Tosafot
Encyclopedia
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
. They take the form of critical and explanatory glosses, printed, in almost all Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
editions, on the outer margin and opposite Rashi
Rashi
Shlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...
's notes. The authors of the Tosafot are known as Tosafists ("ba'ale ha-tosafot"); for a listing see List of Tosafists.
Meaning of Name
The word tosafot literally means "additions". For what reason these glosses are called "tosafot" is a matter of dispute among modern scholars.- Many of them, including Heinrich GraetzHeinrich GraetzHeinrich Graetz was amongst the first historians to write a comprehensive history of the Jewish people from a Jewish perspective....
, think the glosses are so-called as additions to Rashi's commentary on the Talmud. In fact, the period of the Tosafot began immediately after Rashi had written his commentary; the first tosafists were Rashi's sons-in-law and grandsons, and the Tosafot consist mainly of strictures on Rashi's commentary.
- Others, especially WeissIsaac Hirsch WeissIsaac Hirsch Weiss, also Eisik Hirsch Weiss was an Austrian Talmudist and historian of literature born at Velké Meziříčí, Moravia....
, object that many tosafot, particularly those of Isaiah di TraniIsaiah di TraniIsaiah di Trani ben Mali , better known as the RID, was a prominent Italian Talmudist.- Biography:...
, have no reference to Rashi. Weiss, followed by other scholars, asserts that "tosafot" means "additions" to the Talmud, that is to say, they are an extension and development of the Talmud. For just as the GemaraGemaraThe Gemara is the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah. After the Mishnah was published by Rabbi Judah the Prince The Gemara (also transliterated Gemora or, less commonly, Gemorra; from Aramaic גמרא gamar; literally, "[to] study" or "learning by...
is a critical and analytical commentary on the MishnahMishnahThe Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
, so are the Tosafot critical and analytical glosses on those two parts of the Talmud. Further, the term "tosafot" was not applied for the first time to the glosses of Rashi's continuators, but to the ToseftaToseftaThe Tosefta is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the period of the Mishnah.-Overview:...
, the additions to the Mishnah compiled by Judah ha-Nasi I. "Tosefta" is a Babylonian term, which in Jerusalem writings is replaced by "tosafot" (see Yer.Jerusalem TalmudThe Jerusalem Talmud, talmud meaning "instruction", "learning", , is a collection of Rabbinic notes on the 2nd-century Mishnah which was compiled in the Land of Israel during the 4th-5th century. The voluminous text is also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud de-Eretz Yisrael...
Pe'ah ii. 17a; Lev. R. xxx. 2; Cant. R. vi. 9; Eccl. R. v. 8). The Tosafot resemble the Gemara in other respects also, for just as the latter is the work of different schools carried on through a long period, so the former were written at different times and by different schools, and gathered later into one body.
Character
Up to and including Rashi, the Talmudic commentators occupied themselves only with the plain meaning of the text; but after the beginning of the twelfth century the spirit of criticism took possession of the teachers of the Talmud. Thus some of Rashi's continuators, as his sons-in-law and his grandson Samuel ben MeïrRashbam
Samuel ben Meir 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:...
