Rashi

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Rashi bigraphy, stories - Commentators

Rashi : biography

1040-2-22 – 1105-7-13

Shlomo Yitzhaki (), or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi ( RAbbi SHlomo Itzhaki; February 22, 1040 – July 13, 1105), was a medieval French rabbi and long highly esteemed as a major contribution Ashkenazi Jewry gave to Torah study. He is famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). He is considered the "father" of all commentaries that followed on the Talmud (i.e., the Baalei Tosafot) and the Tanach (i.e., Ramban, Ibn Ezra, Ohr HaChaim, et al.).Ramban writes in the introduction to his commentary on Genesis: "I will place for the illumination of my face the lights of a pure candelabrum — the commentaries of Rabbi Shlomo (Rashi), crown of beauty and glory … in Scripture, Mishnah, and Talmud, to him belongs the rights of the firstborn!" quoted at

Acclaimed for his ability to present the basic meaning of the text in a concise, lucid fashion, Rashi appeals to both learned scholars and beginning students, and his works remain a centerpiece of contemporary Jewish study. His commentary on the Talmud, which covers nearly all of the Babylonian Talmud (a total of 30 tractates), has been included in every edition of the Talmud since its first printing by Daniel Bomberg in the 1520s. His commentary on Tanach — especially his commentary on the Chumash ("Five Books of Moses") — is an indispensable aid to students of all levels. The later commentary alone serves as the basis for more than 300 "supercommentaries" which analyze Rashi’s choice of language and citations, penned by some of the greatest names in rabbinic literature.

Rashi’s surname Yitzhaki derives from his father’s name, Yitzhak. The acronym is sometimes also fancifully expanded as Rabban Shel Yisrael (Teacher of Israel), or as Rabbenu SheYichyeh (Our Rabbi, may he live). He may be cited in Hebrew and Aramaic texts as (1) "Shlomo son of Rabbi Yitzhak," (2) "Shlomo son of Yitzhak," (3) "Shlomo Yitzhaki," etc.Cybernetics and Systems Volume 42, Issue 3, pages 180-197 29 Apr 2011 Available online: article authors Yaakov HaCohen-Kerner, Nadav Schweitzer & Dror Mughaz title Automatically Identifying Citations in Hebrew-Aramaic Documents published Taylor & Francis "For example, the Pardes book written by Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki, known by the abbreviation Rashi, can be cited using the following patterns: (1) "Shlomo son of Rabbi Yitzhak," (2) "Shlomo son of Yitzhak," (3) "Shlomo Yitzhaki," (4) "In the name of Rashi who wrote in the Pardes"

In older literature, Rashi is sometimes referred to as Jarchi or Yarhi (), his abbreviated name being interpreted as Rabbi Shlomo Yarhi. This was understood to refer to the Hebrew name of Lunel in Provence, popularly derived from the French lune "moon", in Hebrew ‎,http://books.google.com/books?id=xpc9AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA74 in which Rashi was assumed to have lived at some timehttp://books.google.com/books?id=wlMBAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA2 or to have been born, or where his ancestors were supposed to have originated.see for example http://books.google.com/books?id=KyJ44AeJj4sC&pg=PA233 http://books.google.com/books?id=gc4FAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA286 Richard Simonhttp://books.google.com/books?id=3aQUAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA545 and Johann Wilhelm Wolfhttp://books.google.com/books?id=zQIVAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA1057 claimed that only Christian scholars referred to Rashi as Jarchi, and that this epithet was unknown to the Jews. Bernardo de Rossi, however, demonstrated that Hebrew scholars also referred to Rashi as Yarhi.http://books.google.com/books?id=CQBbc1vhiysC&pg=PA337 In 1839, Leopold Zunzhttp://books.google.com/books?id=b6EXAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA328 showed that the Hebrew usage of Jarchi was an erroneous propagation of the error by Christian writers, instead interpreting the abbreviation as it is understood today: Rabbi Shlomo Yitchaki. In consequence, by the second half of the 19th century, the appellation Jarchi was considered obsolete.http://books.google.com/books?id=IdcZAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA423 The evolution of this term has been thoroughly traced.http://books.google.com/books?id=Nsl2NrA6v6gC&pg=PA1 http://books.google.com/books?id=7DAHAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA643