Vidal of Tolosa, alternate spelling Vidal de Toulouse (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: וידאל די טולושא), was a Spanish

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

and scholar of the late 14th century, and is often referred to by the

sobriquet A sobriquet ( ), or soubriquet, is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another, that is descriptive. A sobriquet is distinct from a pseudonym, as it is typically a familiar name used in place of a real name, without the need of expla ...

, ''Harav Ha-Maggid'', or the ''Maggid Mishneh'', named for his ''magnum opus'' by that name.

Biography

From his name it would appear that his origin was a place called Tolosa. The Hida and others wrote that he was from

Tolosa, Spain Tolosa (Spanish and Basque: ) is a town and municipality in the Basque province of Gipuzkoa, in northern Spain. It is located in the valley of the river Oria, next by Uzturre, a local mountain topped by a white cross. Its economy relies primaril ...

; while modern scholar Israel Netanel Rubin placed his origin at

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...

. He lived in

Villefranche-de-Conflent Villefranche-de-Conflent (; ca, Vilafranca de Conflent) is historically a town in the Conflent region of Catalonia, and now a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Geography Villefranche-de-Conflent is located in ...

and later in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, where he met

Nissim of Gerona Nissim ben Reuven (1320 – 9th of Shevat, 1376, he, נִסִּים בֶּן רְאוּבֵן) of Girona, Catalonia was an influential talmudist and authority on Jewish law. He was one of the last of the great Spanish medieval Talmudic scholars. ...

and published ''Maggid Mishneh''. From

Joseph Caro Joseph ben Ephraim Karo, also spelled Yosef Caro, or Qaro ( he, יוסף קארו; 1488 – March 24, 1575, 13 Nisan 5335 A.M.), was the author of the last great codification of Jewish law, the '' Beit Yosef'', and its popular analogue, the ''Shu ...

's preface to his ''Kesef Mishneh'' it appears that Vidal was a personal friend of

. Vidal's son Isaac was also a prominent scholar, who lived in Alcala and corresponded with

Isaac ben Sheshet Isaac ben Sheshet Perfet (or Barfat) (1326–1408) ( he, יצחק בן ששת) was a Spanish Talmudic authority, also known by his acronym, Rivash (). He was born at Valencia and settled early in life at Barcelona, where he studied at the scho ...

Writings

Maggid Mishneh

His most important work was ''Maggid Mishneh'', a commentary on

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 Tora ...

' ''

Mishneh Torah The ''Mishneh Torah'' ( he, מִשְׁנֵה תּוֹרָה, , repetition of the Torah), also known as ''Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka'' ( he, ספר יד החזקה, , book of the strong hand, label=none), is a code of Rabbinic Jewish religious law ('' ...

''. This work covered the entire ''Mishneh Torah'', but by 1906 only those parts were extant which cover the following books: 3 (Zemanim), 4 (Nashim), 5 (Kedusha) (chapters 1-9 only), 11 (Nezikim), 12 (Kinyan) (chapters 1-3 only), and 13 (Mishpatim). It is considered one of the most important commentaries on Mishneh Torah. When there is a halachic dispute regarding the proper understanding of the Mishneh Torah, it is common to rule according to the understanding of the Maggid Mishneh. In addition, Vidal's approach is commonly held to reflect that of

Shlomo ibn Aderet Shlomo ben Avraham ibn Aderet ( he, שלמה בן אברהם אבן אדרת or Solomon son of Abraham son of Aderet) (1235 – 1310) was a medieval rabbi, halakhist, and Talmudist. He is widely known as the Rashba (Hebrew: ), the Hebrew acronym ...

, so that when there is dispute over the meaning of Aderet's words, it is common to rule according to the Vidal's understanding. Before the twentieth century, the commentary was never published separately, but only together with the ''Mishneh Torah'' (first at Constantinople, 1509).

Other works

Vidal's second work was a commentary in Arabic on a work by

Al-Ghazali Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111; ), full name (), and known in Persian-speaking countries as Imam Muhammad-i Ghazali (Persian: امام محمد غزالی) or in Medieval Europe by the Latinized as Algazelus or Algazel, was a Persian poly ...

that is known in Hebrew as ''To'elet ha-Higgayon''. This commentary was translated into Hebrew by Moses ben Joshua of Narbonne, and as of 1906 was extant in manuscript in the Library of the Vatican. Many scholars now think Vidal did not actually write ''To'elet ha-Higgayon'' and was in fact falsely attributed to him due to a similarity in the name of the translator. Additionally, the philosophy in the work seems to be counter what historians think Vidal would believe based on his work ''Maggid Mishneh''.רובין, ישראל נתנאל, and Israel Netanel Rubin. “Rabbi Vidal De Tolosa, Author of ‘Magid Mishne’, and His Attitude to Philosophy and Science / ר' וידאל דה טולוסה בעל 'מגיד משנה' ויחסו לפילוסופיה ולמדע.” Daat: A Journal of Jewish Philosophy & Kabbalah / דעת: כתב-עת לפילוסופיה יהודית וקבלה, no. 84, 2017, pp. 139–154. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26273324. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.