(RaSHBaM), while they wrote commentaries on the Talmud after the manner of Rashi's, wrote also glosses on it in a style peculiar to themselves. The chief characteristic of the Tosafot is that in spite of the great respect in which Rashi was held by the Tosafists, the latter freely corrected him. Besides, the Tosafot do not constitute a continuous commentary, but, like the "Dissensiones" to the Roman Code of the first quarter of the twelfth century, deal only with the difficult passages of the Talmudic text. Single sentences are explained by quotations which are taken from other Talmudic treatises and which seem at first glance to have no connection with the sentences in question. On the other hand, sentences which seem to be related and interdependent are separated and embodied in different treatises. It must be added that the Tosafot can be understood only by those who are well advanced in the study of the Talmud, for the most entangled discussions are treated as though they were simple. Glosses explaining the meaning of a word or containing a grammatical
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
observation are very rare. The Tosafot may be considered from the point of view of a methodology of the Talmud. The rules are certainly not gathered together in one series, as they are, for instance, in Maimonides
Maimonides
Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
' introduction to the Mishnah; they are scattered in various parts, and their number is quite considerable. Neither are they stated in fixed terms; a generally accepted rule is followed by "This is the way of the Talmud" or "The Talmud usually declares." Sometimes the negative expression is found, "This is not the way of the Talmud." A frequently recurring rule is indicated by some such formula as "We find many like this." It must be borne in mind that what has been said hitherto concerns the general features of the Tosafot, and does not conflict with the fact that the writings of different tosafists differ in style and method. With regard to method, it should be said that the Tosafot of Touques (see below) concern particularly the casuistic interpretation of the traditional law, but do not touch halakic decisions.
History
The chief home of tosafot literature was incontestably France, for it began with Rashi's pupils, and was continued mainly by the heads of the French schools. It is true that, practically, tosafot began to be written in Germany at the same time as in France, but the French tosafists always predominated numerically. The first tosafot recorded are those written by Rashi's two sons-in-law, Meïr b. Samuel of Ramerupt (RaM) and Judah ben NathanJudah ben Nathan
Judah ben Nathan, also referred to by the Hebrew acronym RIBaN, was a gifted French rabbi and commentator on the Talmud in the eleventh to twelfth century, best known for being the son-in-law and pupil of the great commentator Rashi, and to a great extent his continuator.It was Judah who completed...
(RIBaN), and by a certain R. Joseph (Jacob Tam, "Sefer ha-Yashar," No. 252; "Haggahot Mordekai," Sanh., No. 696; see below). But their tosafot not being otherwise known, the actual father of the tosafot in France was undoubtedly Jacob b. Meïr Tam (Rabbeinu Tam
Rabbeinu Tam
Rabbeinu Tam , born Jacob ben Meir, was one of the most renowned French Tosafists and a foremost halachic authority of his generation...
), whose style was adopted by his successors. He wrote a great number of tosafot, many of which are to be found in his "Sefer ha-Yashar"; but not all, as many passages that are cited in the edited tosafot are not found in the work just mentioned. In Germany, at the same time, there flourished Isaac ben Asher ha-Levi (RIBA), leader of the German tosafists, who wrote numerous tosafot, which are mentioned by Abraham ben David
Abraham ben David
Rabbeinu Abraham ben David was a Provençal rabbi, a great commentator on the Talmud, Sefer Halachot of Rabbi Yitzhak Alfasi and Mishne Torah of Maimonides, and is regarded as a father of Kabbalah and one of the key and important links in the chain of Jewish mystics...
("Temim De'im," Nos. 158, 207-209), and which are very often cited in the edited tosafot (e.g., to Soṭah 17b). But Isaac ben Asher's tosafot were revised by his pupils, who, according to Jacob Tam ("Sefer ha-Yashar," No. 282), sometimes ascribed to their teacher opinions which were not his. Zedekiah b. Abraham ("Shibbole ha-Leḳeṭ," i., No. 225), however, refutes Jacob Tam's assertion.
The most prominent tosafist immediately after Jacob Tam was his pupil and relative Isaac ben Samuel ha-Zaḳen (RI) of Dampierre, whose tosafot form a part of the Tosafot Yeshanim (see below). Isaac was succeeded by his pupil Samson ben Abraham of Sens
Samson ben Abraham of Sens
Samson ben Abraham , also known as the Rash of Sens or "the Prince of Sens", was one of the leading French Tosafists in the second half of the 12th and the beginning of the 13th centuries...
