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Judaica 2nd Edition
An essential source of information on
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RASHI
(SOLOMON BAR ISAAC):
By : Joseph Jacobs Morris Liber M.
Seligsohn
ARTICLE HEADINGS:
His Teachers.
Lacunæ in Talmud Commentaries.
His Commentaries.
On the Talmud.
His Influence.
Outside Influence.
His Teachers.
French commentator on Bible and Talmud;
born at Troyes in 1040; died there July
13, 1105. His fame has made him the
subject of many legends. The name of Yarhi,
applied to him as early as the sixteenth
century, originated in a confusion of
Solomon bar Isaac with one Solomon de
Lunel, and a further error caused the town
of Lunel to be regarded as Rashi's
birthplace. In reality he was a native of
Troyes, where, a century ago,
butcher-shops were still shown which were
built on the site of his dwelling and
which flies were said never to enter. R.
Simon the Elder was his maternal uncle;
but a genealogy invented at a later date
assigned this relationship to the tanna
Johanan ha-Sandalar. According to
tradition, Rashi's father carried his
religious zeal so far that he cast into
the sea a gem that was much coveted by
Christians, whereupon he heard a
mysterious voice which foretold him the
birth of a noble son. Legend states also
that his mother, imperiled in one of the
narrow streets of Worms during her
pregnancy, pressed against a wall, which
opened to receive her. This miraculous
niche is still shown there, as well as the
bench from which Rashi taught. As a matter
of fact, however, Rashi merely studied at
Worms for a time, his first teacher being
Jacob b. Yakar, of whom he speaks with
great veneration. After Jacob's death his
place was successively filled by Isaac ben
Eleazar ha-Levi, or Segan Lewiyah, and by
Rashi's relative Isaac b. Judah, the head
of the school of Mayence, a school
rendered illustrious through R. Gershom b.
Judah (the "Light of the Exile"), who may
be regarded as Rashi's precursor, although
he was never his teacher.
(see image) Rashi Chapel at Worms. (From a
photograph.)
Tradition to the contrary notwithstanding,
Rashi never made the extensive journey
through Europe, Asia and Africa which have
been attributed to him, and accounts of
which have been embellished with details
of a meeting with Maimonides and of
Rashi's marriage at Prague. About the age
of twenty-five he seems to have left his
masters, with whom he always maintained
most friendly relations. His return to
Troyes was epoch-making, for thenceforth
the schools of Champagne and northern
France were destined to rival, and shortly
to supplant, those of the Rhenish
provinces. Rashi most likely exercisedthe
functions of rabbi in his native city, but
he seems to have depended for support
chiefly on his vineyards and the
manufacture of wine. About 1070 he founded
a school which attracted many disciples
and which became still more important
after the death of his own preceptors. His
most noted pupils were Simhah of Vitry and
Shemaiah, who were his kinsmen, and Judah
b. Abraham, Joseph b. Judah, and Jacob b.
Samson. He had no sons, but three
daughters, of whom Miriam and Jochebed
married two of his pupils, Judah b. Nathan
and Meïr b. Samuel; so that his family
became, in a sense, the diffusers of
rabbinical learning in France.
Rashi's training bore fruit in his
commentaries, possibly begun while he was
still in Lorraine. His last years were
saddened by the massacres which took place
at the outset of the first Crusade
(1095-1096), in which he lost relatives
and friends. One legend connects his name
with that of Godfrey de Bouillon, to whom
he is said to have foretold the defeat of
his expedition; while another tradition
attributes to him a journey to Barcelona,
in the latter part of his life, to seek a
man indicated to him in a dream as
destined to be his comrade in paradise.
Another legend further states that he died
and was buried in Prague.J. M. Lib.
Rashi's commentary on the Pentateuch was
first printed without the text at Reggio
in 1475 (the first dated Hebrew book
printed); five years later it was
reprinted in square characters. Its first
appearance with the text was at Bologna in
1482, the commentary being given in the
margin; this was the first commentary so
printed. Since that date there have been
published a great many editions of the
Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary only.
At different periods other parts of the
Old Testament appeared with his
commentary: the Five Scrolls (Bologna, c.
1484); the Five Scrolls, Daniel, Ezra, and
Nehemiah (Naples, 1487); Job, Psalms,
Proverbs, and Daniel (Salonica, 1515); the
Pentateuch, the Five Scrolls, Ezra, and
Chronicles (Venice, 1517). The editio
princeps of Rashi on the whole of the Old
Testament was called "Mikra'ot Gedolot" (ib.
