XIIIth century CE

English grammarian and lexicographer of the late 12th and early 13th centuries, probable son of a Jewess of Cambridge named Comitissa, whence his epithet "Hanessiah". He is the author of the "Sefer…

Spanish talmudist

German Talmudist of the 13th century, at the head of a rabbinical court to which Meïr ben Baruch of Rothenburg deferred in one of his responsa. Abigdor ha-Kohen, chief rabbi of Austria, corresponded…

Karaite theologian born in Cairo around 1300, died in Constantinople in 1369, long established in Nicomedia in Asia Minor, hence his nickname; called Aaron the Younger to distinguish him from Aaron…

14th-century Provençal rabbi and scholar

Talmudist and critic, direct descendant of Zerahiah ha-Lévi and probably like him from Gérone, Spain, active at the end of the 13th century and died before 1303; student of Nahmanide in Gérone, he…

Teacher, philosopher, physician and Karaite liturgical poet of Constantinople, born in Sulchat, Crimea, around 1260 and died around 1320; called the Elder to distinguish him from Aaron ben Élie of…

Rabbi and French scholar born toward the middle of the thirteenth century and died in the first quarter of the fourteenth, Aaron ben Perez of Avignon was among the principal scholars of the community…

French Jewish martyr

Kabbalist of whom little is known, author of the "Ḳarnayim", a work of "deep secrets" long wrongly attributed to Isaac b. Abraham b. David called "the Blind", and published for the first time in…

Spanish Talmudist of the late thirteenth century, author of the "Sefer ha-Ḥinnuk" (Book of Education), an anonymous work long attributed to Aaron ben Joseph ha-Levi and considered the first book of…

Rabbi of Lunel and Montpellier, instigator of the Maimonidean controversy.

Spanish scholar of the thirteenth century, Juda ben Samuel ibn Abbas is the author of the « Minḥat Yehoudah », also called « Mekor Ḥayyim », composed according to his account at the age of twenty and…

Physician, son of Abd-al-Aziz, son of Muhasan ha-Israeli, from a lineage of Jewish physicians, active around 1300. He completed on August 30, 1316 an Arabic work entitled « The Two Sciences », in two…

Physician ordinary to King James I of Aragon, to whom he was granted in January 1271 or 1272 an annual allowance of 500 sueldos. His name probably derives from the Arabic Ibn Tarf.

The earliest of the great Talmudists of Austria, active around the middle of the thirteenth century. Student of Rabbi Simḥa of Speyer (who flourished around 1220) and close to Rabbi Joel ha-Levi of…

French rabbinical scholar who lived in the second half of the thirteenth century, probably identical to « Abigdor the Frenchman » mentioned in old manuscripts as author of a commentary on the Maḥzor…

Jew converted to Christianity and polemical writer against his former religion, born in 1270 and died in 1348 or shortly after. Trained in biblical studies, talmudic studies, and Peripatetic…

Founder of ecstatic kabbalah, born in Saragossa, theorist of letter combinations.

French poet

Talmudist and grammarian of Bohemia, active in the first half of the thirteenth century, probably established in Prague. He is the author of a commentary on the Maḥzor entitled "Arougat ha-Bossem",…

Author of ritual treatises, brother of Meïr of Rothenburg, he lived in southern Germany toward the end of the thirteenth century. He wrote the « Sefer Sinaï », a collection of legal and ritual…

Catalan-Jewish physician

Kabbalist of the thirteenth century, author of several works on the Kabbalah: the "Sefer ha-Brit", cited by Moses Botarel in the introduction to his commentary on Sefer Yetsira; the "Brit Menouḥa",…

Active in the thirteenth century in Barcelona, Spain. According to De Rossi, an unpublished philosophical work from his hand, in four parts, titled "Arbaa Tourim," is preserved among the manuscripts…

Hebrew translator and poet of Barcelona, active around 1230, ardent defender of Maimonides during the Maimonidean controversy. He translated from Arabic to Hebrew several major philosophical and…

Medical author born in the mid-thirteenth century, probably in Marseille, where his father, Chem-Tov ben Isaac of Tortosa, practiced medicine. He wrote a medical manual in ninety-one paragraphs, two…

