Judah ben Isaac Messer Leon (1166–1224) was a 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 ...
born in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
.
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 Judah ben Nathan, also referred to by the Hebrew acronym RIBaN, was a gifted French rabbi and commentator on the Talmud in the eleventh to twelfth century, best known for being the son-in-law and pupil of the great commentator Rashi, and to a great ...
, and thus a descendant of
Rashi
Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compre ...
. In his early years, he learnt under
Isaac ben Samuel
Isaac ben Samuel the Elder (c. 1115 – c. 1184), also known as the Ri ha-Zaken (Hebrew: ר"י הזקן), was a French tosafist and Biblical commentator. He flourished at Ramerupt and Dampierre, France in the twelfth century. He is the father of ...
of
Dampierre and his son
Elhanan ben Isaac of Dampierre Elhanan ben Isaac Jaffe of Dampierre (Hebrew: ר׳ אֶלְחָנָן בֶּן יִצְחָק יָפֶה מִדַּמְפְּיֵיר; d. 1184) also known as Rabbeinu Elhanan was a 12th-century French Tosafist and the son of Isaac ben Samuel. He is ...
. He married a daughter of
Abraham ben Joseph of Orleans
Abraham ben Joseph of Orleans ( he, רבי אברהם בן יוסף ) was an early 12th-century French Tosafist and the son of Joseph Bekhor Shor and the brother of Saadia Bekhor Shor. Some have suggested that he is identical with Abraham ben ...
, who has been identified by Jacobs with Abraham fil Rabbi Joce, chief Jew in
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. In a list of that year associated with Abraham occurs the name of Leo Blund, whom Jacobs identifies with Judah ben Isaac.
Sir Leon must have left
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
in 1182, when all Jews were expelled from the French king's dominions; he did not return till 1198. According to Gross, however, he received his chief training at
Dampierre under
Samson of Sens Samson ben Abraham of Sens (שמשון בן אברהם משאנץ; c. 1150 – c. 1230),was one of the leading French Tosafists in the second half of the 12th and the beginning of the 13th centuries. He was the most outstanding student and the s ...
,
Samson of Coucy,
Solomon of Dreux
Solomon (; , ),, ; ar, سُلَيْمَان, ', , ; el, Σολομών, ; la, Salomon also called Jedidiah ( Hebrew: , Modern: , Tiberian: ''Yăḏīḏăyāh'', "beloved of Yah"), was a monarch of ancient Israel and the son and succe ...
, and
Abraham ben Nathan
Abraham ben Nathan ( he, ) was a Provençal rabbi and scholar of the 12th-13th centuries.
Biography
Abraham was born in the second half of the 12th century, probably at Lunel, Languedoc, where he also received his education. For this reason, he ...
of
Lunel. Shortly after 1198 he returned to Paris and founded an important school of tosafists, in which were trained, among others,
Jehiel ben Joseph (Sir Leon's successor),
Isaac ben Moses of Vienna
__NOTOC__
Isaac ben Moses of Vienna, also called Isaac Or Zarua or the Riaz, was among the greatest rabbis of the Middle Ages. He was probably born in Bohemia and lived between 1200 and 1270. He attained his fame in Vienna and his major work, ...
(author of ''Or Zarua''),
Samuel ben Solomon of Falaise
Samuel ben Solomon of Falaise was a French rabbi, a tosafist of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. His French name was Sir Morel, by which he is often designated in rabbinical literature.
He was a pupil of Judah Sir Leon of Paris and of Isaac ...
(Sir Morel of Falaise), and
Moses of Coucy
Rabbi Moses ben Jacob of Coucy, also known as Moses Mikkotsi ( he, משה בן יעקב מקוצי; la, Moses Kotsensis), was a French Tosafist and authority on Halakha (Jewish law). He is best known as the author of one of the earliest codific ...
.
Teachings
He appears to have composed ''
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 ...
'' to most of the tractates 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 ...
, traces being found of his annotations to twenty tractates. The only collection that has been published are his additamenta to ''
Berakot,'' published at
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
in 1863. A long fragment of his ''tosafot'' to ''
Abodah Zarah'' is still extant in a manuscript that formerly belonged to
Samuel David Luzzatto
Samuel David Luzzatto ( he, שמואל דוד לוצאטו, ; 22 August 1800 – 30 September 1865), also known by the Hebrew acronym Shadal (), was an Italian Jewish scholar, poet, and a member of the Wissenschaft des Judentums movement.
Early ...
and
Solomon Joachim Halberstam
Solomon Joachim Chayim Halberstam (February 23, 1832–March 24, 1900) known from his acronym as ShaZHaH (שזחה), was an Austrian scholar and author born at Cracow. His father, Isaac Halberstam, was a prominent merchant who devoted his leisur ...
and that is now in the possession of
Jews' College
The London School of Jewish Studies (commonly known as LSJS, originally founded as Jews' College) is a London-based organisation providing adult educational courses and training to the wider Jewish community. Since 2012 LSJS also offers rabbinic ...
,
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 ...
. A few of his ''
responsa
''Responsa'' (plural of Latin , 'answer') comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them. In the modern era, the term is used to describe decisions and rulings made by scholars i ...