(d. about 1235), who, besides enriching the literature with his own compositions, revised those of his predecessors, especially his teacher's, and compiled them into the group known as the Tosafot of Sens. Samson's fellow pupil Judah b. Isaac of Paris
Judah Messer Leon (1166)
Judah ben Isaac Messer Leon was a French tosafist born in Paris. According to Gross he was probably a descendant of Rashi, and a pupil of Isaac ben Samuel of Dampierre and his son Elhanan. He married a daughter of Abraham ben Joseph of Orleans, who has been identified by Jacobs with Abraham fil...
(Sir Leon) was also very active; he wrote tosafot to several Talmudic treatises, of which those to Berakot were published at Warsaw (1863); some of those to 'Abodah Zarah are extant in manuscript. Among the many French tosafists deserving special mention was Samuel ben Solomon of Falaise
Samuel ben Solomon of Falaise
Samuel ben Solomon of Falaise was a French rabbi, a tosafist of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. His French name was Sir Morel, by which he is often designated in rabbinical literature....
(Sir Morel), who, owing to the destruction of the Talmud in France in his time, relied for the text entirely upon his memory (Meïr of Rothenburg, Responsa, No. 250).
The edited tosafot owe their existence particularly to Samson of Sens and to the following French tosafists of the thirteenth century: (1) Moses of Évreux
Moses of Évreux
Moses of Évreux was a French tosafist, and author of a siddur, who flourished at Évreux in Normandy in the first half of the thirteenth century, and was the older brother and teacher of the tosafist Samuel of Évreux....
, (2) Eliezer of Touques
Eliezer of Touques
Eliezer of Touques was a French tosafist, who lived at Touques in the second half of the thirteenth century. He abridged the tosafot of Samson of Sens, Samuel of Évreux, and many others, and added thereto marginal notes of his own, entitled "Gilyon Tosafot," or "Tosafot Gillayon"...
, and (3) Perez ben Elijah
Perez ben Elijah
Perez ben Elijah of Corbeil was a French tosafist, son of the Talmudist Elijah of Tours. In Talmudical literature he is designated by the abbreviations RaP , RaPaSh , and MaHaRPaSh .Perez had for masters Rabbi Jehiel of Paris and Samuel of Evreux...
of Corbeil.
It has been said that the first German tosafist, Isaac b. Asher ha-Levi, was the head of a school, and that his pupils, besides composing tosafot of their own, revised his. In the thirteenth century the German schools were represented by Baruch ben Isaac
Baruch ben Isaac
Baruch ben Isaac was a Tosafist and codifier who was born at Worms, but lived at Regensburg; he is sometimes called after the one and sometimes after the other city....
, in Regensburg, and later by Meïr of Rothenburg
Meir of Rothenburg
Meir of Rothenburg was a German Rabbi and poet, a major author of the tosafot on Rashi's commentary on the Talmud...
; the Italian school was represented by Isaiah di Trani
Isaiah di Trani
Isaiah di Trani ben Mali , better known as the RID, was a prominent Italian Talmudist.- Biography:...
. If the tosafot of Asher b. Jehiel (d. 1328) are to be included, the tosafistic period extended through more than two centuries. When the fanaticism of the French monasteries and the bigotry of Louis IX. brought about the destruction of the Talmud, the writing of tosafot in France soon ceased.
Authorities cited
The Tosafot quote principally RashiRashi
Shlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...
(very often under the designation "ḳonṭres" [= "pamphlet", Rashi initially published his commentary in pamphlets]), many of the ancient authorities (as Kalonymus of Lucca, Nathan b. Jehiel, and R. Hananeel), some contemporary scholars (as Abraham b. David of Posquières, Maimonides
Maimonides
Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
, Abraham ibn Ezra
Abraham ibn Ezra
Rabbi Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra was born at Tudela, Navarre in 1089, and died c. 1167, apparently in Calahorra....
, and others), and about 130 German and French Talmudists of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Many of the last-named are known as authors of general Talmudic works, as, for instance, Eliezer b. Nathan of Mainz, Judah of Corbeil, and Jacob of Coucy; but many of them are known only through their being quoted in the Tosafot, as in the case of an Eliezer of Sens, a Jacob of Orleans
Jacob of Orléans
Jacob of Orléans was a noted Jewish scholar, considered by many to be one of the most learned men of his age. Jacob was a tosafist in Orléans, France, who studied under Rabbenu Tam. He remained in Orléans until at least 1171, leaving at a later date to go to London, most likely to become a teacher...