Talmudic scholar active in Italy in the early thirteenth century. Some of his interpretations and decisions are reported by Zedekia ben Abraham Anav, author of the « Shibolei ha-Leket » (Ears of…

Abraham ben Solomon of Zamora is an eschatological writer of the 13th century. His work, preserved in the Munich library (Codex 47, 7d), has never been published; it has been supposed that one of the…

Commentator who lived in Spain around 1300, he is the author of a commentary on the Talmudic treatise Baba Batra, preserved in manuscript at the Bodleian Library in Oxford, England.

Skilled oculist active in the middle of the thirteenth century. Shortly after the council of Béziers forbade, in 1246, Jewish physicians to practice, he was solicited by Alphonse, count of Poitou and…

False messiah and miracle-worker who lived at the end of the thirteenth century, whose very identity remains uncertain, although the facts are well attested by Salomon ben Adret and by the apostate…

German rabbi active around 1240, considered the most eminent disciple of Eleazar of Worms. According to Salomon ben Adret, he went to the court of the King of Castile under the assumed name of…

Abraham of Toledo is the physician of King Alfonso X the Wise of Castile, who holds him in high esteem; he is active in the second half of the 13th century. At the king's request, he translates…

Tosafist whose precise identity remains uncertain: he is cited under this name alone in the « Piské Tossafot », and he is probably one of the many German or French tosafists named Abraham, the…

French rabbi

Almohad Sultan, sovereign of Morocco and southern Spain in the early 13th century, he ascended the throne after his father Abou Youssouf Yaacoub (1184-98), who had imposed on Jews converted to Islam…

Spanish poet of the thirteenth century, died at sea in 1259 or 1260, he converted to Islam under pressure from Almohad power, although it was believed in Spain that he had returned to his faith…

Perhaps identical to Moses ben Joseph Ḥazan, who lived in Toledo in 1245 and maintained business relations with Alphonse X the Wise, king of Castile, he informed the latter, while he was in Cuenca in…

Spanish tax farmer established in Villa-Real or Ciudad-Real, he exercised his office during the reign of María de Molina (1300-10). Owner of a large fulling mill named « Batanejo », he is in…

English theologian, member of the Franciscan order, born in Gloucestershire and died in Paris in 1245, where he had studied then taught. He is regarded as the initiator of Christian scholastic reform…

German rabbi

Aristotelian Jewish philosopher

Liturgical poet of the 13th century, perhaps established in Spain, author of a "zoulat" — liturgical poem placed between the Shema and the Amida — composed for the Passover service.

Physician and rabbi in Rome at the beginning of the 13th century, father of Shedaiah, author of the « Shibbolé ha-Léket », and of Benjamin, liturgical poet.

Jewish merchant in Rome in the 13th century, in commercial relations with the papal court, alongside other Jewish merchants — Sabbatinus, Museus, Salamon and Consiliolus — associated in business with…

Daughter of Rabbi Eleazar of Worms, she lives in Erfurt, where she dies as a martyr under the blows of crusaders, on December 6, 1213 or 1214. Her mother, Dolce, and her sister, Bellette, meet the…

The most eminent of medieval Christian theological philosophers, born in 1227 in Aquino, in the kingdom of Naples, died in 1274. Like his master Albert the Great, he sought to reconcile philosophy…

Eminent Talmudist born around 1250 in western Germany, died in Toledo, Spain, in 1328. From a family reputed for its learning and piety, he became the most eminent disciple of Meïr b. Baruch of…

Son of Abraham ben David of Posquières, active around the middle of the 13th century, disciple of his uncle Isaac the Blind and one of the first Kabbalist authors. He writes a commentary on the…

Talmudic lexicographer, active in Osnabrück, in Prussia, toward the end of the 13th century, student of Samuel ben Baroukh of Bamberg. He composes explanations of various parts of the Maḥzor,…

Provençal scholar, active in Béziers towards the end of the thirteenth century and the beginning of the fourteenth. Almost nothing is known of his life or scholarly activity; his name is transmitted…

Austrian talmudist, one of the first tosafists of Vienna.