1525), in which, however, of Proverbs and
the books of Job and Daniel the text alone
was given. Owing to its importance,
Rashi's commentary was translated into
Latin by Christian scholars of the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, some
parts several times. The most complete
Latin translation is that of John
Frederick Breithaupt, which appeared at
Gotha: on the Pentateuch, 1710; on the
Prophets, the twelve Minor Prophets, Job,
and Psalms, 1713; on the Earlier Prophets
and the Hagiographa, 1714. The whole
commentary on the Pentateuch was
translated into German by L. Dukes
(Prague, 1838), and parts of it were
translated into Judæo-German by Judah Löb
Bresch in his edition of the Pentateuch
(Cremona, 1560), and likewise by Jacob b.
Isaac in his "Sefer ha-Maggid" (Prague,
1576).
(see image) Interior of the Rashi Chapel
at Worms.(From a photograph.)
No other commentaries have been the
subject of so many supercommentaries as
those of Rashi. The best known of these
supercommentaries are: the "bi'urim" of
Israel Isserlein (Venice, 1519); the
"Sefer ha-Mizrahi" of Elijah Mizrahi (ib.
1527); the "Keli Yakar" of Solomon Ephraim
of Lenchitza (Lublin, 1602); and finally
the most popular one, the "Sifte hakamim"
of Shabbethai Bass (appearing in many
Pentateuch editions by the side of Rashi's
commentary.) |
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Lacunæ
in Talmud Commentaries.
Rashi's commentary on the Talmud covers
the Mishnah (only in those treatises
where there is Gemara) and the Gemara.
In the various editions Rashi is assumed
to include all the treatises of the
Talmud, with the exception of Makkot
from 19b to end, Baba Batra from 29b to
end, and Nedarim from 22b to end. Modern
scholars, however, have shown that the
commentaries on the following treatises
do not belong to Rashi: Keritot and
Me'ilah (Zunz, in his "Zeitschrift," p.
368), Mo'ed kat.an (Reifmann, in "Monatsschrift,"
iii. 229, who credits the commentary on
this treatise to Gershon Me'or ha-Golah).
Nazir and Nedarim (allotted by Reifmann,
l.c., to Isaiah di Trani), and Ta'anit (Azulai,
"Shem ha-Gedolim," i. 168). Rashi's
commentary on the treatise Berakot was
printed with the text at Soncino in
1483.
(see image) Cross-Section of the Rashi
Chapel at Worms.
The editio princeps of the whole of the
Talmud, with Rashi, is that of Venice,
1520-22. Rashi's mishnaic commentary was
printed with the Basel 1580 (the order
T.ohorot) and the Leghorn 1654 (all six
orders) editions. A commentary on Pirke
Abot was printed, with the text, at
Mantua in 1560 and was attributed to
Rashi; the critics, however, doubt that
the commentary is his work. Rashi's
Talmudic commentary was soon afterward
the object of severe criticism by the
tosafists, who designated it under the
term "kont.res" (pamphlet). But in the
seventeenth century Joshua Höschel b.
Joseph, in his "Maginne Shelomoh"
(Amsterdam, 1715), a work covering
several treatises, defended Rashi
against the attacks of the tosafists.
Other works attributed to Rashi are:
commentaries on Genesis Rabbah (Venice,
1568; not Rashi's according to Jacob
Emden in his "'Ez Abot," Preface) and
Exodus Rabbah (Vatican MS.): "Sefer ha-Pardes,"
a collection of halakot and decisions (a
compendium, entitled "Likkute ha-Pardes"
[Venice, 1519], was made about 1220 by
Samuel of Bamberg); "Siddur Rashi,"
mentioned in Tos. Pes. 114 (MS. owned by
Luzzatto); "Dine Nikkur ha-Basar"
(Mantua, 1560), laws of porging. Several
decisions found in the "Sefer ha-Pardes"
are separately quoted as Rashi's.
Rashi's responsum to the rabbis of
Auxerre was published by Geiger in his "Melo
Chofnajim" (p. 33, Berlin, 1840). Two
other responsa are to be found in Judah
b. Asher's "Zikron Yehudah" (pp. 50a,
52b, Berlin, 1846), and twenty-eight
were published by Baer Goldberg in his "hefes
Mat.monim" (Berlin, 1845). Rashi was
also a liturgist; three selihot of his,
beginning respectively: "Adonai Elohe
ha-Zeba'ot," "Az t.erem nimtahu," and "Tannot
zarot lo nukal," are found in the
selihot editions; his hymn on the unity
of God ("Shir 'al ahdut habore") has not
yet been published.J. M. Sel.
His Commentaries.
