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 son-in-law R. Yehuda b. Natan, Rashi’s grandsons Rashbam and R. Tam, his secretary R. Shemayah, R. Simcha MiVitri.
• Time period – 
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• World outlook – 

Works

• Biblical commentaries – Rashi wrote commentaries on all of Tanakh.
• Rabbinics
  
  • Talmudic commentaries – Rashi wrote commentaries on most, if not all, of the tractates of the Talmud Bavli. Rashi's commentaries on Ta'anit, Nedarim, Nazir, Bava Batra (from 29b onward), and Makkot (from 20a onward) have not survived.
  • Halakhic codes – Rashi did not write any halakhic codes himself. However, his students did author a number of halakhic works based on his teachings, including Machzor Vitri, Siddur Rashi, Sefer HaPardes, Sefer HaOrah, and others.
  • Responsa – Rashi wrote many responsa, although they were never collected into one work, and are mainly found in his student's writings.
• Piyyutim – Rashi wrote a number of piyyutim. Although we don't know of any commentaries on piyyutim that Rashi wrote himself, his exegesis was incorporated into R. Shemayah's commentaries on the piyyutim.
• Jewish thought – 
• Misattributed works – Commentaries on the end of Iyyov (from Iyyov 40:25 onward), Ezra, Nechemyah, and Divrei HaYamim; Commenatries on Moed Katan, Ta'anit, Nedarim, Nazir, and Horayot.

Torah Commentary

Characteristics

• Verse by verse / Topical – 
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• 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.