References

It cites the following sources: * Giulio Bartolocci. ''Ḳiryat Sefer'' (''Bibliotheca Magna Rabbinica''). Four folio volumes, 1675–93. ii. 804a-805b. *

Isaac Benjacob Isaac ben Jacob Benjacob (January 10, 1801, Ramygala – July 2, 1863, Vilnius) was a Lithuanian Jewish Maskil, best known as a bibliographer, author, and publisher. His 17-volume Hebrew Bible included Rashi, Mendelssohn, as well as his own '' ...

, ''Oẓar ha-Sefarim, Thesaurus Librorum Hebræorum tam Impressorum quam Manuscriptorum''. Wilna, 1880. p. 384. *

David Conforte David Conforte (c. 1618 – c. 1685) () was a Hebrew literary historian born in Salonica, author of the literary chronicle known by the title ''Ḳore ha-Dorot.'' Biography Conforte came of a family of scholars. His early instructors were rabbis ...

. ''Ḳore ha-Dorot''. ed. David Cassel (Berlin, 1846), pp. 26a, 27a. *

Giovanni Bernardo De Rossi Giovanni Bernardo De Rossi (October 25, 1742 in Castelnuovo Nigra, Piedmont – March 23, 1831 in Parma) was an Italian Christian Hebraist. He studied in Ivrea and Turin. In October 1769, he was appointed professor of Oriental languages at the U ...

. ''Dizionario Storico degli Autori Ebrei e delle Loro Opere'' (Parma, 1802; German translation by Hamberger, Leipsic, 1839). p. 328. *

Gedaliah ibn Yaḥya Gedaliah ibn Yahya ben Joseph (Hebrew: גדליה אבן יחיא בן יוסף; – 1587) was a 16th-century Italian Talmudist and Biblical chronologist chiefly known for his Biblical Chronology "Shalshelet HaḲabbalah". Biography Born in I ...

. ''Shalshelet ha-Ḳabbalah''. ed. Amsterdam, p. 45. *

Heimann Joseph Michael Heimann (Hayyim) Michael (April 12, 1792 – June 10, 1846) was a Hebrew bibliographer born at Hamburg. He showed great acuteness of mind in early childhood, had a phenomenal memory, and was an indefatigable student. He studied Talmudics and rec ...

. ''Or ha-Ḥayyim''. Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1891. pp. 360–361. *

David Rosin David Rosin (May 27, 1823 – December 31, 1894) was a German Jewish theologian from Rosenberg, Silesia. Having received his early instruction from his father, who was a teacher in his native town, he attended the yeshiva of Kempen, of Mys ...

. ''Ein Compendium der Jüdischen Gesetzeskunde aus dem 14. Jahrhundert''. Breslau, 1871. p. 115, Breslau, 1871. * Moritz Steinschneider. ''Die Hebräischen Uebersetzungen des Mittelalters und die-Juden als Dolmetscher, etc.'' Berlin, 1893. i. 315, note 353. * Moritz Steinschneider. ''Jüdische Literatur'', p. 388, note 17. * Moritz Steinschneider. ''Catalogus librorum Hebraeorum in Bibliotheca Bodleiana''. Berlin, 1852–1860. cols. 2707–2708. *

Johann Christoph Wolf Johann Christoph Wolf (born at Wernigerode, February 21 1683; died at Hamburg, July 25 1739) was a German Christian Hebraist, polyhistor, and collector of books. He studied at Wittenberg, and traveled in Holland and England in the intere ...

. ''Bibliotheca Hebræa'' (4 vols., Hamburg, 1715–33). i. 563, iii. 562. * Abraham Zacuto. ''Sefer Yuḥasin ha-Shalem''. ed. Hirsch Filipowski (London, 1857). p. 225a. {{DEFAULTSORT:Vidal 14th-century Catalan rabbis Authors of books on Jewish law