Rashi's attainments appear the more
remarkable when it is remembered that he
confined himself to Jewish fields of
learning. Legend notwithstanding, he
knew neither foreign languages, except
French and a few words of German, nor
secular science, save something of the
practical arts. But in Biblical and
rabbinical literature his learning was
both extensive and reliable, and his
numerous quotations show that he was
familiar with nearly all the Hebrew and
Aramaic works of his predecessors.
Rashi's celebrity rests upon his
commentaries on the Bible and the
Talmud, this vast task of elucidation
being entirely his own, except for a few
books in the one and certain treatises
in the other. They are not consecutive
commentaries, but detached glosses on
difficult terms or phrases. Their
primary quality is perfect clearness:
Rashi's explanations always seem
adequate. He manifests also a remarkable
facility in the elucidation of obscure
or disputed points, recurring, whenever
he finds it necessary, to schemata. His
language is not only clear, but precise,
taking into consideration the actual
context and the probable meaning and
reproducing every varying shade of
thought and signification. Yet it is
never diffuse; its terseness is
universally conceded. A single word
frequently suffices to summarize a
remark or anticipate a question.
Rashi sometimes translates words and
entire propositions into French, these
passages, written in Hebrew characters
and forming an integral part of the
text, being called "la'azim." Rashi was
not the first to employ them, but he
greatly extended their use by adopting
them. His commentaries contain 3,157
la'azim, forming a vocabulary of 2,000
words, a certain number of which are
contained in later Hebrew-French
glossaries. These glosses are of value
not only as expressions of the author's
thought, but as providing material for
the reconstruction of Old French, both
phonologically and lexicographically. It
is not difficult to retransliterate them
into French, as they are transcribed
according to a definite system, despite
frequent corruptions by the copyists. A
large number of manuscripts were read
and much material bearing on the la'azim
was collected by Arsène Darmesteter, but
the work was interrupted by his death.
The Biblical commentaries are based on
the Targumim and the Masorah, which
Rashi follows, although without servile
imitation. He knew and used the almost
contemporary writings of Moses ha-Darshan
of Narbonne and of Menahem b. helbo, of
whom the former confined himself to the
literal meaning of the text while the
latter conceded much to the Haggadah.
The two principal sources from which
Rashi derived his exegesis were the
Talmudicmidrashicmidrashic literature
and the hermeneutic processes which it
employs—the "peshat." and the "derash."
Rashi, unfortunately, attributed too
great importance to the second process,
often at the expense of the first,
although he intended it, as he states on
several occasions, only to elucidate the
simple, obvious meaning of the text. To
his immediate followers he entrusted the
honorable task of completing the
reaction against the tendencies of his
age, for his own scientific education
was not without deficiencies. His
grammatical knowledge was obviously
inadequate, although he was acquainted
with the works of the Judæo-Spanish
grammarians Menahem b. Saruk and Dunash
b. Labrat., and had gained a thorough
knowledge of Hebrew. Rashi's
qualifications for his task, and even
his faults, have made his commentaries
on the Bible, particularly on the
Pentateuch, especially suitable for
general reading and edification, and
have won for him the epithet of "Parshandatha"
(Esth. ix. 7), taken by some writers as
"parshan data" (= "interpreter of the
Law").
On the Talmud.
Rashi's commentaries on the Talmud are
more original and more solid in tone
than those on the Scriptures. Some were
revised by the author himself, while
others were written down by his pupils.
Here, as in his Biblical exegesis, he
followed certain models, among them the
commentaries of his teachers, of which
he often availed himself, although he
sometimes refuted them. Like them, and
sometimes in opposition to them, Rashi
began by preparing a rigid recension of
the Talmud, which has become the
received text, and which is the most
natural and most logical, even though
not invariably authentic. To explain
this text he endeavored to elucidate the
whole, with special reference to the
development and discussions of the
Gemara, striving to explain the context,
grammar, and etymology, as well as
obscure words, and to decide the meaning
and import of each opinion advanced. He
was seldom superficial, but studied the
context thoroughly, considering every
possible meaning, while avoiding
distortion or artificiality. He
frequently availed himself of parallel
passages in the Talmud itself, or of
other productions of Talmudic
literature; and when perplexed he would
acknowledge it without hesitation. A
list of general rules to which he
conforms and which may be found in his
Biblical commentaries presents the
rudiments of an introduction to the
Bible, resembling the collection of
principles formulated by him in his
commentaries on the Talmud and
constituting an admirable Talmudic
methodology. These commentaries contain,
more over, a mass of valuable data
regarding students of the Talmud, and
the history, manners, and customs of the
times in which they lived. Whether they
were derived from written sources, oral
tradition, or imagination, their
consistency and ingenuity are praised by
scholars, who frequently draw upon them
for material.
