary + by Rashi. These conclusions have been attacked by Rabbinowicz + (<I>Dikduke Soferim</I>, II), who accepts Reifmann's thesis. + Zomber replied in the <I>Moreh Derek</I>, Lyck, 1870; and + Rabbinowicz in turn replied in the <I>Moreh ha-Moreh</I>, + Munich, 1871. To sum up, both sides agree in saying that the + basis of the present commentary was modified by Rashi or by + some one else. According to I. H. Weiss various versions of + Rashi's Commentary were current. The most incomplete is the + present one. That accompanying Rif is more complete, though + also not without faults. + + <I>Nedarim</I>. - The commentary on <I>Nedarim</I>, from 22b to + 25b, may contain a fragment by R. Gershom. Nor, to judge from + the style, does the remainder seem to belong to Rashi. Good + writers do not cite it. Reifmann attributes it to Isaiah da + Trani, Zomber to the disciples of Rashi. + + <I>Nazir</I>. - Several critics deny to Rashi the authorship + of the commentary on <I>Nazir</I>. Although there are no + strong reasons for so doing, the doubt exists; for differences + are pointed out between this and the other commentaries. P. + Chajes holds that Rashi's disciples are responsible for the + commentaries on <I>Nedarim</I> and <I>Taanit</I>. + + <I>Zebahim</I>. - The commentary on <I>Zebahim</I> is corrupt + and has undergone interpolations; but there are no strong + reasons why it should not be ascribed to Rashi. + + <I>Baba Batra</I>. - Rashbam completed his grandfather's + commentary on <I>Baba Batra</I> from 29a on, or, rather, later + writers supplemented Rashi's commentary with that of his + grandson. This supplement is to be found at the Bodlelan in a + more abridged and, without doubt, in a more authentic form. + + <I>Makkot</I>. - The commentary on <I>Makkot</I>, from 19b on, + was composed by Judah ben Nathan (see note in the editions). + It seems that a commentary on the whole by Rashi was known to + Yomtob ben Abraham. + + <I>Horaiot</I>. - The commentary on <I>Horaiot</I> was not + written by Rashi (Reifmann, <I>Ha-Maggid</I> xxi. 47-49). + + <I>Meilah</I>. - It is more certain that the commentary on + <I>Meilah</I> was not written by Rashi. Numerous errors and + additions have been pointed out. According to a manuscript of + Halberstamm it would belong to Judah ben Nathan. + + <I>Keritot</I> and <I>Bekorot</I>. - The commentary on + <I>Keritot</I> is not Rashi's, and that on <I>Bekorot</I>, + after 57b, according to Bezalel Ashkenazi, is also not + Rashi's. + +3. PIRKE ABOT. - The commentary on the <I>Pirke Abot<I>, printed + for the first time at Mentone In 1560, was cited by Simon ben + Zemah Duran (d. 1444) as being by Rashi. But Jacob Emden (d. + 1776) denies Rashi's authorship, and justly so. One + manuscript attributes the commentary to Isaiah da Trani, + another to Kimhi. Though the numerous copies present + differences, it is not impossible that they are derived from a + common source, which might be Rashi's commentary; for despite + some diffuseness in certain passages, the present commentary + is in his style. The Italian <I>laazim</I> may have been made + by Italian copyists. + +4. BERESHIT RABRAH. - The commentary on <I>Bereshit Rabbah</I>. + According to A. Epstein (<I>Magazin</I> of Berliner, xiv. + <I>Ha-Hoker</I> I), this commentary, incorrectly printed (the + first time at Venice, 1568), is composed of two different + commentaries. The basis of the first is the commentary of + Kalonymos ben Sabbatai, of Rome; the second is anonymous and + of later date. A third commentary exists in manuscript, and + is possibly of the school of Rashi. + + Mention should be made of a commentary on the Thirtytwo Rules + by R. Jose ha-Gelili, attributed to Rashi and published in the + <I>Yeshurun</I> of Kobak. + +5. RESPONSA. - The <I>Responsa</I> of Rashi have not becn gathered + together into one collection. Some Responsa mixed with some of + his decisions occur in the compilations already cited and