, and many Abrahams and Isaacs. Some are even mentioned but once, as Eliezer of "Pelire" [Falaise? Montpellier?] (Tos. B. B. 79b), Ephraim b. David (supposed contemporary of Judah Sir Leon; Tos. 'Ab. Zarah 39a), and one Hezekiah (Tos. B. B. 44b). A commentary on the Pentateuch entitled "Da'at Zeḳenim" (Leghorn, 1783) is attributed to the Tosafists. In form this commentary follows the style of the Tosafot; Rashi is often discussed, and sometimes corrected.
Tosafot of Sens
The earliest collection, compiled by Samson ben Abraham of SensSamson ben Abraham of Sens
Samson ben Abraham , also known as the Rash of Sens or "the Prince of Sens", was one of the leading French Tosafists in the second half of the 12th and the beginning of the 13th centuries...
. It was one of the main sources for the Tosafot of Touques, which in turn underlies the present printed Tosafot ("Tosafot shelanu"). Passages from the Tosafot of Sens which did not find their way into the main collection are sometimes printed under the title of Tosafot Yeshanim.
Tosafot of Évreux
Moses of ÉvreuxMoses of Évreux
Moses of Évreux was a French tosafist, and author of a siddur, who flourished at Évreux in Normandy in the first half of the thirteenth century, and was the older brother and teacher of the tosafist Samuel of Évreux....
, one of the most prolific tosafists, furnished glosses to the whole Talmud; they form a distinct group known as the Tosafot of Évreux
Évreux
Évreux is a commune in the Eure department, of which it is the capital, in Haute Normandie in northern France.-History:In late Antiquity, the town, attested in the fourth century CE, was named Mediolanum Aulercorum, "the central town of the Aulerci", the Gallic tribe then inhabiting the area...
. It may be presumed that the "Tosafot of R. Moses" mentioned by Mordecai b. Hillel ("Mordekai," on Sanh., No. 937) are identical with the tosafot just mentioned. According to Joseph Colon (Responsa, No. 52) and Elijah Mizraḥi ("Mayim 'Amuḳḳim," i., No. 37), Moses wrote his glosses on the margin of Isaac Alfasi
Isaac Alfasi
for other Al-Fasi's see Al-Fasi disambiguationIsaac ben Jacob Alfasi ha-Cohen - also known as the Alfasi or by his Hebrew acronym Rif , was a Talmudist and posek...
's "Halakot," probably at the time of the burning of the Talmud.
Tosafot of Touques
Eliezer of TouquesEliezer of Touques
Eliezer of Touques was a French tosafist, who lived at Touques in the second half of the thirteenth century. He abridged the tosafot of Samson of Sens, Samuel of Évreux, and many others, and added thereto marginal notes of his own, entitled "Gilyon Tosafot," or "Tosafot Gillayon"...
, of the second half of the thirteenth century, made a compendium of the Tosafot of Sens and of Évreux; this compendium is called the Tosafot of Touques, and forms the basis of the edited tosafot. Eliezer's own glosses, written on the margin, are known as the Tosafot Gillayon or Gilyon Tosafot. It must be premised, however, that the Tosafot of Touques did not remain untouched; they were revised afterward and supplemented by the glosses of later tosafists. Gershon Soncino, who printed these tosafot, declares that his ancestor Moses of Fürth, who lived in the middle of the fifteenth century, was a descendant in the fifth generation of Moses of Speyer, who is mentioned in the Tosafot of Touques. It is supposed that the last redactor of these tosafot was a pupil of Samson of Chinon.
