Yom Tov ben Abraham of Seville ( 1260 – 1320; also Asevilli, Assevilli, Ashbili) commonly known by the

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 ...

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

Ritva, ( he, ריטב"א) was a medieval rabbi and

rosh yeshiva Rosh yeshiva ( he, ראש ישיבה, pl. he, ראשי ישיבה, '; Anglicized pl. ''rosh yeshivas'') is the title given to the dean of a yeshiva, a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primar ...

of the Yeshiva of Seville, known for his commentaries on 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 ce ...

Biography

Asevilli was born in the city of

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Penins ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

around 1260. His name, ''Asevilli'' is itself a

topographic surname A toponymic surname or topographic surname is a surname derived from a place name.

that identifies him as being from Seville. He was the student of Solomon ibn Adret and Aaron ha-Levy. His works suggest that he spent some time studying in France. He spent most of his life in

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Province of Zaragoza, Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Ara ...

. He died between 1314 and 1328. He was the rabbi and head of the Yeshiva of Seville in Spain.

Writings

His commentary on the

was collected and published as a novellae entitled ''Chiddushei Ha-Ritva''. It is one of the most frequently referred-to Talmudic commentators today. Assevilli wrote two versions of his commentary, first an extended one and then a concise one. In general only the concise version survives. Controversially attributed works include: * Berakhot: Some thought it to be the work of Assevilli's father or Bezalel Ashkenazi, however it is now assumed to be the genuine work of Assevilli himself. *

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical stori ...

: Nissim of Gerona's commentary was misattributed to Assevilli by the Saloniki printers, but the genuine commentary is widely available. *

Nedarim In Judaism, a neder (נדר, plural ''nedarim'') is a kind of vow or oath. The neder may consist of performing some act in the future (either once or regularly) or abstaining from a particular type of activity of the person's choice. The concept o ...

: Very controversial. See the introduction to the MhRK edition. *

Gittin Gittin (Hebrew: ) is a tractate of the Mishnah and the Talmud, and is part of the order of Nashim. The content of the tractate primarily deals with the legal provisions related to halakhic divorce, in particular, the laws relating to the ''Get'' ...

: The traditionally printed commentary is now known to be the work of

Crescas Vidal Don Crescas Vidal was a French Talmudist in the first half of the fourteenth century. Biography Vidal was probably born in Spain. Vidal went to Perpignan, France shortly before the outbreak of the Maimonidian controversy, as acculturated Jews ...

, with few detractors. A second commentary in manuscript has been printed by MhRK; they conclude it is genuine but some scholars disagree. * Kiddushin: Two separate commentaries have been attributed to Assevilli, but they are both suspicious and (at minimum) include large amounts of foreign material. *

Bava Metzia Bava Metzia (Talmudic Aramaic: בָּבָא מְצִיעָא, "The Middle Gate") is the second of the first three Talmudic tractates in the order of Nezikin ("Damages"), the other two being Bava Kamma and Bava Batra. Originally all three formed ...

: Two separate commentaries have been attributed to Assevilli. Both are extremely controversial, but both may be genuine. *

Shevu'ot Shevu'ot or Shevuot (Hebrew: שבועות, "Oaths") is a book of the Mishnah and Talmud. It is the sixth volume of the book of Nezikin. Shevu'ot deals primarily with the laws of oath Traditionally an oath (from Anglo-Saxon ', also called p ...

: Two separate commentaries have been attributed to Assevilli, one of which is traditionally printed. Apparently only the printed one is authentic, but the original

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

printers heavily corrupted the text to correspond to Talmudic printings. *

Niddah Niddah (or nidah; he, נִדָּה), in traditional Judaism, describes a woman who has experienced a uterine discharge of blood (most commonly during menstruation), or a woman who has menstruated and not yet completed the associated requirem ...

: Authentic through the seventh pereq, after which the printed text is the commentary of

Asher ben Jehiel Asher ben Jehiel ( he, אשר בן יחיאל, or Asher ben Yechiel, sometimes Asheri) (1250 or 1259 – 1327) was an eminent rabbi and Talmudist best known for his abstract of Talmudic law. He is often referred to as Rabbenu Asher, “our Rab ...

. He also wrote commentaries on the writings of

Isaac Alfasi Isaac ben Jacob Alfasi ha-Cohen (1013–1103) ( ar, إسحاق الفاسي, he, ר' יצחק אלפסי) - also known as the Alfasi or by his Hebrew acronym Rif (Rabbi Isaac al-Fasi), was a Maghrebi Talmudist and posek (decider in matters of ...

and certain works of

Nahmanides Moses ben Nachman ( he, מֹשֶׁה בֶּן־נָחְמָן ''Mōše ben-Nāḥmān'', "Moses son of Nachman"; 1194–1270), commonly known as Nachmanides (; el, Ναχμανίδης ''Nakhmanídēs''), and also referred to by the acronym Ra ...

References

External links

“Ritva,” Rabbi Yom Tov ibn Asevilli
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yom Tov Asevilli Clergy from Seville 13th-century Castilian rabbis 1260s births 1330s deaths Authors of works on the Talmud Hebrew-language writers 14th-century Castilian rabbis Authors of books on Jewish law