in + the following Halakic compilations: <I>Eben ha-Ezer</I> by + Eliezer ben Nathan (Prague, 1670), <I>Or Zarua</I> by Isaac + ben Moses of Vienna (I-II. Zhitomir, 1862; III-V, Jerusalem, + 1887), <I>Shibbole ha-Leket</I> by Zedekiah ben Abraham Anaw + (Wilna, 1887, ed. Buber), <I>Mordecai</I>, by Mordecal ben + Hillel (printed together with Rif), <I>Responsa</I> by Meir of + Rothenberg (Cremona, 1557; Prague, 1608; Lemberg, 1860; + Berlin, 1891-92; Budapest, 1896), etc. (see below, section B, + and Buber, Introd. to <I>Sefer ha-Orah</I>, pp.152 <I>et + seq</I>.) + +6. In rabbinical literature we find quotations from Responsa + collections bearing upon special points in Talmudic law, such + as ablutions, the making and the use of <I>Tefillin</I>, the + <I>Zizit</I>, the order of the <I>Parashiot</I>, the blessing + of the priests, the ceremony of the Passover eve, the + slaughter of animals, the case of diseased animals, impurity + in women, etc. + +7. These collections have penetrated in part into the SEFER HA- + PARDES, the MAHZOR VITRY, and the other compilations mentioned + in chap. IX. Upon this point see chap. IX and articles by A. + Epstein and S. Poznanski published in the + <I>Monatsschrift</I>, xli. + +8. THE LITURGICAL POEMS by Rashi, some of which are printed in + the collections of Selihot of the German ritual, are + enumerated by Zunz in <I>Synagogale Poesie des + Mittelalters</I>, Berlin, 1865, pp.252-4. + + Three books have been wrongly attributed to Rashi: a medical + work, <I>Sefer ha-Refuah</I>; a grammatical work, <I>Leshon + Limmudim</I>, actually composed by Solomon ben Abba Mari of + Lunel; and an entirely fanciful production called <I>Sefer ha- + Parnes</I> (incorrect for <I>Sefer ha-Pardes</I>). + + + B. THE EDITIONS OF RASHI's WORKS + + +1. THE BIBLICAL COMMENTARIES 1. - According to A. Darmesteter + "twenty different editions have been counted of Rashi's + commentary, complete or partial, without the Hebrew text. As + for the editions containing the Bible together with Rashi's + commentary, their number amounts to seventeen complete + editions and 155 partial editions, of the latter of which 114 + are for the Pentateuch alone." The list of these editions is + to be found in Furst, <I>Bibliotheca judaica</I> (Leipsic, + 1849, 2d vol. 1851), II, pp.78 <I>et seq</I>.; + Steinschneider, <I>Catalogue of the Hebrew Books in the + Bodleian Library</I> (Berlin, 1852-1860), col. 2340-57; Ben + Jakob, <I>Ozar ha-Sefarim</I> (Wilna, 1887), pp.629 <I>et + seq</I>. The first two works enumerate also the super- + commentaries on Rashi. + +II. <I>Latin Translations</I>. - Besides numerous partial + translations, also listed in the works of Furst and + Steinschneider, a complete translation exists by J. F. + Breithaupt, Gotha, 1710 (Pentateuch) and 1713-1714 (Prophets + and Hagiographa) in quarto. + +III. <I>German Translations</I>. - L. Haymann, <I>R. Solomon + Iarchi. Ausfuhrlicher Commentar uber den Pentateuch</I>. 1st + vol., Genesis, Bonn, 1883, in German characters and without + the Hebrew text. Leopold Dukes, <I>Rashi zum Pentateuch</I>, + Prague, 1833-1838, in Hebrew characters and with the Hebrew + text opposite. J. Dessaner, a translation into Judaeo-German + with a vowelled text, Budapest, 1863. Some fragmentary + translations into Judaeo-German had appeared before, by + Broesch, in 1560, etc. + +2. THE TALMUDIC COMMENTARIES. - All the editions of the Talmud + contain Rashi's commentary. Up to the present time forty-five + complete editions of the Talmud have been counted. + +3. RESPONSA. - Some Responsa addressed to the rabbis of Auxerre + were published by A. Geiger, <I>Melo Hofnaim</I>, Berlin, + 1840. Twenty-eight Responsa were edited by B. Goldberg, + <I>Hofes Matmonim</I>, Berlin, 1845, thirty by J. Muller, + <I>Reponses faites par de celebres rabbins francais et + lorrains des xie et xiie siecles</I>, Vienna, 1881. Some + isolated Responsa were published in the collection of