Head of the Academy of Baghdad before being displaced by a rival, he lived in the thirteenth century and was a contemporary of Al-Ḥarizi, who harshly ridiculed his poetry. Only one poem by him…

English philosopher and scholar of the thirteenth century, born in Ilchester around 1214 and died around 1294, he studied at Oxford then in Paris, where he obtained his doctorate in theology, and…

Physician of the thirteenth century, court physician to King James I of Aragon, he accompanied him during the conquest of Majorca where he served as interpreter between the Arabic-speaking Majorcan…

One of the most distinguished biblical exegetes of Spain, born around the middle of the thirteenth century in Saragossa and died in 1340, he was a student of Solomon ben Adret but devoted himself,…

Talmudist and prolific liturgical poet (payetan), active in Germany in the early thirteenth century, he dies in Mainz on April 25, 1221. Student of Moses b. Solomon ha-Cohen of Mainz and Eliezer b.…

Provençal poet born in Béziers, whose exact birth and death dates are unknown. An elegy of youth on the « Confiscation of the Books of the Law » is linked, according to scholars, either with the…

Prominent French Jew, established in Toulouse in the early 13th century, whose name appears in numerous acts with the title of "Dominus", a mark of superior rank, and whose wife, Domina Montaniera,…

Elder brother of Zedekiah, liturgical poet (paytan) and physician in Rome, author of the satirical poem Massa Gei Hizzayon.

Liturgical poet and talmudist of Rome, author of the Massa Gei Hizzayon.

Benjamin of Canterbury, or of Cambridge, is an English rabbi, disciple of Rabbenou Tam, died in the early thirteenth century. Only one halakhic ruling is known from him — prohibiting the purchase of…

Benjamin Yerushalmi is an exile from Jerusalem established in Bordeaux, said to be one of the authors of the « Wehou Raḥoum », recited in the morning prayers on Mondays and Thursdays.

Benveniste ben Ḥiyyah ben Aldayyan, also called Al-Yasis (the Elder), is a thirteenth-century physician and religious poet, author of three metrical "baḳḳashot" mentioned by Zunz. At his request,…

English tosafist of the Tosafot Hakhmei Anglia, from Lincoln.

Jewish fabulist and grammarian, author of the Mishlé Choualim (Fox Fables), a Hebrew adaptation of European and Eastern fables. He likely lived in England and France.

Berḳamani ibn Abu al-Ḥasan, also called Barḳamani, is a physician and author probably active in the first half of the thirteenth century, who composed for an emir a treatise on hygiene in ten…

Bernard de Gordon is a Christian physician probably born in Gordon, in Guyenne, professor of medicine at Montpellier around the year 1300. His « Lilium Medicinæ » was widely read by Jews and…

Berthold of Ratisbonne, nicknamed « Rusticanus », was a monk and itinerant preacher born around 1220 and died in Ratisbonne on December 14, 1272, one of the most famous popular preachers of the…

Boleslas the Pious, duke of Kalisz, died in 1278, renowned for his courage and administrative talents, more concerned with the welfare of his subjects than with conquests. Faced with the influx of…

Boleslas V the Chaste is king of Poland (1228-79). During his reign, in 1240, the Mongols of Batu Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan, invaded Poland and enslaved several thousand Jews; he also favored…

Bonafos (or Bonifas) Vidal is a Barcelona talmudist active at the end of the thirteenth century, who took a very active part in the anti-Maimonidean controversy and also attempted to dissuade his…

Meïr ben Salomon Bongodas is a Provençal poet active at the end of the thirteenth century, cited in the diwan of Abraham Bedersi, chosen as arbiter in a controversy opposing him to Don Salomon over…

Astruc Bonsenyor, native of Barcelona, was from 1259 at the latest, dragoman and Arabic secretary to King Jaime I of Aragon, who died in 1280; he accompanied him in his campaigns as interpreter, was…

Bonviva, or in French Bonnevie, ben Isaac is a French tosafist active probably in the early thirteenth century at Château-Thierry, mentioned with his father in a manuscript of Tossafot on the…

Author active in Arles in the middle of the thirteenth century, perhaps died in Perpignan towards the end of that century; according to Abraham Zacuto and others, he was the father of Lévi ben Gerson…

13th century French Biblical commentator

Spanish philosopher and encyclopedist, popularizer of Aristotelian philosophy and defender of Maimonides. Author of the Sefer ha-Mevakech.