As a rule, Rashi confined himself
strictly to commentatorial activity,
although he frequently deemed it
necessary to indicate what was the
halakah, the definite solution of a
problem in cases in which such a
solution was the subject of controversy
or doubt, or could not readily be
discerned amid the mass of Talmudic
controversy, or was indispensable for a
clear comprehension either of a text
under consideration or of passages
relating to it. In every case Rashi's
authority carried a weight equal to that
of the leading "posekim," and it would
have had still more influence if his
rulings and his responsa, which his
disciples carefully noted—as they did
also even his slightest acts and
gestures—had been united in one
collection, as was the case with the
Spanish and German Talmudists, instead
of being scattered through a number of
compilations. The most important of
these collections are: the "Sefer ha-Pardes,"
often attributed to Rashi himself, but
in reality composed of two others, one
of which was probably made by Rashi's
pupil Shemaiah; the "Sefer ha-Orah,"
also compiled from two other works, the
first containing fragments which
apparently date from the time of Rashi's
followers; the "Sefer Issur we-Hetter";
the "Mahzor Vitry," a more homogeneous
work (with additions by Isaac b. Dorbolo),
compiled by Simhah of Vitry, a pupil of
Rashi, who introduced into it, in the
order of the events of the
ecclesiastical year, his teacher's laws
of jurisprudence and his responsa. The
first and fourth of these works were
published respectively at Constantinople
in 1805 and at Berlin in 1892, and
editions of the remaining two have been
projected by Buber.
The responsa of Rashi throw a flood of
light on the character of both their
author and his period. The chief
subjects of discussion are the wine of
non-Jews and the relations between Jews
and baptized Jews (possibly an echo of
the times of the Crusades). In his
solutions of these Rashi shows sound
judgment and much mildness. No high
degree of praise, however, can beawarded
to several liturgical poems attributed
to Rashi, for they rank no higher than
the bulk of the class to which they
belong, although their style is smooth
and flowing and they breathe a spirit of
sadness and a sincere and tender love of
God.
(see image) Rashi Chair
at Worms.
His Influence.
If the merit of a work be proportionate
to the scientific activity which it
evokes, the literature to which it gives
rise, and the influence which it exerts,
few books can surpass those of Rashi.
His writings circulated with great
rapidity, and his commentary on the
Talmud greatly extended the knowledge of
the subject, thus increasing the number
of Talmudic schools in France, which
soon came to be of great importance,
especially those at Troyes, Ramerupt,
Dampierre, Paris, and Sens. His two
sons-in-law, Judah b. Nathan (RIBaN) and
Meïr b. Samuel, and especially the
latter's three sons. Samuel(RaSHBaM),
Judah, and Jacob (R. Tam), were the
first of a succession of tosafists who
were closely identified in work and
methods with Rashi. The achievements of
their leader in Biblical exegesis, a
favorite study of almost all of the
tosafists, were equally lasting and
productive, even though later
commentaries, written in imitation of
Rashi's, at times surpass their model.
Samuel b. Meïr, Joseph kara, Joseph
Bekor Shor, and Eliezer of Beaugency are
the best known but by no means the only
representatives of this brilliant French
school, which has never won the
recognition which its originality,
simplicity, and boldness merit.
The fame of Rashi soon spread beyond the
boundaries of northern France and the
German provinces of the Rhine. Shortly
after his death he was known not only in
Provence, but in Spain and even in the
East. The Spanish exegetes, among them
Abraham ibn Ezra and Nahmanides, and
such Talmudists as Zerahiah Gerondi,
recognized his authority, although at
first they frequently combatted his
opinions. In France itself, however,
repeated expulsions by successive kings
and the burning of Hebrew books, as at
Paris in 1240, scattered the Jews and
destroyed their institutions of
learning. Throughout these persecutions
the Bible and the Talmud, with the
commentaries of Rashi, were their
inseparable companions, and were often
their supreme as well as their only
solace, and the chief bond of their
religious unity.
The French Jews carried their literature
with them and diffused it among foreign
communities, in which its popularity
steadily increased. Rashi's commentaries
on the Talmud became the text-book for
rabbis and students, and his commentary
on the Pentateuch the common study of
the people. The popularity of the works
extended to their author, and
innumerable legends were woven about his
name, while illustrious families claimed
descent from him. This universal esteem
is attested by the numerous works of
which his commentaries were the subject,
among them being the supercommentaries
of Elijah Mizrahi and Shabbethai Bass,
which have passed through numerous
editions and copies, while Rashi's
commentary on the Pentateuch is the
first Hebrew work of which the date of
publication is known (Reggio, Feb.,
1475).
Outside Influence.
Rashi's influence was not confined to
Jewish circles. Thus the French monk
Nicolas de Lyre (d. 1340), the author of
the "Postillæ Perpetuæ" on the Bible,
was largely dependent on the
commentaries of Rashi, which he regarded
as an official repository of rabbinical
tradition, although his explanations
occasionally differed from theirs.
Nicolas in his turn exercised a powerful
influence on Martin Luther, whose,
exegesis thus owes much, in the last
analysis, to the Jewish scholar of
Troyes. In the same century the
humanists took up the study of grammar
and exegesis, then long neglected among
the Jews, and these Christian Hebraists
studied the commentaries of Rashi as
interpretations authorized by the
Synagogue. Partial translations of his
commentaries on the Bible were
published; and at length a complete
version of the whole, based on the
manuscripts, was published by Breithaupt
at Gotha (1710-13).
Among the Jews themselves, in the course
of the eighteenth century, such
Talmudists as Joel Sirkes, Solomon Luria,
and Samuel Edels brought to the study of
Rashi both profound learning and
critical acumen; but it was Rapoport and
Weiss, by their extensive use of his
writings, who created the scientific
study of the Talmud. Mendelssohn and his
school of bi'urists revived the exegesis
of the peshat. and employed Rashi's
commentaries constantly, even attempting
an interpretation of the French glosses.
The name of Rashi is inseparably
connected with Jewish learning. In 1823
Zunz wrote his biography; Heidenheim
sought to vindicate him, even when he
was wrong; Luzzatto praised him
enthusiastically; Weiss devoted a
monograph to him which decided many
problems; while Geiger turned his
attention especially to the school of
tosafists of which Rashi was the
founder, and Berliner published a
critical edition of Rashi's commentary
on the Pentateuch.
Rashi's lack of scientific method,
unfortunately, prevents his occupying
the rank in the domain of exegesis
merited by his other qualities. Among
the Jews, however, his reputation has
suffered little, for while it is true
that he was merely a commentator, the
works on which he wrote were the Bible
and the Talmud, and his commentaries
carry a weight and authority which have
rendered them inseparable from the text.
Even if his work is inferior in creative
power to some productions of Jewish
literature, it has exercised a far wider
influence than any one of them. His is
one of the master-minds of rabbinical
literature, on which he has left the
imprint of his predominant
characteristics—terseness and clearness.
His work is popular among all classes of
Jews because it is intrinsically Jewish.
Bibliography: Zunz,
Salomon b. Isaac, Genannt Raschi, in
Zeitschrift für die Wissenschaft des
Judenthums, 1823, pp. 277-384 (Hebrew
transl., with additional notes, by
Bloch, Lemberg, 1840; 2d ed., Warsaw,
1862);
idem, S. P.;
idem, Literaturgesch;
Weiss, Rabbenu Shelomh bar Yizhak, in
Bet-Talmud, ii., Nos. 2-10 (reprinted as
part ii. of Toledot Gedole Yisrael,
Vienna, 1882);
Georges, Le Rabbin Salomon Raschi, in
L'Annuaire Administratif . . . du
Département de l'Aube, 1868, part ii.,
pp. 3 et seq.;
Clément-Mullet, Documents pour Servir à
l' Histoire du Rabbin Salomon, Fils de
Isaac, in Mémoires de la Société
d'Agriculture . . . du Département de
l'Aube, 1855, xix. 143 et seq.;
idem, Poésies ou Sélichot Attribuées à
Raschi, in Mémoires de la Société
Académique de l'Aube, 1856, xx. 131-142;
Grätz, Gesch. vi. (Hebr. transl., vol.
iv., Warsaw, 1894);
Kronberg, Raschi als Exeget, Halle,
1882;
Geiger, Nite'e Na'amanin, Berlin, 1847;
idem, Parschandata; die Nordfranzösische
Exegetenschule, Leipsie, 1855;
Lévy, Die Exegese bei den Französischen
Israeliten, ib. 1873;
Berliner, Raschi, Commentar zum
Pentateuch, Introduction, Berlin, 1866;
idem, Zur Charakteristik Raschi's, in
Kaufmann Gedenkbuch;
idem, Zur Gesch, der Raschi-Commentare,
1904;
Darmesteter, Reliques Scientifiques,
vol. i., Paris, 1890;
Weiss, Dor, iv. 321-334;
Winter and Wünsche, Jüdische Litteratur,
ii. 276 et seq., 458, 462.J. M. Lib. |
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