Tosafot of Perez ben Elijah's Pupils
Perez ben ElijahPerez ben Elijah
Perez ben Elijah of Corbeil was a French tosafist, son of the Talmudist Elijah of Tours. In Talmudical literature he is designated by the abbreviations RaP , RaPaSh , and MaHaRPaSh .Perez had for masters Rabbi Jehiel of Paris and Samuel of Evreux...
of Corbeil was one of the most active of the later tosafists. Besides supplying tosafot to several treatises, which are quoted by many old authorities and are included among the edited tosafot (and many of which were seen in manuscript by Azulai), he revised those of his predecessors. His pupils were not less active; their additions are known as the Tosafot of Perez b. Elijah's Pupils.
French Tosafot
Mentioned in the novellae on Tamid ascribed to Abraham b. David. Zunz ("Z.G." p. 57) thinks that the Tosafot of Sens may be referred to under this title; but the fact that Abraham b. David was much earlier than Samson of Sens leads to the supposition that the glosses indicated are those of previous tosafists, as Jacob Tam, Isaac b. Asher ha-Levi, and Isaac b. Samuel ha-Zaḳen and his son.Tosafot ("Decisions of the Tosafot")
Collection of halakic decisions gathered from the edited tosafot to thirty-six treatises—Nazir and Me'ilah being excepted—and generally printed in the margin of the Tosafot; in the later editions of the Talmud, after the text. These decisions number 5,931; of these 2,009 belong to the treatise Berakot and the order Mo'ed; 1,398 to Niddah and the order Nashim; 1,503 to Neziḳin; and 1,021 to Ḳodashim. The decisions contained in the tosafot to Shabbat, Pesaḥim, Giṭṭin, Ketubot, Baba Ḳamma, Baba Meẓi'a, Baba Batra, and Ḥullin number fully one-half of those recognized as authoritative. The compiler of these decisions can not be identified with certainty; Asher b. Jehiel, his son Jacob b. Asher, and Ezekiel, uncle of Eliezer of TouquesEliezer of Touques
Eliezer of Touques was a French tosafist, who lived at Touques in the second half of the thirteenth century. He abridged the tosafot of Samson of Sens, Samuel of Évreux, and many others, and added thereto marginal notes of his own, entitled "Gilyon Tosafot," or "Tosafot Gillayon"...
, are given by different authorities. Jacob Nordhausen, also, is known to have compiled tosafot decisions; in fact, references to two groups of Pisḳe Tosafot are found in the works of the later casuists.
Spanish Tosafot
This term is used by Joseph Colon (Responsa, No. 72) and by Jacob Baruch Landau ("Agur," § 327), and may apply to Talmudic novellae by Spanish authors. Jeshuah b. Joseph ha-Levi, for instance ("Halikhot 'Olam," § 327), applies the term "tosafot" to the novellae of Isaac ben SheshetIsaac ben Sheshet
Isaac ben Sheshet Perfet 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 under Perez ha-Kohen, under Hasdai ben Judah, and especially under R...
.
The Edited Tosafot (called also Our Tosafot)
The tosafot which have been published with the text of the Talmud ever since its earliest edition (see Talmud, Editions of). They extend to thirty-eight treatises of the Babylonian Talmud. Most of the treatises are covered by the Tosafot of Touques, some by the Tosafot of Sens; many are provided with the tosafot of various authors, revised by Perez b. Elijah's school. The authorship of the tosafot to seventeen treatises only can be established with certainty:- Berakot: Moses of ÉvreuxMoses of ÉvreuxMoses of Évreux was a French tosafist, and author of a siddur, who flourished at Évreux in Normandy in the first half of the thirteenth century, and was the older brother and teacher of the tosafist Samuel of Évreux....
; - Shabbat, 'Erubin, and Menaḥot: the Tosafot of Sens;
- Beẓah, Nedarim, Nazir, Sanhedrin, Makkot, and Me'ilah: Perez b. Elijah's school (many written by Perez himself);
- Yoma: Meïr of RothenburgMeir of RothenburgMeir of Rothenburg was a German Rabbi and poet, a major author of the tosafot on Rashi's commentary on the Talmud...