Responsa + of Judah ben Asher (50a, 52b), Berlin, 1846, in the <I>Ozar + Nehmad</I> II, 174, in <I>Bet-Talmud</I> II, pp.296 and 341, + at the end of the study on Rashi cited below in section C, + etc. + +4. THE SEFER HA-PARDES was printed at Constantinople in 1802 + according to a defective copy. The editor Intercalated + fragments of the <I>Sefer ha-Orah</I>, which he took from an + often illegible manuscript. + + THE MAHEOR VITRY, the existence of which was revealed by + Luzzatto, was published according to a defective manuscript of + the British Museum, under the auspices of the literary Society + <I>Mekize Nirdamim</I>, by S. Hurwitz, Berlin, 1890-1893, 8. + + C. CRITICAL WORKS OF REFERENCE + +Book I. Chap. 1. - On the situation of the Jews In France in + general, the following works may be read with profit: Zunz, + <I>Zur Geschichte und Literatur</I>, Berlin, 1845. Gudemann, + <I>Geschichte des Erziehungswesens und der Cultur der Juden in + Frankreich und Deutschland</I>, Vienna, 1880, 8 (Hebrew + translation by Frledberg under the title <I>Ha-Torah weha- + Hayim</I>, ed. Achiassaf, Warsaw, 1896). + + Berliner, <I>Aus dem Leben der deutschen Juden im + Mittelalter</I>, Berlin, 1900. + + Abrahams, <I>Jewish Life in the Middle Ages</I>, Jewish + Publication Society of America, Philadelphia, 1896. Concerning + Gershom ben Judah, see Gross, <I>Gallia judaica</I>, Paris, + 1897, pp.299 <I>et seq</I>. + +Chap. II-IV.-Works in general. Besides the accounts of Rashi in + the works of the historians of the Jewish people and + literature (especially Graetz, <I>Geschichte der Juden</I>, + Leipsic, 1861, vol. vi; English translation published by the + Jewish Publication Society of America, Philadelphia, 1895, + vols. iii and iv; Hebrew translation by L. Rabbinovitch, + Warsaw, 1894, vol. iv), there are two most important studies + of Rashi: + +1. Zunz, <I>Salomon ben Isaac, genannt Rascht</I>, in Zunz's + <I>Zeitschrift fur die Wissenschaft des Judenthums</I>, 1823, + pp.277-384. Additions by Zunz himself in the preface to + <I>Gottesdienstliche Vortrage</I>, and in the catalogue of the + library at Leipsic, by Berliner in the <I>Monatsschrift</I> xi + and xii, by Klein, <I>ibid</I>. xi. One appreciates the + originality of this study all the more if one reads in the + <I>Histoire litteraire de la France</I>, xvi., the passage in + which are collected all the legends retailed concerning Rashi + in the world of Christian scholars at the time when Zunz + wrote. + + Zunz's essay was translated into Hebrew and enriched with + notes by Samson Bloch, <I>Vita R. Salomon Isaki</I>, Lemberg + 1840, 8. Second edition by Hirschenthal, Warsaw, 1862. The + essay was abridged by Samuel Cahen in the <I>Journal de + l'Institute historique, I</I>, and plagiarized by the Abbe + Etienne Georges, <I>Le rabbin Salomon Raschi</I> (sic) in the + <I>Annuaire administratif ... du departement de + l'Aube</I>, 1868. <I>Compare</I> Clement-Mullet, <I>Documents + pour servir a l'histoire du rabbin Salomon fils de Isaac</I> + in the <I>Memoires de la Societe d'Agriculture ... de + l'Aube</I>, xix. + +2. I. H. Weiss, <I>R. Salomon bar Isaac</I> (in Hebrew), in the + <I>Bet Talmud</I> II, 1881-82, Nos. 2-10 (cf. iii. 81). Off- + print under the title <I>Biographien judischer Gelehrten</I>, + 2nd leaflet, Vienna, 1882. + +Other works on Rashi are: M. H. Friedlaender, <I>Raschi</I>, in +<I>Judisches Litteraturblatt</I>, xvii. M. Grunwald, <I>Raschi's +Leben und Wirken</I>, ibid. x. + +Concerning the date of Rashi's death, see Luzzatto, in the +<I>Orient</I>, vii. 418. + +Book II. Chap. V. - Concerning the <I>laazim</I> see A. + Darmesteter in the <I>Romania</I> I.