At the age of sixteen he had mastered the whole talmud with all its commentaries, and at that early age wrote a defense milchamoth hasheim of the work of the great codifier and talmudist, rabbi isaac alfasi, against the attacks of zerachiah halevi, author of sefer hamaor. Said outdoors at night, kiddush levana is a meaningful ritual highlighted by a hebrew blessing, selections of psalms and other prayers. As the title indicated, the author 15331594 wrote this book for his fellowjews, so as to fortify them in their religious faith. Isaac alfasi, news, videos, blogs, photos, tweets, forums. No other master or sage ever had this extra letter, standing for elohi gdly prefaced to his name. When his opponent rabbeinu isaac albalia died, alfasi adopted albalias son. An obscure bit of information about an unknown manuscript of geonic responsa emerged about sixty years ago, in a footnote by rabbi wolf leiter, in which he refers to a photocopy of a manuscript of geonic responsa in the possession of prof. Hullin tractate ordinary things by harif isaac ben jacob alfasi hacohen. Judaica antique rabbi isaac alfasi happy new year shana tova price. The role of the beit din what does it take to become a jew.
Rabbi nissim of girona on the constitutional power of the sovereign. He was born in 15 in cordoba, spain, which according to some scholars was regarded as the end of the golden age of jewish culture in spain. Isaac alfasi, nome completo isaac ben jacob alfasi hacohen in ebraico. Rabbi nissim of girona on the constitutional power of the. Pdf two cases of adultery and the halakhic decisionmaking. Alfasi, isaac ben jacob 101103 worldcat identities. Aka the alfasi aka the hebrew acronym rif rabbi isaac alfasi. Isaac albalias wish was fulfilled, and his son found in alfasi a true friend and a second father. Isaac albalias to be a friend to his opponents son. In his capacity as rabbi, alfasi was both judge and teacher. In the early middle ages, leading scholars across europe and north africa produced different genres of legal writings. Isaac alfasi aka rif aka isaac ben jacob alfasi hacohen in hebrew.
When maimonides was quite young, he developed great interest in science and philosophy. The four cubits of halakhah take the place of the temple, in which the shofar was sounded on shabbat. Publication date 1907 topics talmud, jewish law publisher. This view is shared by other medieval authorities rabbi isaiah di trani, tosafot rid on ketubot 11 a. Early commentators such as rabbi isaac alfasi north africa, 101103 attempted to extract and determine the binding legal opinions from the vast corpus of the talmud. By the time of alfasi the babylonian talmud had become the supreme source of jewish law, but the talmud is not a code.
Isaac ben jacob alfasi, alfasi also spelled alphasi, also called rabbi isaac fasi, or by acronymrif, born 10, near fes, moroccodied 1103, lucena, spain, talmudic scholar who wrote a codification of the talmud known as sefer hahalakhot book of laws, which ranks with the great codes of maimonides and karo. Isaac ben baruch albalia was born in cordoba and was a close friend of samuel hanagid of granada. Together with its commentaries, it is the most widely. Book of the laws by rabbi isaac alfasi was the most significant halachic work produced in the period prior to maimonides. Pdf simcha emanuel and mordechai sabato, an oldnew. It was prepared in large type with proper spacing for effective scanning to benefit the soul by the energy revealed from the study of the tree of life book by the holy ari. His magnanimous character is illustrated by two incidents. Alfasi is best known for his brilliant legal code, sefer hahalachot.
A 12th century passover haggadah from corpus christi college. Lurias youth was spent in egypt, where he became versed in rabbinic studies, engaged in commerce, and eventually concentrated on study of the zohar, the central work of kabbala. Isaac alfasis sefer hahalakhot and a commentary on the tractate of nedarim. If you dont have a printed tractate handy, then see pages 767 through 778 of s sanhedrinmakkosshevuos pdf. Maimonides in his mishneh tora, employs, in reference to r. Its author was rabbi isaac ben jacob alfasi, a prominent eleventh century. A prolific writer, he authored a celebrated commentary on rabbi isaac alfasis sefer hahalakhot and a commentary on the tractate of nedarim, printed in standard editions of the babylonian talmud and customarily studied in the place of rashis commentary which does not exist on that tractate. In any event, the range of dates advanced for the disappear. As a judge he enjoyed the confidence of litigants, and his decisions were carefully studied by other rabbis as guides in similar cases. It was authored in safed today in israel by joseph karo in 1563 and published in venice two years later. Rabbi isaac hacohen al fasi, known as harif, is the author of sefer hahalacot, a synthesis of the talmud. Rabbi isaac alfasi, sefer hahalachot, who is the legal. His mother was the sister of abraham, father of jonah b. A prolific writer, he authored a celebrated commentary on rabbi.
