Rashi

By Chaim Pearl

Rashi (Rabbi Solomon ben Isaac 1040-1105), was the greatest Jewish Bible commentator of all time. He brought to his exposition of the text of the Bible some of the vast treasury of rabbinic folklore, homily and ethical teaching, thus enabling readers to gain both an understanding of the literal meaning of the Scriptures and an appreciation of the deeper significance of the text as it was handed down through centuries of Jewish tradition. Similarly, Rashi's commentaries on the Talmud made this work accessible and saved it from obscurity. Through his encyclopaedic knowledge he was able to explain the language, ideas and rabbinic discussions contained within the Talmud. The Bible and the Talmud always formed the core of Jewish learning and Rashi's commentaries immediately became an essential part of this learning. This book discusses the life of Rashi and gives a lucid and full account of his monumental achievement against the rich background of 11th-century France.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Halban
• Release date: May 6, 2021
• ISBN: 9781912600090

Chaim Pearl

Rabbi Dr Chaim Pearl (1919-1995) was a Rabbi, lecturer and writer in England and the United States before moving to Israel. He was a noted authority on Judaism and wrote on Jewish knowledge, philosophy and history. He was author of several books, including 'A Guide to Jewish Knowledge' (co-author), 'The Medieval Jewish Mind', 'Rashi: Commentaries on the Pentateuch', and 'Theology in Rabbinic Stories'. He was the editor of 'The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life and Thought'. In addition, he was a regular contributor to Judaism columns in The Jerusalem Post and The Jewish Chronicle, and a frequent broadcaster on The Voice of Israel.

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INTRODUCTION

Among the names of the greatest Jewish teachers the name of Rabbi Solomon ben Isaac—Rashi—stands out as one of the most distinguished of all time. His fame rests on two monu­mental works, his commentary on the Bible and his commen­tary on the Talmud.

Bible commentary and interpretation is almost as old as the earliest Jewish communities in ancient Israel. Prophets, priests and levites all interpreted the word of God to the people to make its sense clear. The return of the Jews from Babylonian exile in the fifth century bce inaugurated a period of even more intense activity in the field of biblical interpretation. In subsequent ages the rabbis were basically involved in a detailed examination of the Bible text in order to expose its fullest meaning. This work was continued throughout the ages; in fact right up to our own time, with modern scholars bringing to our attention the insights gained from the new sciences of archeology, compara­tive religion, linguistics and history. Bible commentary is thus an activity which has never been absent from the Jewish scene, from earliest times to the present.

The most famous as well as the most important Bible commentary ever written is that of the eleventh-century French teacher Rashi. Its greatness lies in the unique Rashi method, in which the scholar provides the Bible reader with the plain meaning of the text and also introduces him at the same time to the deeper religious and ethical teachings which lie below the surface and which he quotes from the treasury of rabbinic sources. The reader is thus twice blessed in that he reaches an understanding of the text and also gathers up the traditional wisdom of the rabbinic exposition. All this Rashi does in his beautifully clear and concise literary style.

His second work, the commentary on the Talmud, is in some respects even more outstanding. The language of the Talmud is difficult. Its style is frequently dense and its subject matter is complicated. Rashi seems to face all these and other problems with an extraordinary poise and equilibrium. He simply gets on with his job of explaining the difficult text and bringing clarity and enlightenment to the talmudic discourse. It is likely that without Rashi’s brilliant commentary the Talmud would have remained a virtually neglected work. It was he who paved the way in making the Talmud, next to the Bible, the foundation of Jewish life and thought.

Students of the Bible and Talmud never fail to read the original texts together with Rashi’s commentary, so that the master commentator’s explanations and insights go hand in hand with the text. Rabbi Solomon ben Isaac lived nine hundred years ago; but his influence on Jewish learning has never abated in all that time. Indeed, with the modern heightened interest in Jewish study, it can be truthfully said that Rashi’s influence today is as deep as it ever was.