Prominent figure in the community of Carcassonne, in France, who lived in the second half of the thirteenth century. Syndic of the Jews of the entire district, he obtained for them special…

German Talmudist

Talmudist established in Damascus in the 13th century, Daniel ben Saadia Ha-Babli, student of the anti-Maimonidean Samuel b. Ali Halévi, conducts after the death of Maimonides a campaign against his…

Florentine poet born in 1265 and died in Ravenna on September 14, 1321, Dante Alighieri, banned from his native city in 1302, lived thereafter in exile, protected in turn by princes of northern Italy…

Neo-Hebrew poet from northern Spain died after 1417, Solomon ben Meshullam Dapiera, related to poet Meshullam ben Solomon Dapiera who had taken sides against the "Moreh Nebukim" of Maimonides,…

Eminent rabbi established in Avignon in the 13th century, David ben Isaac ha-Kohen is cited as master of R. Eliezer ben Immanuel of Tarascon by his grandson Aaron b. Jacob ha-Kohen of Narbonne,…

German Kabbalist active in the thirteenth century, probably the great-nephew rather than the son of Judah the Hasid, David ben Judah is an eminent kabbalist praised by Eleazar of Worms. He left in…

Rabbi of Narbonne active in the late 13th century and doubtless into the 14th, David ben Lévi is the author of the « Miktam », an important collection of halakhic decisions of the Talmud arranged in…

Judge in Narbonne, author of the Sefer ha-Mikhtam, halakhic work based on the Rif.

active 1300

French rabbi of the first half of the 13th century, student of R. Solomon of Montpellier, David ben Saül is among the rabbis of Provence who condemned the philosophical works of Maimonides and the…

Rabbi of Fès, thirteenth century. Died in 5046 of the Hebrew era (1286). Listed in Malkhei Rabbanan (Yosef Ben Naim, 1931), f. 25-2.

Italian scholar active in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, David Kalonymus of Naples transcribed in several copies, for fear the original would be lost in the persecutions then striking Jews of…

Grammarian and biblical exegete from Narbonne, author of the Mikhlol and of widely circulated biblical commentaries. He took part in the Maimonidean controversy as a defender of the philosopher.

French scholar established in Château-Thierry in the second half of the twelfth century and at the beginning of the thirteenth, David the Pious is identified by Zunz with R. David ben Joseph, who…

Provençal poet of the second half of the 13th century, whom Renan supposes the surname « Debash » (honey) translates into Hebrew the Provençal name « Miles »; Isaiah ben Samuel Debash is known by two…

King of Portugal (1279-1325), nicknamed « the father of the fatherland », Denis I proved to be one of the most tolerant sovereigns of his time toward Jews: he ensured that judges did not infringe on…

Jew converted to Christianity active in Paris in the 13th century, Nicolas Donin, excommunicated in 1225 by R. Yehiel of Paris for questioning the oral tradition, embraced Christianity ten years…

Franciscan friar, theologian and scholastic, born in Dunston, in Northumberland (according to some, in Dun, Ireland), around 1266, died in Cologne in 1308. Leader of the Franciscan order and founder…

Rhenish mystic and halakhist, last great master of the Hasidei Ashkenaz, author of the Rokeach. He transmitted the esoteric teachings of Judah the Pious.

