Tosafists
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Template:CleanupDate Tosafists were medieval rabbis who collected commentaries on the Talmud, and appear in virtually every edition since it was first printed. As such, they parallel Rashi in their importance.
The Tosafists are so named for their commentary, "Tosafot," which translates as "additions" or "supplements." This probably means that their authors and editors saw their work as supplements to Rashi's basic commentary. Some have seen the Tosafot as an addition to the Talmud itself. It carries on the Talmud's own methods of dialectical argument and debate. The Tosafot are printed on the outer margin of the page; i.e., when looking at an opened book you will see the Tosafot in the columns closest to the edges of the pages, farthest from the binding. They appear in Rashi script, with the headings of each discussion in large square letters. The Tosafot that have been printed in the standard Talmud editions are merely an accidental selection from a vast literature that circulated in manuscript. Some of the other Tosafot compendia have been published as separate works, which often serve as comparison when other Tosafot entries are unclear. Authorship of the Tosafot in some tractates is ascribed to particular Tosafists.
Alphabetical list of Tosafists
Of the great number of tosafists only forty-four are known by name. The following is an alphabetical list of them; many, however, are known only through citations:
A(HaRA):
A(HaRA):
Quoted in the edited tosafot to M. Ḳ. 14b, 19a, 20b, 21a et seq.
Abigdor b. Elijah ha-Kohen:
Flourished in the middle of the thirteenth century; his tosafot are mentioned in the edited tosafot to Ket. 63b.
Asher b. Jehiel:
His tosafot, entitled "Tosefot ha-Rosh" or "Tosefe Tosafot," appeared in various epochs and works. Many of them were inserted by Bezaleel Ashkenazi in his "Shiṭṭah Meḳubbeẓet"; those to Yebamot and Ketubot appeared separately at Leghorn, 1776; to Soṭah, partly at Prague, 1725, and partly in Jacob Faitusi's "Mar'eh ha-Ofannim" (Leghorn, 1810); to Megillah and Shebu'ot, in Elijah Borgel's "Migdanot Natan" (ib. 1785); and to Ḳiddushin, in the "Ma'aseh Roḳem" (Pisa, 1806). They are included in Romm's recent edition of the Talmud.
Baruch b. Isaac
(see above and Jew. Encyc. ii. 559).
Eleazar b. Judah of Worms:
Author of tosafot to Baba Ḳamma, extracts from which are found in Bezaleel Ashkenazi's "Shiṭṭah Meḳubbeẓet."
Elhanan b. Isaac:
Flourished at the end of the twelfth century; his tosafot are mentioned by Abraham b. David in his "Temim De'im" and in the edited tosafot to B. M. 11b and Sheb. 28a. His tosafot to Nedarim are referred to by Joseph Colon (Responsa, No. 52); those to Megillah, in Isaiah di Trani's "Ha-Makria'" (No. 31, p. 19d); those to 'Abodah Zarah, in "Mordekai" (No. 1364).
Eliezer b. Joel ha-Levi ():
Flourished in the beginning of the thirteenth century; author of tosafot to several treatises (comp. Michael, "Or ha-Ḥayyim," No. 427).
Eliezer ben Samuel of Metz (Re'EM):
Author of tosafot to several treatises, of which those to Ḥullin were seen by Azulai.
Eliezer of Toul:
French tosafist of the beginning of the thirteenth century, whose tosafot are mentioned by Zedekiah Anaw in his "Shibbole ha-Leḳeṭ."
Eliezer of Touques
(see above and Jew. Encyc. v. 120).
Elijah ben Menahem:
His tosafot are mentioned in "Haggahot Maimuniyyot," Ḳinnim, No. 20.
I (RI, probably R. Isaac, but not to be confused with Isaac b. Samuel ha-Zaḳen, who occurs most often as RI):
His tosafot, in which the older RI is quoted, are mentioned by Samson b. Zadok ("Tashbeẓ," § 336).
Isaac ben Abraham (RIBA or RIẒBA), surnamed ha-Baḥur ("the younger," in distinction from his teacher Isaac b. Samuel ha-Zaḳen):
Brother of Samson ben Abraham of Sens. Like his brother, Isaac lived as a youth at Troyes, where he attended the lectures of Jacob Tam ("Temim De'im," No. 87), and afterward at Sens (ib.; "Haggahot Maimuniyyot," Ishut, No. 6). After the death of Isaac ben Samuel, Isaac ben Abraham succeeded him as head of the school of Dampierre, after which place he is often called ("Or Zarua'," i. 225a). Isaac ben Abraham was one of the French rabbis to whom Meïr ben Todros Abulafia addressed his letter against Maimonides' theory of resurrection. He died at Dampierre prior to 1210, not long before his brother Samson emigrated to Palestine ("Semaḳ," No. 31; "Mordekai" on Ketubot, No. 357). As he is mentioned often in the edited tosafot (Shab. 3a, passim; Yoma 20a; et al.) and by many other authorities ("Or Zarua'," i. 26b; "Shibbole ha-Leḳeṭ," i., No. 231), it may be concluded that he wrote tosafot to several Talmudic treatises. Those to Bekorot were in the possession of Ḥayyim Michael of Hamburg. Isaac ben Abraham is frequently mentioned as a Biblical commentator ("Da'at Zeḳenim," 3a, 48b, 49b, Leghorn, 1783; "Minḥat Yehudah," 3a, 13a), and his ritual decisions and responsa are often quoted ("Or Zarua'," i. 13b et passim; Meïr of Rothenburg, Responsa, No. 176; et al.).