; - Giṭṭin, Baba Ḳamma, and Ḥullin: the Tosafot of Touques;
- Soṭah: Samuel of ÉvreuxSamuel of ÉvreuxSamuel of Évreux was a French tosafist of the thirteenth century, the younger brother and student of Moses of Évreux, author of the tosafot of Évreux. He is identified by Gross with Samuel ben Shneor Samuel of Évreux was a French tosafist of the thirteenth century, the younger brother and student...
; - 'Avodah Zarah: Samuel of Falaise;
- Zebaḥim: Baruch b. Isaac of Worms.
The tosafot to Mo'ed Ḳaṭon were written by a pupil of a certain R. Isaac; the author of the tosafot to Ḥagigah wrote tosafot to other treatises also. Those to Ta'anit belong to the post-tosafot period, and differ in style from those to other treatises.
Tosafot Alfasi
Quoted by Joseph Colon (Responsa, Nos. 5, 31) and Judah Minz (Responsa, No. 10). The term may designate either the tosafot of Samuel b. Meïr and Moses of ÉvreuxMoses of Évreux
Moses of Évreux was a French tosafist, and author of a siddur, who flourished at Évreux in Normandy in the first half of the thirteenth century, and was the older brother and teacher of the tosafist Samuel of Évreux....
, or glosses to Alfasi
Isaac Alfasi
for other Al-Fasi's see Al-Fasi disambiguationIsaac ben Jacob Alfasi ha-Cohen - also known as the Alfasi or by his Hebrew acronym Rif , was a Talmudist and posek...
's Halakot.
Tosafot of Gornish
Mentioned by Joseph Solomon DelmedigoJoseph Solomon Delmedigo
Joseph Solomon Qandia Delmedigo was a rabbi, author, physician, mathematician, and music theorist....
(Nobelot Ḥokmah, Preface) and Solomon Algazi (Gufe Halakot, No. 195), the latter quoting these tosafot to Baba ḳamma. But as the same quotation is made by Bezaleel Ashkenazi (Shiṭṭah Meḳubbeẓet, to Baba Ḳamma) and ascribed to a pupil of Perez ben Elijah
Perez ben Elijah
Perez ben Elijah of Corbeil was a French tosafist, son of the Talmudist Elijah of Tours. In Talmudical literature he is designated by the abbreviations RaP , RaPaSh , and MaHaRPaSh .Perez had for masters Rabbi Jehiel of Paris and Samuel of Evreux...
, Azulai
Chaim Joseph David Azulai
Chaim Joseph David Azulai ben Isaac Zerachia , commonly known as the Chida , was a Jerusalem born rabbinical scholar, a noted bibliophile, and a pioneer in the publication of Jewish religious writings.- Biography :Azulai was born in Jerusalem, where he received his education...
(Shem ha-Gedolim, ii.) concludes that these tosafot originated in Perez b. Elijah's school. Still, Mordecai b. Hillel (Mordekai, B. B.
Bava Batra
Bava Batra is the third of the three tractates in the Talmud in the order Nezikin; it deals with a person's responsibilities and rights as the owner of property. It is part of Judaism's oral law...
on No. 886) mentions a R. Judah of Gornish, and Abraham ibn Akra
Abraham ibn Akra
Abraham ibn Akra or Abraham ben Solomon Akra was a Jewish-Italian scholar and editor of scientific works who lived at the end of the 16th century. He edited the work , a collection of several methodological essays and commentaries on various Talmudic treatises...
(Meharere Nemerim, Venice, 1599) reproduces Talmudic novellae by "M. of Gornish" (Embden gives "Meïr of Gornish" in the Latin translation of the catalogue of the Oppenheim Library, No. 667). Manuscript No. 7 of the Günzburg collection bears the superscription "Tosafot of Gornish to Yebamot," and in these tosafot French and German rabbis are quoted. Manuscript No. 603 of the same collection contains also the Tosafot of Gornish and novellae by Judah Minz, and fragments of Gornish tosafot are found in manuscripts in other libraries.