French Talmudist active in the first half of the 13th century, at the origin of the family of Latas, or Lattes — his son Jacob adopted this name after the city where the family resided. Isaac b.…

Oriental scholar of the second half of the thirteenth century, who translated into Hebrew, under the title « Megillat ha-'Ofer », an Arabic maqama comparable to the « Séances » of Ḥariri; a…

Member of a family of scholars established in Tarascon since the first half of the thirteenth century. Of his numerous writings only his correspondence with R. Samuel of Agde survives; he was the…

French Talmudist born around 1255, martyred on the Jewish New Year, September 25, 1321. Student of Pérets ben Élie of Corbeil, whose sister he married, he is chiefly known for his correspondence and…

Italian Tosafist active in the early thirteenth century, disciple of Rabbi Isaac the Elder of Dampierre and grandfather of the philosopher and physician Hillel of Forlì. He authorized the remarriage…

French Talmudist of the 13th century, identified by Gross as Eliezer ben Aaron of Burgundy, one of the six rabbis to whom Meïr Aboulafia addressed his letter on the doctrine of resurrection. He is…

French tosafist died around 1234. In his youth, he was tutor in the house of the wealthy scholar Ézéchias ben Reuben of Boppard; his tosafot on the treatise Beitza are cited by Tsidqiya Anav in his…

Among the last Tosafists, and editor of many Tosefot compositions

Chief of the Jews of England from 1237 to 1257, died in London in 1284. He succeeded Aaron of York, represented London at the "Jewish Parliament" of Worcester in 1240, and was subjected by Henry III…

German Talmudist of the 13th century, died before 1293, student of Simḥa of Speyer and Isaac b. Moses of Vienna, alongside Meïr b. Baruch. He was the master of Mordekhaï b. Hillel, who often cites…

Esdras, called the prophet of Montcontour, was a French tosafist active in the thirteenth century; according to Zunz, the title of « prophet » would be honorific, perhaps a Hebrew translation of his…

Éliézer ben Ḥanan Ezobi was a Provençal poet established in Béziers in the 13th century, brother of the poet Joseph Ezobi and contemporary of Abraham Bédersi, with whom he exchanged poems. He…

Joseph ben Ḥanan ben Nathan Ezobi was a liturgical poet established in Perpignan in the thirteenth century, author of several liturgical poems as well as the « Ḳa'arat Kesef », composed for the…

Kabbalist of the Gérone circle, commentator on the Song of Songs.

Faraj ben Salim, also called Moses Farachi of Girgenti, was an Italian physician and translator active in the second half of the thirteenth century, engaged by King Charles of Anjou to translate…

Estori Farḥi, explorer of Palestine, was born around 1282 in Florenza, Spain, and died in Palestine, probably in 1357. Expelled from France with the Jews on 22 July 1306, he went to Perpignan, then…

King of Castile and Leon (1295-1312), son of Sancho IV, who came to the throne very young. He has as his confidant a Jew of Andalusia, Don Samuel, who directs his finances as "almojarife mor", and…

Italian tosafist of the thirteenth century, contemporary of Éléazar ben Samuel and Isaïe ben Mali, of whom no biographical details are known. He is cited three times as a tosafist in the « Haggahot…

Physician to Pope Nicholas IV or Boniface VIII in the late thirteenth century, for whom Nathan of Cento translated into Hebrew an Arabic work by Ammar ibn Ali al-Mawsili on the treatment of eye…

Rabbi and Spanish moralist of the thirteenth century, cousin of Nahmanide, from Gerona and died in Toledo in November 1263. The most prominent disciple of Solomon of Montpellier, he signed in 1233…

Hebrew poet, relative of Nahmanide, active in Gerona, Catalonia, in the second half of the thirteenth century. In a letter written from Jerusalem to his son, Nahmanide greets Gerondi, whom he calls «…

Provençal philosopher active in the second half of the thirteenth century, called father of Gersonide. He is the author of « Sha'ar ha-Shamayim » (Venice, 1547; Rödelheim, 1801), a kind of…

Spanish Kabbalist, born in Medinaceli, in Old Castile, in 1248 and died in Peñafiel after 1305. Disciple for a time of the Kabbalist Abraham Aboulafia, who held him in high esteem, he acquired such…

Zerahiah ben Isaac ben Shealtiel Gracian, called Ḥen, was a physician, philosopher, and translator active in the late thirteenth century, born in Barcelona or Toledo. Settled in Rome around 1277, he…