Isaac ben Abraham ha-Baḥur may be identical with the liturgical poet Isaac b. Abraham who wrote a hymn beginning "Yeshabbeḥuneka be-ḳol miflal," for Simḥat Torah or for the Sabbath after it, and a seliḥah for Yom Kippur beginning "Hen yom ba la-Adonai" (comp. Zunz, "Literaturgesch." p. 335).
Isaac b. Asher ha-Levi
(see above and Jew. Encyc. vi. 620).
Isaac ben Jacob ha-Laban:
Pupil of Jacob Tam and one of the earlier tosafists ("ba'ale tosafot yeshanim"). He was the author of a commentary on Ketubot quoted by Isaac Or Zarua' (see Judah Minz, Responsa, No. 10). He is quoted very often in the edited tosafot (Yeb. 5b; B. Ḳ. 72a; et al.).
Isaac ben Meïr (RIBaM) of Ramerupt:
Grandson of Rashi, and brother of Samuel b. Meïr (RaSHBaM) and Jacob Tam; died before his father, leaving four children (Jacob Tam, "Sefer ha-Yashar," No. 616, p. 72b, Vienna, 1811). Although he died young, Isaac wrote tosafot, mentioned by Eliezer b. Joel ha-Levi ("Abi ha-'Ezri," § 417), to severaltreatises of the Talmud. Isaac himself is often quoted in the edited tosafot (Shab. 138a; Ket. 29b et passim).
Isaac ben Mordecai of Regensburg (RIBaM):
Flourished in the twelfth century; pupil of Isaac b. Asher ha-Levi. He corresponded with Jacob Tam and was a fellow pupil of Moses b. Joel and Ephraim b. Isaac. His tosafot are quoted by Eliezer b. Joel ha-Levi (l.c. § 420) and Meïr of Rothenburg ("Semaḥot," § 73; "Haggahot Maimuniyyot," Abelot, p. 294a). He is often quoted also in the edited tosafot (Ket. 55a; B. Ḳ. 22b et passim).
Isaac ben Reuben:
His tosafot are mentioned in the "Shiṭṭah Meḳubbeẓet," Ketubot, 43a. He may be identical with the Isaac b. Reuben who made a comment on Rashi to B. Ḳ. 32d.
Isaac b. Samuel ha-Zaḳen
(see above and Jew. Encyc. vi. 631).
Isaiah di Trani (RID):
Italian tosafist of the first half of the thirteenth century. The greater part of his tosafot were published under the title "Tosefot R. Yesha'yahu" (Lemberg, 1861-69); and many were inserted by Bezaleel Ashkenazi in his "Shiṭṭah Meḳubbeẓet."
Israel of Bamberg:
Lived in the middle of the thirteenth century; mentioned as an author of tosafot in "Mordekai" (to 'Ab. Zarah, Nos. 1244, 1279, 1295, 1356) and "Haggahot Mordekai" (to Shab. xiv.). Extracts from the tosafot of Israel's pupils were reproduced by Bezaleel Ashkenazi (l.c.).
J. Cohen:
Supposedly a contemporary of Meïr b. Baruch of Rothenburg, and perhaps identical with Judah ha-Kohen, Meïr's relative. In the extracts from his tosafot to Baba Ḳamma, inserted in the "Shiṭṭah Meḳubbeẓet," he quotes, among many other authorities, his still living teacher, the Kohen whom Zunz ("Z. G." p. 42) supposes to be identical with Abigdor b. Elijah ha-Kohen. From the "Shiṭṭah Meḳubbeẓet" to Baba Meẓi'a it is seen that J. Cohen wrote tosafot to the same treatise.
Jacob of Chinon:
Lived in the thirteenth century; pupil of Isaac ben Abraham, author of a "Shiṭṭah" ("Mordekai," on Sanh., No. 928). He himself is quoted in the edited tosafot (Ber. 12a; Nazir 53a; et al.).
