Isaac ben Meir (c. 1090 – c. 1130), also known as the Rivam after his

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 ...

, was a French

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 one of the Baalei Tosafos.

Biography

He was born in the French country village of

Ramerupt Ramerupt () is a commune in the Aube department in north-central France. Population Personalities * Meir ben Samuel (1060-1135), also known as The RaM, French rabbi and tosafist * Rashbam, medieval rabbi and scriptural commentator * Rabbe ...

, in the

Aube Aube () is a French department in the Grand Est region of north-eastern France. As with sixty departments in France, this department is named after a river: the Aube. With 310,242 inhabitants (2019),département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...

of northern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Meir ben Shmuel Meir ( he, מֵאִיר) is a Jewish male given name and an occasional surname. It means "one who shines". It is often Germanized as Maier, Mayer (name), Mayer, Mayr, Meier, Meyer (disambiguation), Meyer, Meijer, Italianized as Miagro, or Anglicize ...

and Yocheved, the daughter of Rashi. He was the grandson 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 ...

, and brother of the

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 ...

and the

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 gr ...

. He died before his father, leaving four children. Although he died young, the Rivam contributed to

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 ...

, mentioned by Eliezer ben Joel HaLevi, to several 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 ce ...

. He is often quoted in the edited

.Shabbat 138a; Ketuvot 29b et passim

Biography

References

Further reading