Historian, physician, philosopher and Syrian Jacobite theologian, born in Malatia, in Asiatic Turkey, in 1226, and died in Maragha, in Persia, in 1286, he first studied medicine under his father…

Last presbyter, or chief rabbi, of England, appointed on May 15, 1281, probably through the favor of Queen Eleanor, mother of King Edward I. Presumed nephew of Elyas, the « chief presbyter », he does…

Hagin fil. Moses is a provost, or high rabbi, of the Jews of England, chirographer of the Jews of London who amassed great wealth there before losing it under Edward I. Appointed provost in 1255 at…

Pseudonym of a Kabbalist attached, according to Jellinek, to the school of Isaac the Blind. The works bearing this name are the Sefer ha-Yiḥud, probably devoted to the Tetragram and cited by Meïr ibn…

Judah (Aryeh) Harari is a liturgical poet active in Montpellier in the second half of the 13th century, praised by Abraham Bedersi in his poem Ḥereb ha-Mithappeket. Several of his piyyoutim are…

Abraham ben Samuel ha-Levi Ḥasdaï is a Hebraist translator active in Barcelona around 1230, probably son of the poet Samuel ibn Abraham ibn Ḥasdaï ha-Lévi. An enthusiastic supporter of Maimonides in…

female physician and surgeon

Ḥayyim ben Samuel ben David de Tolède is a Spanish rabbi and author active in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries, disciple of Salomon ben Adret. He leaves in manuscript the Ṣeror…

Ḥayyim ben Israël is a Spanish philosopher and author active in Toledo around 1272, descendant of the family Israéli and relative of Isaac Israéli, author of the astronomical work Yesod 'Olam. He…

Ḥayyim of Falaise, perhaps identical to Ḥayyim Paltiel, is a French biblical commentator of the thirteenth century, grandson of the tosafist Samuel of Falaise. His commentary on the Pentateuch,…

Spanish scholar and scribe of the thirteenth century, author of a treatise in Spanish on the preparation of gold leaf and colors for illuminations, as well as a treatise, probably in Hebrew, on the…

Hezekiah ben Jacob is a German rabbi and tosafist martyred in Bacharach in 1283, uncle and master of Meïr of Rothenburg and student of the Bohemian Talmudist Abraham Hladik. He succeeds his father in…

Hillel ben Samuel is a physician, philosopher and Italian Talmudist born around 1220 and died around 1295, grandson of the Talmudist Eleazar ben Samuel of Verona. Trained in Talmud and natural…

Physician and philosopher, author of the Tagmulei ha-Nefesh on the immortality of the soul.

Talmudist of Bohemia who lived around 1230, probably in France according to Zunz, and was the master of Ḥizqiya b. Jacob of Magdeburg. He is cited in the Budapest and Vienna manuscripts of the «…

English child born in 1247, alleged victim of a ritual murder imputed to the Jews of Lincoln in 1255. Missing on July 31, 1255, his body was found on August 29 following in the well of the house of a…

Spanish physician and Kabbalist probably born in Toledo, died in Jerusalem, where he had gone in destitution, around 1290. A natural philosopher among the Kabbalists of his time, he attempted,…

Spanish philosopher, astronomer and mathematician born in Toledo in 1215, grandson through his mother of Ziza ibn Shoushan. Student of Meïr Aboulafia, opposed to Maimonides, he was nonetheless led by…

Poet and theologian probably Spanish, active in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, when the surname « Zabara » was borne by several scholars. Student of Aaron ha-Lévi, died in 1293-94, and of…

Scholar and satirical poet Italian, one of the most striking figures of Italian Judaism, born in Rome around 1270 and died probably in Fermo around 1330. From an important and wealthy family, he held…

Spanish philosopher

Provençal poet, active in Luc in the second half of the 13th century, known by the nickname « Gorni » — Hebrew equivalent of « Air ». Abraham Bedersi depicts him in his divan as a venal itinerant…

Tosafist seemingly active at the beginning of the 13th century, died a martyr according to Mordekhaï ben Hillel. The "Da'at Zeḳenim" reports that he was born the very day the Tosafist Isaac ben Asher…

French Tosafist of the second half of the 13th century, identified by Gross and Zunz with Isaac de Chinon. The responsa of Salomon ben Adret designate him as "chief of the French academies"; he…

Kabbalist brothers born in Soria in Castile, they traveled through Spain and Provence in search of ancient kabbalistic traditions. Isaac elaborated a doctrine of emanation and a commentary on the…

Son-in-law of Yehiel of Paris, author of Sefer Mitzvot Katan (Semak).