Jacob ben Isaac ha-Levi (Jabez):
Flourished at Speyer about 1130; a pupil of Kalonymus b. Isaac the Elder (Eliezer b. Nathan, "Eben ha-'Ezer," p. 13c, Prague, 1610). He was the author of tosafot ("Haggahot Maimuniyyot," Ḳinnim, No. 16) and of decisions ("pesaḳim"; "Mordekai," Ḥul., No. 1183). He is quoted also in the edited tosafot (to Ḳin. 23a).
Jacob ben Meïr Tam
(see above and Jew. Encyc. vii. 36).
Jehiel ben Joseph of Paris (d. 1286):
His tosafot are quoted as authoritative by Perez b. Elijah (glosses to "'Ammude Golah," p. 50a, Cremona, 1556), in "Kol Bo" (No. 114), and in "Mordekai" (Ḥul., No. 924). He is frequently quoted also in the edited tosafot.
Joseph (or Yehosef):
Flourished, according to Zunz ("Z. G." p. 33), about 1150. Zunz identifies this Joseph with the pupil of Samuel b. Meïr whose glosses are quoted in the edited tosafot (to Ket. 70a), and thinks he may be identical with the Joseph of Orleans often cited in the edited tosafot (Shab. 12a et passim). If so, he must be identified, according to Gross ("Gallia Judaica," p. 34), with Joseph ben Isaac Bekor Shor. Weiss, however, suggests that this Joseph might have been either Joseph Bonfils, Jacob Tam's teacher, or Joseph b. Isaac of Troyes, one of Rashi's pupils. Thus it seems that in any case the tosafist mentioned in the "Sefer ha-Yashar" must be distinguished from the one mentioned in Tos. Ket. 70a, as the latter was a pupil of R. Samuel.
Joseph Porat:
Many fragments of his tosafot to Shabbat are included in the edited tosafot.
Judah b. Isaac of Paris
(see above and Jew. Encyc. vii. 344).
Judah ben Nathan (RIBaN):
Son-in-law and pupil of Rashi, and to a great extent his continuator. It was Judah who completed Rashi's commentary on Makkot (from 19b to the end) and who wrote the commentary on Nazir which is erroneously attributed to Rashi. He wrote, besides, independent commentaries on 'Erubin, Shabbat, Yebamot (Eliezer b. Joel ha-Levi, "Abi ha-'Ezri," §§ 183, 385, 397, 408), and Pesaḥim ("Semag," prohibition No. 79). Finally, Halberstam manuscript No. 323 contains a fragment of Judah's commentary on Nedarim. It is generally considered that Judah b. Nathan wrote tosafot to several treatises of the Talmud, and he is mentioned as a tosafist in "Haggahot Mordekai" (Sanh., No. 696). He is often quoted in the edited tosafot.
Levi:
His tosafot are quoted in the "Mordekai" (B. M. iv., end).
Meïr b. Baruch of Rothenburg
(see above and Jew. Encyc. viii. 437).
Meïr b. Samuel of Ramerupt:
His tosafot are mentioned by his son Jacob Tam ("Sefer ha-Yashar," No. 252) and often in the edited tosafot.
Moses b. Jacob of Coucy:
Author of Old Tosafot to Yoma and of some published in the collection "Sugyot ha-Shas" (Berlin, 1736).
Moses b. Meïr of Ferrara:
Flourished in the thirteenth century; probably a pupil of Judah b. Isaac of Paris. His tosafot were used by the compiler of the "Haggahot Maimuniyyot" (see Jew. Encyc. ix. 86).
Moses b. Yom-Ṭob of Evreux
(see above and Jew. Encyc. ix. 65).
Perez ben Elijah of Corbeil
(see above and Jew. Encyc. ix. 600).
Samson b. Abraham of Sens
(see above and Jew. Encyc. xi. 2).
Samson b. Isaac of Chinon:
Flourished in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries; author of the "Sefer Keritut." In this work (i. 7, § 1; v. 3, §§ 120, 148) Samson refers to his glosses on 'Erubin and 'Abodah Zarah; he appears to have written glosses on other Talmudic treatises also.
Samuel of Evreux:
Author of tosafot to several treatises; those to Soṭah are among the edited tosafot (see Jew. Encyc. xi. 16).
Samuel ben Meïr (RaSHBaM):
Author of tosafot to Alfasi; under his supervision his pupils prepared tosafot to several treatises ("Sefer ha-Yashar," p. 85d).
Samuel b. Naṭronai (RaShBaṬ):
German Talmudist of the end of the twelfth century; authorof tosafot to 'Abodah Zarah (see "Kerem Ḥemed," vii. 50).
Samuel b. Solomon of Falaise
(see above and Jew. Encyc. xi. 28).
Simḥah b. Samuel of Speyer:
Flourished in the thirteenth century; his tosafot are mentioned by Meïr of Rothenburg (Responsa, iv., No. 154).
See also
- Rabbeinu Tam (the most prominent Tosafist)
External link
- Tosafot (http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/TalmudMap/Tosafot.html) note by Prof. Eliezer Segal