'' are also found, chiefly in various additions to the
Mordecai
Mordecai (; also Mordechai; , IPA: ) is one of the main personalities in the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. He is described as being the son of Jair, of the tribe of Benjamin. He was promoted to Vizier after Haman was killed.
Biblical acco ...
, while reference is also found to his commentary on the
Pentateuch
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the sa ...
, in which he appears to have followed the method of
Rashbam
Samuel ben Meir (Troyes, c. 1085 – c. 1158), after his death known as "Rashbam", a Hebrew acronym for RAbbi SHmuel Ben Meir, was a leading French Tosafist and grandson of Shlomo Yitzhaki, "Rashi".
Biography
He was born in the vicinity of Tro ...
.
Judah wrote several poems—an
Aramaic
The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...
description of the
Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ ...
, a ''
pizmon
''Pizmonim'' (Hebrew פזמונים, singular ''pizmon'') are traditional Jewish songs and melodies sung with the intention of praising God as well as learning certain aspects of traditional religious teachings. They are sung throughout religious ...
'', and a ''
piyyut
A ''piyyut'' or ''piyut'' (plural piyyutim or piyutim, he, פִּיּוּטִים / פיוטים, פִּיּוּט / פיוט ; from Greek ποιητής ''poiētḗs'' "poet") is a Jewish liturgical poem, usually designated to be sung, ch ...
''. He is not, however, to be identified with the mystical
Yehudah HaChasid, to whom are attributed
Sefer Hasidim
The ''Sefer Hasidim'' or ''Sefer Chassidim'' (, Book of the Pious) is a text attributed to Judah ben Samuel of Regensburg (died 1217), a foundation work of the teachings of the Chassidei Ashkenaz ("Pious Ones of Germany"). It offers an account o ...
and an
ethical will
An ethical will (Hebrew: ) is a document that passes ethical values from one generation to the next. Rabbis and Jewish laypeople have continued to write ethical wills during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. (Riemer) In recent years, the prac ...
. The writers whom Judah quotes include
Amram Gaon
Amram Gaon ( he, עמרם גאון, or Amram bar Sheshna, Hebrew: עמרם בר רב ששנא, or sometimes: Amram ben Sheshna or Amram b. Sheshna; died 875) was a '' gaon'', head of the Jewish Talmud Academy of Sura during the 9th century.
H ...
,
Sherira Gaon
Sherira bar Hanina (Hebrew: שרירא בר חנינא) more commonly known as Sherira Gaon (Hebrew: שרירא גאון; c. 906-c. 1006) was the gaon of the Academy of Pumbeditha. He was one of the most prominent Geonim of his period, and the ...
,
Hai Gaon
Hai ben Sherira (Hebrew: האי/י בר שרירא) better known as Hai Gaon (Hebrew: האי/י גאון, חאיי גאון), was a medieval Jewish theologian, rabbi and scholar who served as Gaon (Hebrew), Gaon of the Talmudic Academies in Babylo ...
,
Nissim Gaon,
Alfasi,
Maimonides
Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...
,
Elijah ben Menahem,
Gershom ben Judah
Gershom ben Judah, (c. 960 -1040) best known as Rabbeinu Gershom ( he, רבנו גרשום, "Our teacher Gershom") and also commonly known to scholars of Judaism by the title ''Rabbeinu Gershom Me'Or Hagolah'' ("Our teacher Gershom the light of the ...
,
Jacob of Orleans,
Jacob of Corbeil
Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Jac ...
,
Joseph Kara
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
,
Joseph Bekor Shor,
Yom-Tov of Joigny
Yom Tov (alt. Yom Tob) of Joigny, also denoted of York (died 1190) was a French-born rabbi and liturgical poet of the medieval era who lived in York, and died in the massacre of the Jews of York in 1190. A Hebrew language hymn attributed to him ...
, and
Rashi
Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compre ...
.
He died in Paris in 1224.
Solomon Luria
Solomon Luria (1510 – November 7, 1573) ( he, שלמה לוריא) was one of the great Ashkenazic ''poskim'' (decisors of Jewish law) and teachers of his time. He is known for his work of Halakha, ''Yam Shel Shlomo'', and his Talmudic commen ...
, ''Responsa,'' No. 29
See also
*
Tosafists
Tosafists were rabbis of France and Germany, who lived from the 12th to the mid-15th centuries, in the period of Rishonim. The Tosafists composed critical and explanatory glosses (questions, notes, interpretations, rulings and sources) on the Tal ...
References
Its bibliography:
*
Henri Gross
Heinrich Gross, writing also as Henri Gross (born Szenicz, Hungarian Kingdom, now Senica, Slovakia, 6 November 1835; died 1910), was a German rabbi. He was a pupil in rabbinical literature of Judah Aszod.
After graduating from the Breslau semin ...
, in Berliner's ''Magazin,'' iv.173-210;
*idem, ''Gallia Judaica'', pp. 519–524;
*
Joseph Jacobs
Joseph Jacobs (29 August 1854 – 30 January 1916) was an Australian folklorist, translator, literary critic, social scientist, historian and writer of English literature who became a notable collector and publisher of English folklore.
Jacob ...
''Jews of Angevin England'' pp. 406–416.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leon, Judah Messer
Rabbis from Paris
1166 births
1224 deaths
12th-century French rabbis
French Tosafists
13th-century French rabbis