Knowra Rishonim Rishonim Rishonim are medieval Jewish rabbis and legal scholars, generally those who lived before the Shulchan Aruch’s publication in 1563. Their writings became foundational authorities in Jewish law and interpretation.
Talmud : The central compilation of Jewish rabbinic discussions of law, ethics, biblical interpretation, and tradition. Rishonim built much of their legal reasoning on the Talmud’s discussions.
Rashi : A French Jewish commentator on the Bible and Talmud who lived from 1040 to 1105. His concise explanations became indispensable to later study of the Talmud.
Talmudic commentary : Explanatory writing that clarifies the language, arguments, and legal implications of the Talmud. Rishonim made commentary a principal means of resolving difficult Talmudic passages.
Acharonim : Jewish rabbis and legal authorities of the later period, conventionally following the Rishonim. The distinction separates medieval authorities from scholars who inherited their accumulated rulings.
Beit Yosef : Joseph Karo’s extensive commentary on the Arba'ah Turim, surveying earlier legal authorities. Karo’s synthesis made the writings of many Rishonim the basis for a later code.
Mishnah : A foundational compilation of Jewish oral law, edited around the beginning of the third century. Its concise rulings are among the earliest legal materials Rishonim interpreted.
Maimonides : A medieval Jewish philosopher, physician, and legal codifier who lived from 1138 to 1204. His Mishneh Torah gave Jewish law an unusually systematic structure.
Mishneh Torah : Maimonides’ comprehensive code of Jewish law, organized by subject and completed around 1180. It demonstrates how a Rishon could recast dispersed legal discussions as a systematic code.
Sephardic Jews : Jews whose historical communities developed in the Iberian Peninsula and its diaspora. Sephardic Rishonim produced influential legal and philosophical works in Iberian settings.
Mishnah Berurah : A nineteenth-century commentary on the Orach Chayim section of the Shulchan Aruch by Israel Meir Kagan. Its rulings frequently assess later practice against legal positions traceable to Rishonim.
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