(1882), and various other + essays reprinted in the <I>Reliques scientifiques</I>, Paris, + 1890, vol. i. The deciphering of the <I>laazim</I> by + Berliner in his edition of the commentary on the Pentateuch is + defective, and that of Landau in his edition of the Talmud + (Prague, 1829; 2d ed., 1839) is still more inadequate. A. + Darmesteter's essay on the <I>laazim</I> of all the Biblical + commentaries will soon appear. + +Chap. VI. - On Moses ha-Darshan there is a monograph by A. + Epstein, Vienna 1891; and on Menahem ben Helbo one by S. + Poznanski, Warsaw, 1904. + + Concerning the Biblical commentaries see: + A. Geiger, <I>Nite Naamanim, oder Sammlung aus alten + schatzbaren Manuscripten</I>, Berlin, 1847. + + <I>Parshandata, die Nordfranzosische Ezegetenschule</I>, + Leipsic, 1855. + + Antoine Levy, <I>Die Exegese bei den franzosischen Juden vom + 10 bis 14 Jahrhundert</I> (translated from the French), + Leipsic, 1873. + + Nehemiah Kronberg, <I>Raschi als Exeget</I> ... , Halle + [1882]. In Winter und Wunsehe, <I>Die judische Litteratur</I>, + ii, Berlin, 1897, <I>Die Bibelexegese</I>, by W. Bacher. + +Chap. VII. - See especially the above mentioned essay of Weiss, + and by the same author, <I>Dor Dor we-Dorschaw, Zur Geschichte + der judischen Tradition</I>, Vienna, iv, 1887. + + In Winter und Wunsche <I>ibid</I>. ii, <I>Die Halacha in + Italien, Frankreich und Deutschland</I>, by A. Kaminka. + +Chap. VIII. - A. Berliner, <I>Zur Charakteristik Raschi's<I> in + <I>Gedenkbuch zur Erinnerung an D. Kaufmann</I> (published + also separately), Breslau, 1900. + +Chap. IX.-Weiss, <I>ibid</I>.; Epstein in the + <I>Monatsschrift</I>, xli. + +Chap. X. - Zunz, <I>Die Synagogale Poesie</I>, Berlin, 1855. + Clement-Mullet, <I>Poesies ou Selichot attribuees a + Raschi</I>, in the <I>Memoires de la Societe academique de + l'Aube,</I> xx; published by itself, Troyes, 1856. + +Book III. Chaps. XI-XII. - The history of Rashi's influence forms + 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, <I>Zur Geschichte und Literatur</I>. + +Renan [and Neubauer], <I>Les rabbins francais (Histoire + litteraire de la France</I>), Paris, 1877. + +L. Wogue, <I>Histoire de la Bible et de l'exegese biblique</I>, + Paris, 1881. + +I.H. Weiss, <I>Dor Dor we-Dorshaw</I>, iv and V. + +Gross, <I>Gallia judaica</I>, Paris, 1897, passim. + +Berliner, <I>Beitrage zur Geschichte der Raschi-Commentare</I>, + Berlin, 1903. + +It is impossible to enumerate all the monographs and all the +magazine articles. Concerning Samuel b. Meir, see Rosin, <I>R. +Samuel ben Meir als Schrifterklarer</I>, Breslau, 1880; +concerning Jacob Tam, see Weiss, <I>Rabbenu Tam</I>, in the +<I>Bet Talmud</I>, iii; concerning Jacob b. Simson, see Epstein +in the <I>Revue des etudes juives</I>, xxxv, pp.240 <I>et +seq.</I>; concerning Shemaiah, see A. Epstein in the +<I>Monatsschrift</I>, xli, pp.257, 296, 564; concerning Simson b. +Abraham, see H. Gross in the <I>Revue des etudes juives</I>, vii +and viii; concerning Judah Sir Leon, see Gross in Berliner's +<I>Magazin</I>, iv and V. + +The influence of Rashi upon Nicholas de Lyra and Luthcr is the +subject of an essay by Siegfried in <I>Archiv fur +wissenschaftliche Erforsehung des Alten Testaments</I>, i and ii. +For Nicholas de Lyra alone, see Neumann in the <I>Revue des +etudes juives</I>, xxvi and xxvii. + +Concerning Rashi's descendants, see Epstein, <I>Mishpahat +Luria et Kohen-Zedek</I> in <I>Ha-Goren</I>, i, Appendix. + + + NOTES + +1 See W. Bacher, <I>Raschi una Maimuni, Monatsschrift,</I> + XLIX, pp.1 <I>et seq.</I> Also D. Yellin and I. Abrahams, + <I>Maimonides.</I> 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, <I>Gallia judaica,</I> p.74. + +3 See, for example, p.164. + +4 See Note 10. + +5 Israel Levi. + +6 Theodor Reinach, <I>La Grande Encyclopedie, s. v.</I> 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 <I>et seq.</I> + +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 <I>Yashar,</I> + "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 <I>nemus</I>), 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 <I>et seq.</I> + 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, <I>Aus dem Leben der deutschen + Juden.