34 Facts About Rashi

Shlomo Yitzchaki, generally known by the acronym Rashi, was a medieval French rabbi, the author of comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Hebrew Bible.

The acronym "Rashi" stands for Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki, but is sometimes fancifully expanded as Rabban Shel YIsrael which means the "Rabbi of Israel", or as Rabbenu SheYichyeh.

In older literature, Rashi is sometimes referred to as Jarchi or Yarhi, his abbreviated name being interpreted as Rabbi Shlomo Yarhi.

Rashi was an only child born at Troyes, Champagne, in northern France.

On his father's side, Rashi has been claimed to be a 33rd-generation descendant of Johanan HaSandlar, who was a fourth-generation descendant of Gamaliel, who was reputedly descended from the Davidic line.

Rashi turned and pressed herself against a wall, which opened to receive her.

One text goes so far as to claim that Rashi was beyond human; the author proposes that he never died a natural death, but rather ascended to Heaven alive like the immortal prophet Elijah.

Rashi's father was his main Torah teacher until his death when Rashi was still a youth.

When Yaakov died in 1064, Rashi continued learning in Worms for another year in the yeshiva of his relative, Isaac ben Eliezer Halevi, who was chief rabbi of Worms.

Rashi's teachers were students of Rabbeinu Gershom and Eliezer Hagadol, leading Talmudists of the previous generation.

From his teachers, Rashi imbibed the oral traditions pertaining to the Talmud as they had been passed down for centuries, as well as an understanding of the Talmud's logic and forms of argument.

Rashi took concise, copious notes from what he learned in yeshiva, incorporating this material in his commentaries.

Rashi was greatly influenced by the exegetical principles of Menahem Kara.

Rashi returned to Troyes at the age of 25, after which time his mother died, and he was asked to join the Troyes Beth din.

Rashi wrote several Selichot mourning the slaughter and the destruction of the region's great yeshivot.

Rashi invested himself in their education; his writings and the legends which surround him suggest that his daughters were well-versed in the Torah and the Talmud and would for instance help him when he was too weak to write.

Scholars debate why Rashi chose a particular Midrash to illustrate a point, or why he used certain words and phrases and not others.

Rashi completed this commentary only in the last years of his life.

Rashi wrote the first comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, covering nearly all of the Babylonian Talmud.

Some other printed commentaries which are attributed to Rashi were composed by others, primarily his students.

In some editions of the Talmud, the text indicates that Rashi died before completing the tractate, and that it was completed by a student.

Siddur Rashi, compiled by an unknown student, contains Rashi's responsa on prayer.

Rashi's writing is placed under the category of post-Talmudic, for its explanation and elaboration on the Talmud; however, he not only wrote about the meaning of Biblical and Talmudic passages, but on liturgical texts, syntax rules, and cases regarding new religions emerging.

Rashi covered the following topics and themes in his responsa: linguistic focus on texts, law related to prayer, food, and the Sabbath, wine produced by non-Jews, oaths and excommunications, sales, partnerships, loans and interest, bails, communal affairs, and civil law.

Rashi focused the majority of his responsa, if not all, on a "meticulous analysis of the language of the text".

Rashi was one of the first authors to write in Old French, as most contemporary French authors instead wrote in Latin.

Rashi's influence grew the most in the 15th century; from the 17th century onwards, his commentaries were translated into many other languages.

Rashi's commentary had a profound influence on subsequent Talmud study and scholarship:.

The presence of Rashi's commentary changed the nature of subsequent Talmud commentaries:.

In general, Rashi's commentary provides the peshat or literal meaning of the Talmud, while subsequent commentaries such as the Tosafot often go beyond the passage itself in terms of arguments, parallels, and distinctions that could be drawn out.

The Tosafot added comments and criticism in places where Rashi had not added comments.

Rashi exerted a decisive influence on establishing the correct text of the Talmud.

The French monk Nicholas de Lyra of Manjacoria, who was known as the "ape of Rashi", relied on Rashi's commentary when writing his Postillae Perpetuate, one of the primary sources used in Luther's translation of the Bible.

Rashi believed that Rashi's commentaries were the "official repository of Rabbinical tradition" and significant to understanding the Bible.