This book, designed for students of the Hebrew Bible and medieval exegesis, presents a small part of the work of R. Samuel ben Meir (Rashbam), the grandson of Rashi and one of the leading figures in Rashi’s school of exegesis in northern France. The authors show by their editing of the text, in translation and in introduction, the specific and unique contributions which Rashbam makes, not only to the understanding of Qoheleth, but to the text of the Hebrew Bible as a whole. They will surely stimulate research into the whole area of medieval exegesis.
Rashbam רשבם is a Hebrew acronym for רבי שמואל בן מאיר (Rabbi Shmuel son of Meir) (c.1085 - c.1158). His father was Meir ben Shmuel and his mother was Yocheved, the daughter of Rashi. Like his grandfather Rashi, the Rashbam was a biblical commentator and Talmudist. He was also a leading French Tosafist.
He was the older brother of the Tosafist Rivam and the Tosafist Rabbeinu Tam, also known as Jacob ben Meir. He was a colleague of Rabbi Joseph Kara.
Rashbam was born in France in the vicinity of Troyes. He learned from Rashi and from the Riva. He was the teacher of his brother, Rabbeinu Tam.
His commentary on the Torah is renowned for its stress on the plain meaning (peshat) of the text. This approach often led him to state views that were somewhat controversial (thus resulting in the omission of his commentary on the first chapters of Genesis in many earlier editions of the Pentateuch). Parts of his commentary on the Talmud have been preserved, and they appear on the pages of most of tractate Bava Batra (where no commentary by Rashi is available), as well as the last chapter of tractate Pesachim. Rashbam earned a living by tending livestock and growing grapes, following in his family tradition. Known for his piety, he defended Jewish beliefs in public disputes that had been arranged by church leaders to demonstrate the inferiority of Judaism.
THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW, Vol. 95, No. 1 (Winter 2005) 163–181 The Rashbam Authorship Controversy Redux On Sara Japhet’s The Commentary of Rabbi Samuel Ben Meir (Rashbam) on the Book of Job (Hebrew)* ROBERT A. HARRIS FOR OVER A QUARTER CENTURY, Sara Japhet has investigated the exegetical works of the northern French rabbinic masters. Her publications have advanced our understanding of the history of their exegesis and have illuminated the development of their version of peshat methodology. 1 Japhet has devoted particular attention to the exegesis of arguably the French school’s greatest representative, Rabbi Samuel ben Meir, or Rashbam. Her initial studies were devoted primarily to Rashbam’s commentary on Koheleth,2 which she eventually published together with Robert Salters, while in more recent ventures she focused on Rashbam’s commentary on Job.3 These latter efforts have culminated in the volume herein reviewed, Japhet’s edition of Rashbam’s commentary on Job. Her *Jerusalem, Magnes Press, 2000. Pp. 487. 1. Sara Japhet, ‘‘Directions in Scholarship and Trends in the Research of Medieval Exegesis in Northern France’’ (Hebrew), Studies in Bible and Talmud, ed. S. Japhet (Jerusalem, 1987), 17–39; Japhet, ‘‘Major Trends in the Study of Medieval Jewish Exegesis in Northern France,’’ Trumah 9 (2000): 43–61. 2. See below, nn. 21–22; additionally, see Japhet’s ‘‘ ‘Goes to the South and Turns to the North’ (Ecclesiastes 1:6): The Sources and History of the Exegetical Traditions,’’ Jewish Studies Quarterly 1.4 (1993/94): 289–322. 3. In addition to the volume under review, and the articles discussed below, see Sara Japhet, ‘‘Tradition and Innovation in the Commentary of Rabbi Samuel Ben Meir (Rashbam) on Job: The Hymn to Wisdom (Job 28)’’ (Hebrew), Tehillah Le-Moshe: Biblical and Judaic Studies in Honor of Moshe Greenberg, ed. M. Cogan, B. Eichler and J. Tigay (Winona Lake, Ind., 1997), 115*-42*. Koheleth and Job were not her exclusive concerns in Rashbam’s exegesis; see, e.g., ‘‘Rashbam’s Commentary on Genesis 22: ‘Peshat’ or ‘Derash’?’’ (Hebrew), The Bible in the Light of Its Interpreters: Sarah Kamin Memorial Volume, ed. S. Japhet (Jerusalem, 1994), 349–66. The Jewish Quarterly Review (Winter 2005) Copyright 2005 Center for Advanced Judaic Studies. All rights reserved.