</I> The data that follow are taken from the Kolbo, + the <I>Mahzor Vitry,</I> and other sources cited by Zunz, + <I>Zur Geschichte,</I> pp.167 <I>et seq.</I> + +14 See p.81. + +15 See Epstein, <I>Die nach Raschi genannten Gebaude in + Worms.</I> + +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 <I>Akdamot Millin.</I> + 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, <I>Gallia judaica,</I> + 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 <I>Sefer ha- + Pardes,</I> 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, <I>Zur Geschichte,</I> p.567, and Berliner, + <I>Hebraische Bibliographie,</I> XI; also, + <I>Monatsschrift,</I> 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 <I>et + seq.</I> 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, <I>La chaire + francaise au moyen-age.</I> + +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 <I>et seq.</I> 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 <I>Megillat Taanit</I> 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 <I>Festschrift + Berliner,</I> 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 <I>Sheeltot</I> (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, <I>Die Berner Handschrift des kleinen + Aruch,</I> in <I>Jubelschrift Graetz,</I> 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, <I>oc</I> and <I>oil</I> (Latin, + <I>hoc</I> and <I>ille</I>). + +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 <I>Reliques + scientifiques,</I> 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 + <I>Eben ha-Ezer,</I> whence the passage quoted has been taken + (Pp.107, p.36a). + +59 The Persian word <I>Parshandata,</I> name of one of the sons + of Haman, was divided into <I>Parshan</I> and <I>data,</I> + "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 <I>et seq.</I> + +62 L. Wogue, <I>Histoire de la Bible et de l'exegese + biblique,</I> 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 <I>laaz</I> 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 <I>lb.</I> 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 + <I>Yalkut.</I> 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 <I>Yalkut.</I> + +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 <I>Mahberet,</I> 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, + <I>Geschichte der Juden in Rom,</I> I, pp.366 <I>et seq.</I> + 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, <I>Gallia judaica,</I> p.34. Buber, + Introduction to the <I>Sefer ha-Orah,</I> 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 <I>par excellence.</I> Concerning + Rashi's teachers see chap. I, p.29; chap. II, pp.49 <I>et + seq.</I>; 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 <I>Shitta + Mekubezet,</I> 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 + <I>Zedah la-Derek.</I> + +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 + <I>Monatsschrift,</I> XLI, also that of <I>Sefer ha-Orah.</I> + 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 <I>Sefer ha-Pardes</I> must be + mentioned the work bearing the title of <I>Likkute ha- + Pardes</I> (Extracts from Paradise), a compilation edited in + Italy by the disciples of Isaiah da Trani. + +130 See chap. IV, p.84. + +131 L. Wogue, <I>Histoire de la Bible et de l'exegese + biblique,</I> 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, + <I>Mishpahat Lurie we-Kohen-Zedek,</I> In <I>Ha-Goren,</I> 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, <I>Histoire de la Bible et de l'exegese + biblique,</I> 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 <I>Habanat ha-Mikra.</I> 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 <I>Monatsschrift,</I> + a magazine edited by him from 1851 on. + + + + + +End of The Project Gutenberg Etext of Rashi, by Maurice Liber + + + + diff --git a/3165.zip b/3165.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..cb076c0 --- /dev/null +++ b/3165.zip diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. 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