Liturgical poet active in the early thirteenth century. Zunz attributes thirty-eight synagogal hymns to him, mostly preserved in the rituals of Carpentras, Avignon, and Tripoli and dated between 1205…

French exegete and tosafist, active in Sens, probably in the second half of the 13th century, student of Ḥayyim of Falaise. He compiled the "Pa'aneaḥ Raza," a commentary on the Pentateuch mixing…

Author of Sha'arei Dura on dietary laws.

Spanish rabbi and talmudist of the late 13th century, master of Shem-Ṭob ibn Gaon and of Nathan ben Juda, and friend of Baḥya ben Asher, who cites him in his commentary on the Pentateuch. Mentioned…

French rabbinical scholar and biblical commentator, active in the thirteenth century. His authority is invoked by Mordekhaï and by R. Pérets, who cites him as biblical commentator and author of…

English financier of the 12th-13th centuries, imprisoned with other Jews by King John in 1210; a house he owned in London perhaps then passed to the crown before being transferred in 1214 to the…

Talmudist, author of the Or Zarua, a halakhic compendium that preserves many traditions of the Hasidei Ashkenaz. He was the teacher of the Maharam of Rothenburg.

Jewish philosopher

Spanish astronomer, active in Toledo in the second half of the 13th century, probably synagogue precentor to judge by his nickname « ha-Ḥazzan ». He took a major part in the compilation of the…

German writer

Grandson of the Rid, author of the Piskei Halakhot, first ritual code produced in Italy.

Talmudist and Italian commentator active in the thirteenth-fourteenth centuries, grandson through his mother of Isaiah di Trani the Elder. He wrote commentaries on Joshua (Leipzig, 1712), Judges,…

rabbi, translator, and traveler

German Tosafist of the thirteenth century, died before 1298. Disciple of the Tosafist Samuel of Bamberg, he was called around 1250 to succeed him as rabbi of Bamberg. His family perished during the…

Tosafist active around the middle of the thirteenth century, student of Samuel of Bamberg, to whom he succeeded in the rabbinate. According to Zunz, he would be the father of Jedidia of Nuremberg,…

Spanish grammarian active in the first third of the 13th century (and not of the 12th, as was long mistakenly believed), probably from Toledo, where he had access to the famous biblical codex…

Spanish kabbalist of the late thirteenth century, born in Soria and buried in Segovia, Jacob ben Jacob Ha-Cohen — whom Jellinek also identifies under the name of Gikatilla — had as his elder brother,…

English codifier of the thirteenth century, grandson of Jacob he-Aruk, Jacob ben Judah Ḥazzan of London drafted in 1287 the « 'Eẓ Ḥayyim », a ritual code in two parts covering the whole of the…

Astronomer and translator of Montpellier (Profatius), inventor of an astronomical quadrant.

Spanish cabalist of Gerona, from which his surname comes, active in the thirteenth century, Jacob ben Sheshet Gerondi is the author of the « Sha'ar ha-Shamayim », cabalistic essay published by M.…

French Tosafist of the thirteenth century, mentioned in the Tosafot to Kiddushin, in Mordekhaï, and in the responsa of Joseph Colon (Venice, 1579), without any writings of his own being otherwise…

French rabbi and kabbalist of the thirteenth century, active in Marvège, Jacob Ha-Lévi He-Ḥassid was reputed to obtain through prayer celestial answers communicated to him in dreams; his decisions…

Italian man of letters, of the Middle Ages

Scholar and scribe of Rome, author of the Maalot ha-Middot.