The hilchot of the rif rabbi isaac alfasi 101103 summations of the legal from ahss 1040 at university of guelph. A vast range of data is available to search ranging from census records, births, deaths and marriages, military records and immigration records to name but a few. Rabbi isaac alfasi,1 was an algerian talmudist and posek decider in matters of halakha jewish law. Presentation to morashah conference marking a thousand years since the birth of the jewish legal authority whose assumptions and approach have had the most influence on the way halakhah jewish. Jots specialty is finding types of keywords on web pages like people, companies, countries and many others. For a fuller list see handlers list of abbreviations in dalmans talmudisches worterbuch. Jan 22, 2020 isaac albalias to be a friend to his opponents son. Isaac ben solomon luria, eponymous founder of the lurianic school of kabbala jewish esoteric mysticism. Rare mainly because old book in a good condition the jewish bear it was printed 5581 corresponding to 1820ad. Dec 28, 2010 8 rabbi kimmel is honored as rabbi alfasi s son in law explains the close relationship between rabbi yitzchak kimmel and rabbi alfasi. His fathers name was maimon who had studied torah under rabbi joseph ibn migash, student of isaac alfasi. Alfasis work was highly influential, attracted several commentaries in its own right and later served as a basis for the creation of halakhic codes. Rabbi yitzchak alfasi, one of the greatest of the early codifiers of jewish law, whose name is familiar to all students of the talmud, was born in kalat ibn hamad, a village near fez, in north africa, in the jewish year 4773, or 10 of the common era. Media in category isaac alfasi the following 4 files are in this category, out of 4 total.
He is also known as rif from the initials of rabbi isaac fasi. This view is followed by rabbi amram gaon, rabbi saadiah gaon, rabbi isaac alfasi, rabbi asher ben yechiel, maimonides, the tur, rabbi david abudarham, rabbi don isaac abrabanel, siddur of the arizal up until the first printed haggadah in soncino 1485. The ari proclaimed the start of a period of open mass study of kabbalah. Alfasi 101103 lived for most of his life in fez in morocco hence the name alfasi, from fez or the rif, rabbi yitzhak fesi and was the author of one of the great codes of law, the sefer hahalakhot the book of the laws. Alfasi was born in 10 in the town of qalat hammad in north africa, which is why he is sometimes called hakalai the qalaean. The young rabbi yitzchak studied with rabbi betzalel ashkenazi for seven years, helping him prepare parts of the shita mekubetzes, and comments on the writings of the rif, rabbi yitzchak alfasi, and the ran, rabbenu nissim.
Although he was not a native, alfasi settled in fez after studying in kairouan. A 12th century passover haggadah from corpus christi. Hananel went even further and said and he can not be coneted. Tree of life by rabbi isaac luria the links below will show the book in pdf format. This is a sign of what his contemporaries thought of him. Its author was rabbi isaac ben jacob alfasi, a prominent eleventh century moroccan sage who is still renowned. I asked him if he was related to the rif, rabbi isaac alfasi, who was a famous medieval algerian rabbi 101103 and who wrote the first code of jewish law sefer hahalachot. Rabbi isaac alfasi, known also as harif, is the author of sefer hahalacot, a synthesis of the talmud. Until the arrival of the ari, the predominant study method was that of the ramak rabbi moshe cordovero of safed.
A well known astronomer and talmudist, he was invited to seville in 1069 by king almutamid to be the court astronomer and leader of the seville jewish community. What is kiddush levana kiddush levana, the sanctification of the moon, is performed once a month, during the first part of the lunar cycle. Synthesis and simplification in rabbinical thinking in. Isaac alfasi, of blessed memory, for i have seen among those who dispute him that their challenge is so broad that they did not concede to him the merit of having made even a single correct statement, worthwhile comment, or sound ruling. A somewhat similar use of a title is the combination with messer, as in the italian messer leon, while in provence the honorary prefixes en, for men, and na, for women, are combined with the name to form engusek enjoseph, nabona, etc. One thousand years of rif rav yitzhaq alfasi by rabbi dr. Index 517 archeology, 23, 25, 90 architecture, 11 ardutiel, shem tov ben isaac, rabbi, 156 are these heretical thoughts. He is best known for his work of halakha, the legal code sefer hahalachot, considered the first fundamental work in halakhic literature. This stage in the development of kabbalah is extremely important to the kabbalah of our generation. Isaac ben jacob alfasi hacohen 101103 also known as the alfasi or by his hebrew.