Different theories have been advanced with regard to the name "Gornish." According to S. Schechter (Jew. Chron. May 4, 1888), it is a corruption of "Mayence," while H. Adler thinks it a corruption of "Norwich". Gross (l.c.) thinks that Gornish may be identical with Gournay
Gournay
Gournay is the name or part of the name of six communes of France:*Gournay in the Indre département*Gournay-en-Bray in the Seine-Maritime département*Gournay-le-Guérin in the Eure département*Gournay-Loizé in the Deux-Sèvres département...
, in France, and that "M. of Gornish," apparently the author of the Tosafot of Gornish, may be Moses of Gornish and identical with the Moses of גריינץ mentioned in the Tosafot of Sens (to Pesaḥim
Pesahim
Pesahim is the third tractate of Seder Moed of the Mishnah and of the Talmud. It is concerned mainly with the laws of the Jewish holiday Passover as well as the Passover lamb offering...
). It may be added that in the supplement to Zacuto's Yuḥasin (p. 164a, Cracow, 1581) a David of "Durnish" occurs.
Tosafot ("Exterior" or "Uncanonical Tosafot")
Tosafot which are neither of Sens nor of Touques. They are so called by Bezaleel Ashkenazi; he included many fragments of them in his Shiṭṭah Meḳubbeẓet, to Baba Meẓi'a, Nazir, etc.Name sometimes applied to the recensions of Perez b. Elijah or to the tosafot of Jehiel of Paris (Bezaleel Ashkenazi, l.c.; notes to "Sha'are Dura," § 57; and many other authorities).
Tosafot Yeshanim ("Tosafot of the Ancients")
This group comprises four smaller ones: (1) the general tosafot of Sens, including those appearing among the edited tosafot; (2) the earlier unedited tosafot (for example, those to Ḳiddushin by Isaac b. Samuel ha-Zaḳen of Dampierre, and those to 'Abodah Zarah by his son Elhanan b. Isaac); these sometimes appear separately under the title of Tosafot ha-Ri; (3) a collection of old tosafot published by Joseph Jessel b. Wolf ha-Levi in "Sugyot ha-Shas" (Berlin, 1736); (4) various tosafot found in ancient manuscripts, as the tosafot to Ḥullin written in 1360, the manuscript of which is in the Munich Library (No. 236). In the collection published by Joseph Jessel b. Wolf ha-Levi (No. 3), besides the old tosafot to Yoma by Moses of Coucy (comp., however, Israel IsserleinIsrael Isserlein
Rabbi Israel Isserlein ben Petachia, also Israel Isserlin, Israel of Neustadt, Israel of Marpurk was a Talmudist, and Halakhist, best known for his Terumat HaDeshen, which served as one source for HaMapah, the component of the Shulkhan Arukh by Moses Isserles.- Biography :Even though...
, "Terumat ha-Deshen," No. 94, who declares they belong to the Tosafot of Sens), there are single tosafot to sixteen treatises—Shabbat, Rosh ha-Shanah, Megillah, Giṭṭin, Baba Meẓi'a, Menaḥot, Bekorot, 'Erubin, Beẓah, Ketubot, Ḳiddushin, Nazir, Baba Batra, Horayot, Keritot, and Niddah. In the Vilna edition of the Talmud
Vilna Edition Shas
The Vilna Edition of the Talmud, printed in Vilna , Lithuania, is by far the most common printed edition of the Talmud still in use today as the basic text for Torah study in yeshivas and by all scholars of Judaism....
edited by Romm
Romm publishing house
The Romm publishing house was a famous publisher of Jewish religious literature, especially known for its 1886 Vilna Talmud, which still serves as a definitive edition....
the "old tosafot" to several treatises are printed.