This book starts with an account of the historical background of eleventh-century French Jewry, as well as with the story of Rashi’s life. It then goes on to examine in some detail Rashi’s Bible commentary with some examples of his method and style. In a further chapter we examine Rashi’s Talmud commentary, again with some illustrative examples of his method. Finally we shall survey the extraordinary influence of Rashi’s work from the time that he wrote until our own day.

It is hoped that readers of this book will gain from it an understanding of Rashi’s permanent and creative contribution to the history of Bible and Talmud scholarship, and will realize why he is acclaimed as one of the greatest teachers in Jewish history.

1

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

I

The history of the Jews in ancient France goes back as far as the third century, by which time there were already small groups in various parts of the country as well as in some cities of the Rhine. It is likely that members of these earliest settlements followed the Roman armies into Gaul: some of them may have even served as soldiers in those armies. The records show that there were Jews in Metz, Avignon, Arles, Brittany, Narbonne and Orleans, as well as in the Rhenish cities of Mainz and Cologne. These communities were all very small until about the ninth century when they began to increase with immigration from Babylon, Italy and Spain.

Until the First Crusade, at the end of the eleventh century, the French Jewish community lived in conditions of virtual freedom from serious restrictions, and the rulers of the country were remarkably tolerant towards the Jews of their kingdom. Charlemagne (747–814), the founder of the Frankish empire, was noted for his favourable attitude towards them. He even included a Jew, a certain Isaac, in the delegation he sent to the Caliph Harun al Rashid, and when Isaac returned from Baghdad he brought with him an elephant from the caliph to the French king.

Louis the Pious (778–840) was even more kindly disposed towards the Jews. In Lyons the authorities changed the market day from a Saturday to a weekday in order to make it possible for the Jews to participate.

In January 1074 the Emperor Henry IV (1050–1106) exempted all the citizens of Worms from poll tax, in recognition of their loyalty. The inclusion of the Jews in the royal ordinance is an indication of their happy status within the general society in which they lived at this time. He also gave the Jews of Speyer his personal protection: they were granted virtual autonomy and could settle all their disputes in conformity with Jewish law. The Bishop of Speyer had announced earlier, ‘Desiring to make a town out of the village of Speyer, I thought to raise its dignity many times by getting Jews to settle there’ and soon after Henry gave privileges to the Jews of Speyer the same were granted to the Jews of Worms. However, this may have been no more than confirmation of a situation which had already existed under previous monarchs.

In their economic life the Jews also enjoyed great freedom and even prosperity. There were a few physicians and even some sailors, but most of them were merchants. They imported and exported a variety of goods and counted non-Jews as well as fellow Jews among their customers. There were also some skilled artisans who worked in coin stamping, blacksmithing, metal work and glass work. They were allowed to own buildings, real estate, farms and orchards, and so there were also Jewish farmers and keepers of bees and livestock.

Beyond this wide range of activity, Jews were especially noted as vintners, particularly during the tenth and eleventh centuries. At one stage they virtually monopolized the market, and even wine for the Christian Mass was bought from them. The Jewish vintners often worked their vineyards themselves. Indeed, the rather strict regulations which prohibited Jews from using wine handled by Gentiles would have necessitated a great deal of personal involvement from the Jewish vintner in the winemaking process, especially in its later stages.

With characteristic diligence, a few Jews advanced to positions of some distinction. Among them could be found purveyors to the imperial court, collectors of taxes, ambassadors to kings and even Church administrators.

In addition, relations with the Gentile community were cordial. Throughout this period, and in all Jewish communities of Northern France and the Rhineland, Jews dressed the same as their Gentile neighbours: they spoke the same languages and both groups joined in happy as well as sad civic occasions. When Archbishop Bardoe of Mainz died in 1051 the Jews came to pay their respects. They bowed before the prelate’s coffin and placed ashes on their heads as a token of mourning. Jews and Christians took note of each other’s sacred feasts and fasts and we have an account of Jews receiving gifts of permitted foods from their Christian neighbours after the Passover Festival. Above all there was close interaction between Jewish merchants and their Gentile clients. They lent money to each other, sometimes on trust, without any formal pledge. This closeness frequently led to friendly personal relationships.