Grammarian of Prague active in the second half of the thirteenth century, surnamed "ha-Naqdan" (the punctuator), Jekoutiel ben Juda ha-Cohen devoted himself especially to the Masorah and the…

Jonathan ben David ha-Cohen of Lunel, French philosopher active in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, defended Maimonides against the attacks of Abraham ben David of Posquières (the RABaD); at his…

Joseph b. Isaac of Chinon was a French tosafist who lived in the second half of the twelfth century and early thirteenth. Cited as an eminent talmudist in the Ha-Teroumah and the Roqéah, and taken up…

Joseph ben Kalonymos ha-Naqdan, German massorete and liturgical poet, lived in the first half of the thirteenth century. He composed a long acrostic poem on the accents, accompanied by commentary, as…

Joseph ben Meïr, liturgical poet of the thirteenth century, perhaps uncle of Meïr of Rothenburg, is the author of a lament believed to be written on the occasion of the auto-da-fé of the Talmud in…

Joseph ben Nathan Official, called ha-Meqanné (« the Zealot »), was a French controversialist who probably lived in Sens in the thirteenth century, descendant of Todros Nassi of Narbonne. He…

Joseph of Chinon, French Talmudist, lived around the middle of the thirteenth century; Zunz makes him the son of Nathanael the Saint, which Gross disputes. He is cited in the Minhat Yehouda and in…

Joseph of Dreux was a French Talmudist of the first half of the thirteenth century, whose name appears in a manuscript of commentaries on the Pentateuch preserved in the British Museum. According to…

Joseph de Mandeville, French exegete, was a student of Abraham ibn Ezra whose commentary on Exodus he composed a supercommentary on. He is probably identical to Joseph b. Jacob to whom ibn Ezra…

Castilian kabbalist, disciple of Abulafia, author of the Gates of Light (Shaarei Orah).

Joseph Hazzan ben Juda of Troyes was a French Talmudist and hazzan active in Troyes around the middle of the thirteenth century. He is credited with a commentary on Ecclesiastes, a grammar entitled…

Exegete, grammarian and philosopher of Argentière, influenced by Averroes.

Joseph Porat ben Moses, called Don Bendit, was a Tosafist of the thirteenth century, whose surname refers to a verse from Genesis. According to Gross, he would be identical to Joseph of Caen, cited…

Joseph Samuel ben Abraham ben Joseph ben Abraham Baruch ben Neriah, French rabbi born in Aix, Provence, was active in Avignon toward the end of the thirteenth century. Like his father, Abraham ben…

Spanish rabbi (1280-1340)

Poet and translator, author of the Tahkemoni, a collection of maqamat in Hebrew. He translated Maimonides' Guide for the Perplexed from Arabic into Hebrew.

French tosafist of the first half of the thirteenth century, son of the tosafist David of Melun. He took over the direction of the talmudic school of Melun after 1224 and was one of the four rabbis…

13th century Spanish Jewish philosopher

Spiritual leader of the Hasidei Ashkenaz at Regensburg, principal author of the Sefer Hasidim. His work shaped the Jewish ethics and piety of Central Europe.

French liturgical poet of the 13th century, in correspondence with Jacob ben Salomon of Courson around 1260. He composed, on the martyrs, an elegy of forty-five strophes opening with the words…

German Talmudist who became rabbi of Toledo, born in western Germany on June 30, 1270 and died in Toledo on July 4, 1349, brother of Jacob ben Asher. Left for Spain in 1283, he arrived in 1285,…

French liturgical poet, active in Beaucaire in the first quarter of the thirteenth century; Al-Ḥarizi, who knew him around 1211, speaks highly of him. He had five sons, all liturgical poets: the…

Ethical and mystical writer, died February 22, 1217, from a family of Kabbalists established in Germany; his grandfather Kalonymus was a scholar and parnass in Speyer, and his father directed a bet…

Tosafist of the thirteenth century, author of tosafot on a great number of talmudic treatises, cited notably in the « Kol Bo », the Tosafot Yeshanim and the tosafot of Asheri. He also drew up ritual…

German Talmudist of the thirteenth century, contemporary of Eleazar of Worms and Menaḥem ben Jacob, with whom he had a halakhic controversy reported by Mordekhai ben Hillel and in the « Haggahot…