Tosafot ha-Rosh
A commentary in tosafot style, and largely dependent on the earlier tosafot collections, composed by Asher ben JehielAsher ben Jehiel
Asher ben Jehiel- Ashkenazi was an eminent rabbi and Talmudist best known for his abstract of Talmudic law. He is often referred to as Rabbenu Asher, “our Rabbi Asher” or by the Hebrew acronym for this title, the ROSH...
. These, together with the Hiddushim of Nahmanides
Nahmanides
Nahmanides, also known as Rabbi Moses ben Naḥman Girondi, Bonastruc ça Porta and by his acronym Ramban, , was a leading medieval Jewish scholar, Catalan rabbi, philosopher, physician, kabbalist, and biblical commentator.-Name:"Nahmanides" is a Greek-influenced formation meaning "son of Naḥman"...
and others, were studied by the Sephardi Jews
Sephardi Jews
Sephardi Jews is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and...
instead of the normal Tosafot.
Tosafists
Of the great number of tosafists, only forty-four are known by name, although many of are known only through citations. For a complete list, see Tosafists
Tosafists
Tosafists were medieval rabbis from France and Germany who are among those known in Talmudical scholarship as Rishonim who created critical and explanatory glosses on the Talmud. These were collectively called Tosafot , because they were additions on the commentary of Rashi...
.
Tosafot collections
The Tosafot shelanu are printed in most Talmud editions, in the column farther from the binding. The Vilna edition also includes tosafot from other collections, such as Tosafot Yeshanim, Tosafot ha-Ri and Tosafot ha-Rid on a few tractates. The Piske Tosafot (decisions of the Tosafot) are printed at the end of each tractate.Complete sets of the Tosafot ha-Rosh and the Tosafot of Rabbi Peretz are published separately, as are individual volumes from the Tosafot Yeshanim and a few others. The most recent editions of the Talmud, such as the Friedmann edition published by Oz we-Hadar, incorporate these collections at the back of each volume, in a synoptic fashion. Most of the other collections remain in manuscript or in the form of quotations in later works.
Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography
- Chaim AzulaiChaim Joseph David AzulaiChaim Joseph David Azulai ben Isaac Zerachia , commonly known as the Chida , was a Jerusalem born rabbinical scholar, a noted bibliophile, and a pioneer in the publication of Jewish religious writings.- Biography :Azulai was born in Jerusalem, where he received his education...
, Shem ha-Gedolim, ii. - Isaac Benjacob, ha-Sefarim, pp. 621 et seq.
- Buchholz, in Monatsschrift, xxxviii. 342, 398, 450, 559
- Heinrich Grätz, Gesch. 3d ed., vi. 143-144, 210; vii. 108-110
- Gustav KarpelesGustav KarpelesGustav Karpeles was a German Jewish historian of literature and editor; son of Elijah Karpeles.-Life:He studied at the University of Breslau, where he attended also the Jewish Theological Seminary...
, Gesch. der Jüdischen Literatur, i. 574 et seq. - Isaac Hirsch WeissIsaac Hirsch WeissIsaac Hirsch Weiss, also Eisik Hirsch Weiss was an Austrian Talmudist and historian of literature born at Velké Meziříčí, Moravia....
, Dor, iv. 336-352 - idem, Toledot Rabbenu Tam, pp. 2–4
- Winter and Wünsche, Jüdische Literatur, ii. 465 et seq.
- Leopold ZunzLeopold ZunzLeopold Zunz was a German Reform rabbi and writer, the founder of what has been termed "Jewish Studies" or "Judaic Studies" , the critical investigation of Jewish literature, hymnology and ritual...
(the chief source for this article), Z. G. pp. 29 et seq.J.
Other secondary literature
- Urbach, E. E., Ba'alei HaTosafot (The Tosafists) (in Hebrew)
- Perlmutter, Haim, Tools for Tosafos, New York 1996, ISBN 1568710933, ISBN 978-1568710938