It is only fair to state, however, that the attitude of the Christian clergy appears at times somewhat ambiguous. There were some sporadic attempts to convert the Jews. Perhaps it was precisely on account of the cordial relationships between members of the two communities that Church leaders attempted now and then to restrict contact between Jew and Christian. Thus they objected to Jews and Christians dining together, Jews were discouraged from going out of their houses during the Easter Festival, and in some places they were not allowed to have Christian servants. It is not easy to discover the extent to which these Church laws were observed, nor indeed when and for how long they were promulgated: in fact the records show that it was general practice for Jews to employ non-Jewish servants in their homes. We know, of course, that in its official teachings the Church unquestionably maintained its anti-Jewish doctrines. However, it is also clear that at least until the First Crusade the Jews of France enjoyed a period of harmonious relationships with their neighbours in which there was an absence of any significant persecution or Jew hatred.

It was Rashi’s good fortune, and the good fortune of the Jewish people, that he lived nearly all his life in a time when conditions for Jews in the Franco-German lands were good. Some of the greatest and most creative masterpieces of Jewish literature were produced against a background of relative stability, by people who had the opportunity to live in comparative peace, for example, much of the Babylonian Talmud and the great philosophical works of medieval Spain during its so-called Golden Age. Rashi’s monumental work, too, was accomplished at a time when the social, political and economic situation of the Jews was relatively stable. It is tempting to suggest that, at the least, these favourable conditions permitted him to devote all his time to, and to concentrate all his intellectual powers on, producing works which have remained among the most cherished spiritual legacies of the Jewish people.

II

The foregoing brief historical sketch touches only on the social and economic life of French Jewry. But our chief interest in this study is the life and work of one of the greatest Jewish scholars of all time. It is hardly likely that anyone can produce a monumental work of scholarship in a community which is intellectually barren: the likelihood is that there exists some appropriate background against which the work is nurtured. Sure enough, Rashi’s great work appears within a framework of a society which pursued Jewish learning. The tone was set by his distinguished predecessors.

In one important respect the scholarly activity of Jews in Franco-German lands was unique. This is best seen if we compare it to the medieval Spanish Jewish community. There, the main emphasis was on Jewish philosophy and poetry. It is generally conceded that the time and the place contributed to that. Jewish religious philosophy was systematized and expound­ed for the first time as a result of the rival claims of the Church on the one hand and of Islam on the other. Judah Halevi (c. 1075–1141), the famous Spanish Jewish poet and philosopher, who lived at about the same time as Rashi, actually sets down his philosophical exposition of Judaism in a book called the Kuzari, employing the dramatic background of the Jewish teacher who has to represent Judaism in the face of the rival claims of the other two faiths. In a sense, the Jewish teachers had to provide their own answers to these claims, and this demand produced a long line of important works on Jewish philosophy, written over a period of some four hundred years. There was no similar influence at work in France, where Islam had no hold and the power of the Church was exercised less aggressively than in Spain. Jewish poetry in Spain was also influenced by the Arab poets, and the friendliness which existed at that particular time between the Jews and the Moors undoubtedly stirred Jewish poetic creativity. Nothing like it existed in France to affect Jewish writing, and what poetry there was was confined to liturgical hymns, mostly written after the Crusades.

In one respect however the medieval community in Franco-Germany excelled over the Spanish community—in the field of biblical exegesis, and more particularly in Talmud study.

The great centre for the study of the Talmud had been Babylon. It was there that for almost seven centuries the eminent teachers and respected authorities of rabbinic law converged in order to expound and to codify the vast corpus of Jewish