Abraham ben Joseph of Orleans ( he, רבי אברהם בן יוסף ) was an early 12th-century French

Tosafist The Tosafot, Tosafos or Tosfot ( he, תוספות) are medieval commentaries on the Talmud. They take the form of critical and explanatory glosses, printed, in almost all Talmud editions, on the outer margin and opposite Rashi's notes. The auth ...

and the son of Joseph Bekhor Shor and the brother of Saadia Bekhor Shor. Some have suggested that he is identical with Abraham ben Rabbi Joce (the

Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi ( he, רב ראשי ''Rav Rashi'') is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1186). Many of his interpretations of the

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...

are quoted several times in the

Tosafot The Tosafot, Tosafos or Tosfot ( he, תוספות) are medieval commentaries on the Talmud. They take the form of critical and explanatory glosses, printed, in almost all Talmud editions, on the outer margin and opposite Rashi's notes. The auth ...

Biography

Rabbi Abraham, was born in

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in about 1140. His father was a famous Tosafist and a leading member of the Orleans Jewish community. In his early years, Rabbi Abraham occupied a similar position. It was also during this time that he became acquainted with

Rabbeinu Tam Jacob ben Meir (1100 – 9 June 1171 (4 Tammuz)), best known as Rabbeinu Tam ( he, רבינו תם), was one of the most renowned Ashkenazi Jewish rabbis and leading French Tosafists, a leading ''halakhic'' authority in his generation, and a gra ...

. Sometime after his daughter married

Judah ben Isaac Messer Leon Judah ben Isaac Messer Leon (1166–1224) was a French tosafist born in Paris. Biography Born in 1166 in Paris, France, his father Rabbi Isaac Treves was a rabbi in Paris and a paternal descendant of Judah ben Nathan, and thus a descendant of Ra ...

, Rabbi Abraham may have moved to London where he served as Chief Rabbi in 1186. Amongst his alleged descendants are Ephraim Zalman Shor, Aaron ben Samuel of Frankfurt, and

Joseph Brodsky Iosif Aleksandrovich Brodsky (; russian: link=no, Иосиф Александрович Бродский ; 24 May 1940 – 28 January 1996) was a Russian and American poet and essayist. Born in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg), USSR in 1940, ...

References

{{Rishonim 12th-century French rabbis French Tosafists 1140s births