Tikvah
Editors’ Pick

January 23, 2023

Maimonides’ Learned and Acerbic Provençal Critic

“On my life and mind! There is no great analysis here.”

Best remembered today for his commentary on Moses Maimonides’ code of Jewish law, Rabbi Abraham ben David of Posquières (ca. 1125–1198)—known to posterity by the acronym Ra’avad—was one of the great talmudists of his day. Much of his extensive oeuvre appears to have been lost to the ravages of time, and several of his extant works remain little-studied, but he nonetheless left an enduring mark on the development of Jewish law. Tamar Marvin tells his story:

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