Hilkhot alfasi, to be precise a work whose title literally means jewish laws of the guy from fez. R alfasis laws of niddah are actually hidden in the second chapter of tractate shevuos. In the second lesson, we talked about conversion for ulterior motives. During that period, rabbi yitzchak delved into the talmud and the commentaries.
Publication date 2005 topics cabala early works to 1800. Maimonides wrote the halakhot of the great rabbi, our teacher isaac, of blessed memory, has superseded all these works geonic codesfor it. Judaica old jewish postcard rabbi isaac alfasi the rif ebay. Its author was rabbi isaac ben jacob alfasi, a prominent eleventh. Sep 24, 2017 the four cubits of halakhah take the place of the temple, in which the shofar was sounded on shabbat. This was what drew people like rabbi isaac alfasi, yehudah halevi, and moses maimonides, as well as jews exiled from spain and portugal. A seventeenth century volume of hilkhot rav alfasi alfasi. Printed in every version of the talmud since the first. T wo cases of adultery and the halakhic decisionmaking process above, w as far more willing to accept damaging testimony against a childless woman than against one who had children. Isaac hazaken and tosafot rid and tosafot yeshanin yebamat 465brule that hatafat dam brit is not required. Later, rabbi joseph caro reexamined and recast the lawdecisions and arranged them in his famous work the shulchan aruch, the famed code of jewish law, so that every jew could learn and understand them. This work is sefer hahalakhot book of the laws by isaac b. Rabbi nissim gerundi s gloss on rabbi isaac alfasi, yevamot 16b.
Printed in every version of the talmud since the first italian printings in from reli 123 at university of north carolina. Joseph, the expression my teachers rabbotai, and this expression, by which he merely describes his indebtedness to their writings, has been taken in its literal meaning. Rabbi isaac luria 15341572, renowned as the greatest kabbalist of modern times, is commonly known as the ari, an acronym standing for elohi rabbi yitzhak the gdly rabbi isaac. Set table, sometimes dubbed in english as the code of jewish law, is the most widely consulted of the various legal codes in judaism. Challenges of the american rabbinate from the first rabbi in. Entry for alfez or alfasi, isaac berabbi jacob, cyclopedia of biblical, theological and ecclesiastical literature one of 8 bible encyclopedias freely available, this encyclopedia, with its nearly 50,000 entries and 17 millin words, dwarfs modern bible encyclopedias with the depth of knowledge. Jacob hakohen alfasi, known in hebrew by his acronym, rif rabbi isaac of fez. The conversion controversy in modern jewish law lesson 6. The most famous of his many students is rabbi judah halevi, author of the kuzari. There have been difficult and even tragic periods for the jews of morocco over the two thousand years that they have called this north african country home. As a judge he enjoyed the confidence of litigants, and his decisions were carefidly studied by otiur nibbis as guides in similar ca. Babylonian talmud project gutenberg selfpublishing.
Harif isaac ben jacob alfasi ha cohen rabbi yocef ben. Rabbi isaac alfasi, sefer hahalachot, who is the legal code on the talmud 1820. Rabbi kimmel rabbi alfasi son in law at sefer torah. His name alfasi or alfes means in arabic a native of fez. The writings of aboab from his time in recife reflect the feelings of multitudes of rabbis who would serve in the new world after him. Brief overview of the life and work of rabbi yitzhak alfasi, an important jewish thinker from north africa and spain. As a judge he enjoyed the confidence of litigants, and his decisions were carefully studied by. Joseph ibn migash project gutenberg selfpublishing. On the innovative approach of rabbi isaac alfasi and his influence on medieval spanish rabbis. The language of the tosefta is mishnaic hebrew, and the rabbis mentioned in.
Ancestry is a major source of information if you are filling out your isaac alfasi family tree. Algerian village in 10, alfasi studied for the rabbinate in the tunisian city of kairouan. When alfasi was himself on the point of death, he recommended as his successor in the lucena rabbinate, not his own son, but his pupil rabbi joseph ibn migash. Their answers, especially in comparison to maimonidess ruling that circumcision should merely be pushed off, suggest that the bleeding disorder. R alfasi s laws of niddah are actually hidden in the second chapter of tractate shevuos. He explains how rabbi kimmel miraculously was heaven sent to. Pdf the power of monetary customs to override the law. The voice of the shofar hasnt been heard on shabbat since. He lived there until his 75th year, when enemies denounced him to the government and he was forced to flee to spain. I was moved by intense zeal for our great master, r. Alfez or alfasi, isaac berabbi jacob, cyclopedia of. The tosefta chapter the cambridge history of judaism. Rabbi isaac aboab da fonseca, the first ordained rabbi to travel to the americas, arrived in recife, brazil in 1642.