Who was Rashi?
Rashi, an acronym for Rabbi Shlomo Itzchaki, is the preeminent commentator on nearly the entire Bible and the Babylonian Talmud. His writings are the key works of commentary on both the written and oral Torah. • Rashi was born to a prominent family in Troyes, France in 1040. His father was a scholar (whom Rashi occasionally quotes) and his mother was the sister of a famous liturgical writer, Simeon ben Isaac. Rashi was descended from Rabbi Yochanan HaSandler, a Talmudic sage, who in turn could trace his lineage to King David. • Numerous legends tell of events preceding Rashis birth. According to one story, Rashis father threw a priceless pearl into the sea rather than sell it for idolatrous purposes. His reward was Rashi. Another account claims that Rashis mother pushed violently against a wall while pregnant with Rashi; the wall bent inwards to protect her belly. One Chassidic legend tells that Abraham only agreed to remove Isaac from the sacrificial altar upon learning that one of Is
Rashi is the acronym for Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, a French Jew who was born in Troyes, a city in the north of France in 1040. Rashi lived sixty-five years and died on 1105. Legend has it that before Rashi was born, his father, Yitzchak had in his possession a very beautiful and precious gem. Some idolaters heard about this gem and wanted to acquire it to place it in the crown of their idol. The idolaters were incessant in their demands for the precious stone and offered exorbitant sums of money to Rashi’s father. When he refused to sell it to them they threatened him physically. Fearing that his stone would be used for idolatry, his father threw the gem into the ocean. In the merit of self-sacrifice, it was decreed in heaven that the special soul of Rashi should come down and be the son of this man. It is related that the prophet Eliyahu was given the honor of holding the baby Rashi on his lap for his circumcision. Dressed as a beggar he arrived at the circumcision close to the end of t
When did he live? Where did he live? How did he live? These are some of the questions that many children ask themselves when they begin to learn Rashi, and these are some of the questions that I am going to answer here. “Rashi” is not the full name of that great man. It is merely a combination of the three Hebrew letters, Resh, Shin, Yud, which stand for Rabenu Shlomo Yitzchaki – our Rabbi Solomon, the son of Yitzchak. Rabenu Solomon Yitzchaki, or Rashi as he is generally referred to, was born almost exactly 900 years ago, in the year 4800. He lived 65 years. Rashi is said to be a descendant of King David. Rashi was born in the town of Troyes in France; some people believe he was born in Worms. His father Yitzchak was a great scholar, but very poor. He made a meager living from the sale of wine. A wonderful story is told about the birth of Rashi: His father, Rabbi Yitzchak once found a rare diamond. “Now, there would be no more poverty,” he thought and went to sell the precious stone t
A. Born in 1040 in northern France, Rabbi Shlomo Yizhaki (better known by his Hebrew initials, Rashi) was a great Talmudic scholar who studied in Worms and Mayence before starting his own school in his native city of Troyes. Because of his unique take on Talmudic study, students flocked to receive the benefits of his vast erudition and distinctive method of interpretation. Q. Why is Rashis influence relevant today? A. Rashi wanted to make being Jewish as easy as possible. His belief in finding the most lenient legal opinion without building fences around the Torah, and in permitting rather than forbidding, makes him a model rabbi for our times. Q. How did you get interested in Rashis daughters? A. I began studying Talmud with a group of women after my children grew up and left the house. The more I studied Talmud from a feminist perspective, the more curious I became about Rashis learned daughters and how they managed to study Talmud in the Middle Ages when such study was supposedly fo
What makes his commentary so influential and lasting? How does Rashi’s work enable us to better understand Wiesel himself, and, by extension, the Jewish tradition? The following questions are intended to serve as a guide through Wiesel’s account of Rashi’s life and work. Two Men, Two Worlds “He said to me, as if confidentially: look my child; fear nothing…” –Elie Wiesel Wiesel paints a loving portrait of Rashi, one that pulses with feeling for a man who lived 900 years ago. What qualities drew Wiesel to Rashi? He writes: “Sometimes, in my small town, it seemed to me that Rashi had been sent to earth primarily to help Jewish children overcome loneliness. And fear.” How might Rashi have helped Jewish children conquer their loneliness, and fear? What type of fear do you think Wiesel is referring to? Wiesel recounts several legends surrounding the circumstances of Rashi’s birth. What were these legends? How might they illuminate the values and beliefs of the Jewish community at the time? W
