Commentators:R. Shelomo Yitzchaki (Rashi)/0

R. Shelomo Yitzchaki (Rashi)

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See: Rashi's Torah Commentary

Rashi

Name	Rashi, R. Shlomo Yitzchaki, רש"י, ר' שלמה יצחקי
Dates	1040 – 1105
Location	France
Works	Commentaries on Tanakh and Talmud, Sifrut Debei Rashi
Exegetical Characteristics
Influenced by	R. Yaakov ben Yakar, R. Yitzchak HaLevi, R. Yitzchak ben Yehuda
Impacted on	Everyone

Background

Life

• Name – R. Shlomo b. Yitzchak (ר' שלמה בן יצחק), of which Rashi (רש"י) is an acronym.
• Dates – c. 1040¹ – 13 July 1105.²
• Location – Rashi lived for most of his life in Troyes, although he studied in both Mainz and Worms.
• Occupation – 
• Family – Rashi’s uncle, the brother of his mother, was ר' שמעון הזקן, a student of R. Gershom. Rashi had four daughters: Yocheved, Miriam, Rachel,³ and fourth daughter who died during Rashi's lifetime.⁴ Yocheved married R. Meir b. Shemuel, and had four sons (Rashbam, R. Tam, R. Yitzchak, and Shlomo) and one daughter⁵. Miriam married R. Yehuda b. Natan (Rivan), and had a son named R. Yom Tov.
• Teachers – Rashi studied at Mainz under R. Yaakov b. Yakar, and following R. Yaakov's death in 1064, he learned under R. Yitzchak b. Yehuda. He then moved to Worms, and studied under R. Yitzchak HaLevi. All three of his teachers were students of R. Gershom.
• Contemporaries – 
• Students – R. Yosef Kara, Rashi’s grandsons Rashbam and R. Tam, his secretary R. Shemayah.
• Time period – 
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• World outlook – 

Works

• Biblical commentaries – 
• Rabbinics – 
  • Talmudic novellae – 
  • Halakhic codes – 
  • Responses to the works of others – 
  • Responsa – 
• Jewish thought – 
• Misattributed works – 

Torah Commentary

Characteristics

• Verse by verse / Topical – 
• Genre – 
• Structure – 
• Language – 
• Peshat and derash – 

Methods

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Themes

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Textual Issues

• Manuscripts – 
• Printings – 
• Textual layers – 

Sources

Significant Influences

• Earlier Sources – 
• Teachers – 
• Foils – 

Occasional Usage

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Possible Relationship

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Impact

Later exegetes

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Supercommentaries

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¹ Medieval sources refer to Rashi’s year of birth as either 1040 or 1041.

² This date, Thursday, 29 Tammuz 4865, is found in the colophons of a number of manuscripts of Rashi’s commentary on Torah, in addition to a number of other early sources.

³ Rachel is mentioned in a responsa written by R. Tam (Sefer HaYashar Teshuvot #25) to his cousin R. Yom Tov, referring to their join aunt Rachel ("מרת רחל דודתנו"), who had been divorced.

⁴ Sefer HaNeyyar (Hilkhot Chol HaMoed pg. 110) mentions Rashi mourning for his daughter during Chol HaMoed.

⁵ This granddaughter of Rashi was the mother of R. Yitzchak b. Shemuel, known as ר"י הזקן.